Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Groan/vibration like wheel bearings but....

But it only groans when I make a right hand turn (the sharper the turn the more it groans and worse the vibration is). It also groans and vibrates when I experience a dip in the road where there might be some suspension travel. The crazy thing though is that it will only groan if the car is in gear. If I leave it in neutral and take a corner or hit a dip in the road, there will be no groan or vibration....

Oh and the groan seems to be dependant with the engine RPM. Reving high and turning will groan louder and vibrate more than low RPM. For example a 20mph turn in 3rd will groan less than a 20mph groan in 2nd (providing I'm on the throttle - even if not on it hard)

What I dont get is that the car was fine just hours earlier. No groan no nothing.

The wheel bearings have been changed twice already (fronts) on the car. What kind of groan is dependant on the car being in gear and gets louder when throttle is applied? Can it be something with the tranny or Diff?

I've got about 170,000 miles. Clutch was changed a while back and brakes done fairly recently.

Any troubleshooting ideas will be appreciated.

Jack up the car. Most probably left (driver) front wheel bearing. Test both wheels.

Jack up the car. Grasp 12 and 6 o'clock and push in and out. If there is excessive movement, then, most probably wheel bearings. Confirm with someone stepping on the brakes. If the wheel bearings are the culprit, there should not be any movement now.

Also check the power steering fluid level in the reservoir by the passenger side strut tower.

FYI- A wheel that moves will confirm a bad bearing. But a wheel that doesn't move doesn't rule out a bad bearing. I had what sounded like a bad bearing for years- but I didn't think it was worn because the wheel didn't move while doing that test. I eventually changed it out of desperation, and was relieved that it solved the problem.