Growling/Grinding/Chuffing/Clicking Sounds From Front End

So my riv makes this wierd buzzing droning noise when over 25 but it lessens when the wheel is turned to the left and gets worse if turned to the right and is sometimes not the when going straight and isnt there at all at low speeds... ideas?

That sounds like a good description of a wheel bearing starting to fail. The tough part is figuring out which side it is when the bearing isn't overly loud.

I forget if this is right......but there's a rule of thumb that goes along the lines of ..if you turn left and the noise subsides then it's the right and vise-versa if you turn right.

BillBoost37 wrote:

That sounds like a good description of a wheel bearing starting to fail. The tough part is figuring out which side it is when the bearing isn't overly loud.

I forget if this is right......but there's a rule of thumb that goes along the lines of ..if you turn left and the noise subsides then it's the right and vise-versa if you turn right.

wheel bearing?is it animal expensive fix? or is it something i could do myself?

It's the hub assembly, which includes the bearing, and it's on your driver side. It costs about $125 at most parts counters, and you will need a hub puller tool (rent it for free with deposit).

The job takes about 2-4 hours.

is it a hard job or just time consuming? i mean can a lot go wrong?

AA wrote:

It's the hub assembly, which includes the bearing, and it's on your driver side. It costs about $125 at most parts counters, and you will need a hub puller tool (rent it for free with deposit).

The job takes about 2-4 hours.

Hub puller tool?

I got mine out with a hammer ?

Was a long time ago. It's hard to remember now. I did rent a puller once. I thought it was for pulling the hub?

you are supposed to use a puller. Tony, you can do it yourself if you take your time. It really isn't that hard.

I should also mention that you don't need to do both sides. Even though some think it's a good idea to do everything in pairs, these are expensive parts, and they often last a long time. I did the one at about 100k miles; the other is still fine at 150k.

There is a small connector for the ABS sensor. Be careful with it when removing and installing. I chopped mine in half and had to do some soldering...

I have noticed a growling sound from the front end, it only occurs when cornering to the right under accelleration. The sound is more noticible with more G's (ie: more accelleration/tighter turn.) I was thinking maybe bearing or CV gear. Anyone had this issue?

Yep, I've had that problem before. It's the driver side hub (bearing) assembly. $130 for the part. Here's a write-up:

https://rivperformance.editboard.com/brakes-suspension-f6/write-up-spindle-wheel-bearing-hub-replacement-t1569.htm

One way to diagnose a bad hub/wheel bearing (neat trick!):

Rock Auto sells Timken's.
I would suggest either Timken or GM. Timkens are made in USA and are less expensive than GM.

I have no proof, but it would not surprise me if the original GM parts were manufactured by Timken. They are located only a couple hundred miles from Detroit, and have been manufacturing bearings since GM has been in business. Either part is a good choice.

Make sure your CV boots are in good shape.

I'd get the Timken.

albertj wrote:

I'd get the Timken.

Timkens are top of the line but for the price of these I really don't think they can be beat. They are BCA brand which aren't half bad

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=310147981422

$49.85 shipped

EDIT: If these OEM buick hubs are timken parts, that doesn't bode well for timken reliability in terms of the sensors. All these buicks have had big issues with the wheel hub assembly electronics.

before buying new hub bearings, drop the front side giving you problems,compress the spring and take off the bearing,1 side is orange ,the other side is black, remember what color goes side up. carefully pry the 2 pieces apart ,there are tiny bearings so dont drop any. once the piece is apart and the bearings are set aside ,inspect the races,where the bearings sit, and feel for pits,indentations, if there are pits,replace. if none, clean the races throughly ,coat both races with fresh grease,any good heavy grease, place bearings in race, snap together. reasemble. that should take care of the problem. these parts rarely go bad. if you live in a snowy climate and salt is constantly spraying the parts, then maybe yeah, they will go bad. even a little scoring of the races is remedied with a overhaul....good luck!

Regarding the above advice, what bearing are you talking about? To my knowledge the hub assembly is not serviceable. It does not come apart.

not sure how the 95's are setup but i dont believe our wheel bearings are serviceable. mine doesnt have a orange and black side, nor does it pry apart. it is essentially one piece (bearing, hub and abs).
front what i've read on here and other 3800 forums i'd stick with USA made hubs, the cheaper ones tend to fail often.

AA wrote:

Regarding the above advice, what bearing are you talking about? To my knowledge the hub assembly is not serviceable. It does not come apart.

Correct. They are non-serviceable assemblies.

sorry i thought you were talking about the strut bearing atop the shock. shoulda read more carefully. but anyway, mine had a similar noise that i thought was the wheel bearing, but it turned out to be the shock bearing...

The only noise I've ever had bad strut mount bearings make is a rumble when turning the wheels. When it gets REALLY bad it will make a very hard and loud THUMP when turning the wheel.

Ordered the Timken bearings/hubs this morning. Went ahead and got 2, gonna get both sides replaced in one trip. My mechanic quoted me $175 to install both, so thats my plan. Thanks again for your advice....
I saw the ones on Ebay for 49.95/ea and asked the seller the place of manufacture USA or where?... He danced around the subject and said they ship from different warehouses so he would need my zip code to tell me. I replied back immediately with my zip code and they never responded. So, I am guessing that those are made in China and he just didnt want to admit it.
No matter, the Timkens are on the way and I feel good about the deal.
I had the R/F bearing-hub replaced on my wifes 01 Chev tracker about 4 years ago and it was $475 for just one, so doing both sides for <$400 siuts me fine!
Again guys, thanks for your excellent guidance!

You'll be glad you picked the USA made Timken hubs. There's just a peace of mind that comes with knowing your bearing came from a manufacturer with 100 years of experience. Ic contrast, using a part that costs less than half the price - there's almost no way you're getting the same quality there.