Hello, I have a 1995 Camry LE 5sfe 2.2 automatic and it has recently started making an odd grinding noise. I was driving up a large hill somewhere in the desert around southwestern Arizona when I first noticed it. The nose corresponds to the speed of the car, and is independent from transmission gear and engine rpm. It gets louder whenever I am accelerating, or going up a hill, and is undetectable while coasting or using a low gear to go downhill. Between about 50 and 55 mph, it makes the car shake, but above 65 it does not vibrate enough to notice. I thought it might me a gear in the transmission or differential, but I made it to Durango, CO and a mechanic told me it was the front left wheel bearing. I installed a new bearing in the steering knuckle, but it did not fix it, so I once again think it might be something in the differential.

I was able to drive to Yakima, WA without it getting noticeably worse, but I still have to drive back to Texas soon. I was wondering if there was a way I could see what causing the noise and possibly fix it without having to pull the whole engine out. If this is a problem that is not easily fixed, I was wondering if I would be able to drive back to Texas with it, or if I should just get a new car.

Any advice on this situation would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

 

The noise corresponds to the speed of car not RPM?

Was the differential fluid checked, lack of fluid will cause a grinding noise matching the cars speed.

Make some left and right hand 90 and 180 degree turns. Determine if the noise gets louder or softer.

When driving at hwy speeds, turn the steering wheel slightly left and right to shift the cars weight. This will load and unload the wheels bearings.

Check the brakes for excess where that may have resulted in the pad backing contacting the rotor.

Make sure the axles are fully plugged into to the differential housing or leaks from the seals where the axles plug into the housing.