I replaced the passenger side wheel bearing/hub assembly and once again the car is quiet... relatively speaking. You'll need a 1 5/15" socket with a breaker bar for the axle nut as well as a hub puller for... well... none other than pulling the hub. The axle nut needs to be tightened to 284 ft/lbs so a sizable torque wrench is also needed. All other fittings can be tightened with a 0-75 ft/lb torque wrench with the exception of the lug-nuts with are tightened to 100 ft/lbs. All other tools needed should be in any handyman's tool chest. Get a Haynes manual, though not entirely clear or user friendly at times it will guide you step by step.

I heard a roaring noise in the front end. I took it to the dealership because it was covered under a warranty. Service personnel advised that nothing was wrong and that I was hearing things. Then it started popping. I took it back and the service manager informed me that women and men hear things differently and that he would send a technician with me to drive it and I could point out the noise to him. Soon after backing out of the lot, the popping noise began. The startled technician said that it was a wonder the passenger side wheel hadn't fallen off because it was the worst sounding wheel bearing he had ever heard. The service manager asked his other workers why they hadn't diagnosed this before and they advised that they hadn't bothered to drive it because they had put the car on the rack and had thought the noise was from a plastic piece that had come loose under the car.