Strange rotating sound on front end

[celticskyhawk]

I have a 99 Maxima that began getting louder a few months ago. Now the front-end makes a loud "mum-mum-mum" noise as it rotates and changes pitch with speed. I thought it was the wheel bearings. When going to replace the wheel bearings, we found the cv boots needed replacement as well as the ball joints on the lower control arms. With all of this replaced, the first few miles seemed better, but it quickly returned.

Is it possible that bad shocks or struts would cause this as well? I know I need an alignment after replacing the bearings, but I don't think that will resolve the noise. My last hope are struts or shocks. I know the struts are leaking and need to be replaced, but I've run out of cash until next paycheck.

Any help you can provide would be great. Many thanks!

[brianw]

Transmission whine?

[celticskyhawk]

Transmission whine?

Thats what someone told me today. I'm going to drive it tonight to check it out again.

[Beancooker]

Tires, brakes, transmission? Not sure. It's hard to diagnose a sound over the net. Usually shocks will not change the sound, it will just ride poorly, and lean a lot.

[celticskyhawk]

True, but usually you can find someone that's heard a similar sound and give you suggestions. Someone suggested a transmission whine and I was told the same thing by a local tech yesterday too. He suggested getting up to speed and then putting the car into neutral. If the sound went away, it was the transmission.

If that's all it takes to know, then thankfully the transmission doesn't seem to be it. At this point I don't know what it would be, though. We have to get the struts done and an alignment, so I might as well get it done at the same time and have them check out anything I may have missed.