The old I30 has just turned 135k and I'm noticing a clunk...clunk...clunk from what seems to be the right rear wheel. The sound is pronounced at low speed but at highway cruising, impossible to make out from the rest of the road noise.

At slow speeds the sound can be eliminated by touching the brake pedal, but it returns immediately thereafter.

The brakes were checked not long ago and had about 70% left. I'm thinking it could be a wheel bearing, but I'd like some support to that opinion before I decide to haul off and try a repair I've never made before.

The sound speeds up or slows down based on the speed of the car.

What's the condition of your half-shaft U-Joints?? You're saying (clunk clunk) sound. Wheel bearings would be more of a roar or low rumble sound for lack of a better term. Rear drums could be out of round as well....Just a couple of thoughts.....couple of things to consider.

webdawg1

The I30 has discs all around, and the rotors look good, thru the spokes anyway.

The car is FWD. It's hard to describe the sound. It's like a clock that goes tick tock, but without the tick...if you get my meaning. Almost a shooka-shooka sound like somethings dragging, but low pitched.

Take your finger and lightly rap it on the desk, slowly, then speed up as you would if you were accelerating. It's kind of like that.

This one may win me the coveted "stupidest post" award.

This one may win me the coveted "stupidest post" award.

Maybe I can get the "stupidest response" award (if I've not already been granted it and not been told) with this suggestion:

Are you absolutely sure that the wheel is properly secured to the car? Imagine if a couple bolts were crossthreaded, allowing the wheel to wobble-this wobble might subside when the brakes are applied.

Just an idea, probably wrong, but an easy thing to check before you attack the bearings, which should be sealed.

Wheel bearing noise is a definite spinning sound (like the noise old ball-bearing skateboards or roller skates made - man, am I dating myself) BUT . . . . it could be the tires. I had a car that I thought needed wheel bearings. I changed them pout and the noise didn't go away. I put on new tires and it was gone. THEN, I had another car with a similar, but louder noise. Figuring it was the tires, I bought a set and had the car aligned. The noise didn't go away - yup, you guessed it, wheel bearings.

I had a rear outer wheel bearing go bad. Its noise signature was a thump-type sound that increased in frequency as speed increased. It was not a clunking-type noise generally indicative of a universal going bad. The noise does get louder as speed increases.