repeating noise in car wheel - mounts? links? neither?

I can hear a sort of wahwahwahwahwah sound that seems to be coming from the front wheels when I’m moving at slower speeds. Dealer mechanic says engine mounts are going, front links are deteriorating. Otherwise, he can’t find a problem. Would either of those issues cause such sounds? Doesn’t seem like it to me.

I wouldn’t expect those items to cause a rotational noise either.

In some cases noises can be very challenging to identify. Sometimes they can’t be duplicated in the shop. It is possible that a different mechanic might be able to sort it out, though, so having someone else check it out could be helpful.

I doubt that either would cause such a noise. I’d be looking at things like brakes (maybe a stuck caliper), CV joints (if front wheel or 4-wheel drive), defective tires, wheel bearings, and a few other things.

Might be a good idea to get a second opinion from another mechanic.

Is the vehicle still under warranty? And can you determine if it’s coming from the left or right side?

Your vehicle is possessed by the tortured ghost of George Harrison.

Have you had a tire rotation lately? If you’re about to need one, it might be worth trying that to see if the problem migrates with the tire.

More like Paul McCartney, as the sound is more like yeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeah…

Another trick is to find a smooth slope that you can coast down with the engine off and the windows down. If the noise persists then you have eliminated the engine as the cause.

Or, if you are mechanically inclined enough, you could just jack up the front end of the car and spin the wheels by hand to see if you get any kind of rubbing sounds or resistance.

Brake pads have a wear indicator that will scrape against the rough part of the brake rotor and cause an alarming sound when the brake pads are about shot. A waa, waa sound could be caused by a warped disk brake rotor.

There could be a number of causes, and it might only seem to be coming from the front end. If you isolate the noise as coming from the front end it is probably a brake or CV joint issue. You could also have a bent wheel from someone hitting a curb or other road hazard.

“wahwahwahwahwah” sounds like an unevenly worn tire to me, but it’s hard to diagnose via a text representation of a sound :). Does it sound like a quieter version of when you drive over those grooves on the side of the road?

The engine mounts may be worn enough to allow some part of the engine to actually rest on a frame part. That can allow the vibrations from the engine to transmit into the frame giving you this strange sound. Fairly rare, but it can happen.

A second opinion could be very helpful here. If your town has a specialized shop for drive lines try them. If not, then find a brake shop. A tire shop may be able to help you with this, however IME they will just try to sell you tires, whether they are your problem or not. It is the “if your only tool is a hammer, then everything begins to look like a nail” syndrome. An alignment shop could be helpful.

As Bob++ suggested, find a gentle smooth slope to coast your car down with the engine off transmission in neutral. If the sound persists, it is not coming from the engine or its mounts.

Next try putting the spare on the corner of the car the sound seems to come from. If the sound goes away, get a tire shop to inspect that tire and rim. The tire may be bulged or having some separation issues. The rim may be bent.

IHTH, 48.

I have just such a sound coming from a right side wheel as it rolls.
This thread has given me the idea to pop off the hub caps on the right
side to see if the noise is coming from a battered hub cap. The car is a
'99 PRIZM (“California Corolla”).