Hi!

Another issue has cropped up. I hope it is no more than a wheel bearing. At around 42 MPH, a whistle starts from the driver'* side front wheel. It doesnt seem to increase in pitch or loudness as I accelerate. Below 42, it stops.

Is this probably a wheel bearing, or something else? I felt the wheel, and it feels no hotter than the other side.

Thanks,
John

Does the whistle noise go silent if you turn steering wheel slightly left for a short duration?

No, not that I notice. I have tried to listen for that very thing, too.

Thanks,
John

Put the driver'* side of the car up on a jack, grab the wheel at the 12 o'clock with one hand and at the 6 o'clock position with the other and wiggle/rock the wheel up and down....any play? Do the same at the 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock postion back and forth..any play there? Any play and it will point to a failing wheel bearing or ball joint.

A wheel bearing won't whistle though.......They make a very decernable grinding noise, and is speed relevent (worse when you speed up, quieter at lower speeds)

Thanks guys. I know that it is a whistling noise, and not a discernable ginding. Also, it doesn't make the noise all the time. It seems to start after I have been driving for 30 mins or so.

I will try to jack up the car and do the wheel-play test. When I do this, should there be no play at all? In other words, is there a range of tolerance?

Thanks,
john

Minimal......if none at all.....but there'* more items in there that can create the play of feeling like a bad wheel bearing, when it'* not.

Honestly, I can't think of anything up there that could whistle. I wanna say wind noise at the door, but prolly not lol.

Are any parts of the body cladding or wheel well loose, maybe they are creating the whistling.

Anything been done under the hood lately?

Bill,

Certainly there has been work done under the hood. The UIM was replaced, along with the LIM gasket. The rear trans mount was replaced, and the front trans mount had to be "reinforced" as the person who replaced it before didnt put in all the bolts (one hole had to be rethreaded). One trans fluid line to the radiator was replaced.

However, the whistling was happening prior to this work. My hope was that somehow fixing the trnas mounts would correct it, but no luck.

Funny you should mention wind. Being a Saturn owner, I am also a member in the SaturnFansForum. A recent post dealt with a similar but louder noise. It ended up being wind running across the whip antenna, which has become ice-covered. Matter of fact, Saturn replaces the stock antenna now with a wire-wrapped one.

Thanks,
John

Tyipcally a whistling under the hood could be a vacuum leak, or an incorrectly installed PCV. We have seen this many times. By your mention that it is by the front driver, that would seem more body/cladding related.

Trying to get the thoughts rolling and help find the noise.