Loud whirling and thumping noise coming from the drivers front area, replaced half shaft on that side, still does it. Could it possibly be the wheel bearing or does it have to be the tranny? Any suggestions will be appreciated. First time posting.

More info., i purchased this a few months ago with 128K miles, everything worked great. a week or so ago this whirling or buzzing noise started happening, not loud but you could hear it. Checked the tranny fluid and it was less than a 1/2 qt. over full. drained some out and refilled it correctly. Fluid was mostly clear with a ting of amber to it. Still made the noise. Took it down in the field and made some circles both forward and in reverse. There was a heavy clunking noise at the front drivers wheel. I replaced the half shaft and it still makes the whirling and thumping noise especially on an incline up to about 20 or 25 mph. and then gets much lighter in sound and no thumping but the noise is getting louder the more i use the car.
I have the vehicle up on all 4 jack stands, the whirling buzzing noise is the loudest behind the front drivers wheel, cant really feel it holding the tranny but can feel a vibration holding the transfer case. the universal for the rear wheels is tight with no vibration. Have no idea what to do next, I'm a pretty good mechanic so if you have any ideas please let me know. Thanks

The AWD Viscous Coupler is at the rear end of the driveshaft between the shaft and diff, and it can refer all kinds of bad behavior into the front diffs. The fact that you feel it at the xfer case points in that direction. First try unplugging the connector at the coupler and see if the problem stops. if that abates the problem, the coupler is shot. If not, try dropping the driveshaft and operate it FWD to see if the problem stops. If that abates the problem then either the U-joints or coupler are shot.

this response is for VStar650CL.
I disconnected the electronic connection and it made no difference.
I used a hearing devise and while it was running and in drive,(up on 4 jack stands) I touched & listened to every part of the motor, transmission, transfer case, driveshafts and wheel bearings and the loudest noise was at the end of the tranny closest to the drivers wheel. Went on line and found numerous identical situations where people either had it done or did it themselves drained and refilled the tranny with fresh CVT tranny fluid and the noises went away. some took putting on some miles before it went away. My fluid is somewhat dirty and because I just purchased the vehicle I have no idea how long its been or if its ever been changed. I will get back to you in a few days once i've purchased the fluid, filter and new gasket and make the time to do it. Thank you for your response and I'll get back to you.

If you’ve got a drain bolt on the pan then life’s easy. If not drop the pan and order an aftermarket with the drain bolt. I’d change the fluid, drive a hundred miles and do it again, and again. Valvoline fluid or eneos can be bought locally at Walmart or napa. I personally like eneos eco cvt fluid. After subsequent drain and fills on my 09, the eco fluid has that thing smooth and quiet as a church mouse. Also when your checking your fluid, make sure you get the tranny good and hot and don’t go over 3/4 full. Less is more with these things.