Humming noise - wheel bearing or something else?

[OzzyR1]

Recently noticed a humming noise on my sheddy Mondeo, seems to come from the rear nearside, audible from around 35mph. It's not a grind like when a bearing went on a previous car, definitely a hum akin to road noise except slightly louder.

It doesn't get louder with speed and tends to disappear around 70mph but that could be the wind/road noise drowning it out. No change in volume/pitch on cornering and wheel seems sturdy enough when I jacked it up and gave it a shake.

Tried pulling the handbrake up gently while driving and it pulled to one side slightly, not sure that is indicative of anything...

It's only appeared in the last week so may well be a bearing and it will get worse (car only does 8 miles a day to the station and back). Is there anything else I should be looking at though?

Cheers

[shogun001]

What springs to mind is either tyre wear or a possible sticking brake caliper.

[OzzyR1]

Thanks.

Tyres are only 2,000 miles old all round but will try having a look at the calipers next time I jack it up. No sign of discolouration on the disk or excessive heat though.

[Order66]

check the tyres for bulges

[anonymous-user]

Order66 said:

check the tyres for bulges

This. Had a weird rumbling noise on my wife's focus and the tyre pressure gauge going off all the time. Turned out one of the rear tyres had gone out of shape.

[OzzyR1]

Will take a look at the inside walls, there are some terrible potholes around here that are invisible in the dark/rain.