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hi, i have a 1996 honda civic coupe and for the past 2 or 3 months, when i hit about 70mph on the motorway i can hear a loud humming from what sounds like is coming from the rear, about a month ago i replaced the n/s/r wheel bearing, actually the whole hub, as only comes complete with hub, and was still making the noise, then decided that it might be coming from the o/s/r, so then i replaced the offside hub, againg the noise is still there, someone suggested swapping the tyres from the front to the back, to see if that would make a difference, but again, can still hear the humming noise, it seems to be louder when someone or people are sitting in back, i cannot understand what else this could be, may be perhaps the rear shocks?????
can any one help or advise please ??????

 
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try taking your wheels to get balanced sometimes that could be the problem expecially only when it happens at higher speeds

 
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Hi, I am going to add fuel to the fire so to speak. I have a "musical civic" too, it is a 2004 LX 110k miles 5sp manual 4 dr. The humming noise seems more like it comes from the front end & becomes noticable above about 35mph. At first I thought it might be the "wear bands" of the tires so I replaced the front 2, the rears have plenty of meat left yet, about half tread depth. New tires, no change. I swapped fronts to rears, no change. I must mention this cars owner was in California I am in WA. From new the owner had a 45 mile commute each way from San Jose to Soquel on the coast, a winding road over a mountain range. It had the engine oil & filter replaced regularly but little else other than brakes & tires. The drive shaft boots are solid, no splits. My rational thinking says drive shafts or wheel bearings. Now where to start, which first? How long do these parts last, given they may have been neglected. Is 110K their service limit, should I bite the bullet and replace shafts and bearings in that order? I have owned a 94 civic & loved it, replaced drive shafts but not bearings and never had any strange drive train noises. It would be smart to do both together if that is what is needed. Is there a fool proof way to diagnose the cause of the noise? Otherwise it drive well, no wheel wobble or other issues.....YET!
TIA for any guidance you folks can send my way.
John

 
Rep Power: 193

I had the same kinda humming noise last year on my '05, started around 120k, it turned out being the LF wheel bearing. Drive shafts don't typically hum, they clunk, if the boots are fine I would doubt the shafts are bad.

I had a hard time diagnosing mine. I put the car on jack stands and had the wheels turning at about 30mph and couldn't hear the hum standing next to the LF wheel, I'd get in the car and it'd be humming. Wheel was not loose. When turning right the hum was a little more pronounced but not much. It didn't act like a typical bad bearing I have experienced in the past. The only clue I had was when I removed the brake hardware and spun the hub by hand there was a slight screeching noise and it was harder to spin when I compared it to the RF.

Also a symptom I noticed after I replaced the bearing was my steering wheel was straight again, it had been off for about a year so the bearing had failed awhile back but took some time to start making noise.

Since your problem sounds very similar to mine I would guess wheel bearing. I just replaced the bad bearing but its usually recommended to replace both. Factory bearings are your best bet but Timken bearings are good too if you don't have the cash.