How to Troubleshoot a Front Axle Squeal
- 1). Drive the vehicle and listen for squealing that sounds like metallic whistling or howling. This is the axle (wheel) bearing. The sound indicates the bearing needs to be replaced.
- 2). Jack up the front of the vehicle using the floor jack. The front jack point on many vehicles is an extension of the frame of the vehicle located just behind the radiator. On other cars, you have to jack each side of the front of the car separately.
- 3). Place jack stands under the front pinch welds of your vehicle. Normally, pinch welds are located just under the front of the driver and passenger side doors on the underside of the vehicle. Lower the vehicle onto the jack stands.
- 4). Grab a front wheel at the top with one hand and at the bottom with the other. Shake the wheel back and forth by pushing in on the top of the wheel and pulling out on the bottom of the wheel, then vice versa. There should be no movement of the wheel during this procedure. If you can move the wheel, the axle bearing has failed. This is causing the axle to squeal during normal driving. But because the squealing sound might be very faint during driving, this is an alternative procedure to verify that the axle bearing is the mostly likely problem.