Sounds like a wheel bearing is the cause. A droning type noise is usually what you get, that will often change in note as you apply load whilst driving and steering left and right. As a general rule of thumb the noisy bearing will be heard more as you steer the opposite way. For example, a noisy bearing on the offside will become more noisy as you steer left, when the weight of the vehicle is thrown to the right, and vice-versa.

Be careful though. This rule doesn't always apply. This is because front wheel bearings on most if not all front wheel drive vehicles are 'Double Angular Contact' type. This means each bearing has two inner and two outer races, and two sets of rollers. How and when the noise occurs will depend on which race is worn, so you could find the noise gets worse as you steer the same way as the side on which the bearing is worn.

Very often you will not feel any roughness as you rotate the wheel even though a bearing is worn sufficiently to cause a noise, but you obviously will if a bearing was seriously worn.

Edited by Railroad. on 03/12/2015 at 13:47

As far as I can remeber there is a carrier bearing half way along the off side drive shaft.

Carrier bolts on the back of the engine.

Never heard of one failing mind.

Nothing on the N/side shaft.As for troubleshooting I use one of those cheap mechanics stethoscope that end in a probe.

remarkably accurate for tracing noisy bearings.

Jack it,

stands,

then assistant puts it in gear and lets the clutch up.

Put the 'scope probe on the bottom of the strut and listen.

If nothing then probe the diff casing and so on.