2000 Mustang Gt - Wheel Bearing Noise Up Front, Can't Figure Out Which Side.

I've had a minor wheel bearing noise for the last year and finally decided to change it, the noise got worse over last few weeks I can actually feel vibration on the floorboard & brake pedal as I'm coming to a stop now (vibration even if I don't apply the brakes).

The problem is when we jack up the car both front wheels are tight and spin without making any noise (Holding tire top & bottom and giving it a good shake) I've always read this is how you identify a bad bearing by checking for a loose wheel?

Is there another method I could try other than replacing both sides?

Thanks.
 
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You'll have to take thw wheels and rotors off to identify. That gives you the best change of feeling the vibrations in the hubs from a faulty wheel bearing.

You could also try turning hard and see which direction makes the nose increase. Whatever side you put the load on should get louder if the bearing is bad.
 
Well we thought it was the Driver side bearing but replacing it didn't help, I'm going to try putting the old driver side bearing on passenger side tomorrow and hope that cures it.

Is there anything else that could be making noise up front if it turns out not being a bearing issue?

Also does Ford use Timken hub / bearings because the old one was identical to the replacement I bought, either that or the previous owner had replaced it already.
 
How old are your brake rotors/pads/calipers?

The rotors & calipers are the originals / stock far as I know, I've never changed them in the last 6 years ive owned the car and there was 1 owner before me, The brake pads are about a year old.

The only odd thing I can think of is my front wheels didnt spin very easily with the car jacked up, the brakes were sort of grabbing the rotors, when changing the bearings I had to use a screwdriver to free the pads up so i could remove caliper from the rotors, but the pads are still in good shape on both sides.

We checked the rear brakes & rotors yesterday and all looked good, I had a friend ride in the front and backseat around the block a few times, he said the noise is definitely louder up front so we're kind of scratching our heads now.

But I talked to a nearby shop and they said bring it by Monday morning and they'll diagnose it for free. I'm really curious whats going on tho lol.

p.s. If I were to try and explain the symptom in text.. the noise is like a "wub wub" rubbing sound which becomes more rapid the faster I go.. If I accelerate up to 50mph and then put it in neutral (5 speed stick) and let it coast down to a stop the noise goes from a higher tone to a lower tone / rubbing sound as Im coming to a stop, you can sometimes hear a vibration in the dash once im around 15-20mph and I can feel it in the floorboard.
 
Does sound like brake rotors. Can you feel anything in the pedal?

Have you identified a side yet?

Not yet but today I noticed if I get on the brakes a little harder than usual I do feel a slight pulsation in the pedal, but under normal braking it feels fine .. maybe I have a warped rotor after all?

Also when inspecting the front rotors I dont see any unusual wear or excessive grooves but there is what appears to be glazing on both fronts (dark spots around the rotors?)

Edit: just took this pic of one of the front rotors, that dark spot you see appears around both front rotors, I tried cleaning it off with brake cleaner when I had everything apart (wheel bearing change) but it wouldn't come off at all: http://i.imgur.com/qEArRdj.jpg
 
Yea I think a new set of rotors is in my near future .. Is there any particular brand of rotor people tend to buy or avoid? There seems to be a lot of options in town when it comes to pepboys / napa / autozone / oreillys auto parts.

Most parts stores get their stuff from the same suppliers. If it were me I'd go to American Muscle, Latemodel Restoration etc and get decent ones from there.

Are the more expensive slotted / drilled rotors worth it?

No.