ok sounds like a bar rotor and maybe noisy pads... the pulsation/vibration could have been from a warped rotor..

check all 4 wheels for brakes..

the vibration did u feel it in your seat or in the steering wheel?

I initially felt the vibrations in the brake pedal. They were almost imperceptible, but they were there yesterday. Now, they're gone.

If its up in the air, grab the top and bottom of the tire and push it in and out feeling for any play. If its not 100% tight - its the wheel bearing.

But checking run out on the rotors is certainly a good idea, I wouldn't rule anything out yet, but I just know that the rear wheel bearings in these cars are something that never gets attention. They're not serviceable either. chances are your 20 year old FC has original wheel bearings.......so they're bound to make some noise.

You can also assess this while driving, although its much harder to do when the problems in the back. But go for a drive and turn your radio off. Listen for the noise while doing some gradual hard left and right turns (make sure no ones around, drunk driving suspicions may arise :) )if the noise gets louder while cornering, its almost 100% rear wheel bearings (possibly fronts too...) if it goes away while turning one way or the other chances are only one is bad. If you can imagine the loads being placed on the wheel while cornering you'll unsdertand why thats the case.....

And one more thing - if the bearing is really toast, you can actually get more noise out of it while braking because you're placing more load it and althuogh its different from a cornering load, any load will make it howl more (if its bad)

another thing.. if u do a bearing its a good time to replace the bushings back there.. the lower pivot bushing, the upper solid bushing and the dtss (time for elims)

I had the car up on a lift today. The rear wheel bearings don't seem to be the cause of the noise; there is no play when the wheels are tugged on. The CV boots are in good shape, too. The front bearings, however, do need to be repacked/replaced. Also turns out I need to replace the thermostat and the oil pan gasket as well. I can do the thermostat and possibly the bearings myself (provided it stops raining), but the oil pan will need to have its gasket repaced at a shop, since I have nothing to support the engine or transmission. Thanks for pointing out the bearings and CV boots to me. I wouldn't have known what to look for past the brakes.

FYI- the front wheel bearings are pressed into the spindles, and the hub is pressed into the bearing.

No repacking. Sorry!

WRONG... the front bearings are pop offs.. the rears are pressed in..

the frton bearings come out of the hub and have a race on them.. they need to be packed..

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v8..._IMAGE_053.jpg


as u can see greese cap in the front and there is a seal on the back..

u will need 1 inner and 1 outter bearing and 1 inner seal PER hub..

Sorry, I was wrong about the bearings. I must have been thinking about my Millenia. But there is a right way, and wrong way to point that out.

FYI- When I had my 1991 FC, Mazda had to replace the front bearings under warranty, and they replaced both hubs. If the races are toast, the whole hub is basically toast. Gotta love aluminum.

Well, the front races are "pressed" (very lightly) into the hub. I usually weld a bolt across and tap them out, or heat the hub and smack it on the floor, they fall right out.

Sorry wasn't trying to be "snappy" just trying to correct the info given.

and if the races are bad the hub is not always bad pull the races out and se what the hub looks like..

I normally will use the old race and put the new bearings in (if the old race is still in good shape)

All good.

To the OP, just check the races for heat scarring. Mine were horrible, they nearly welded themselves to the damn hub. And there literally was no sign they were about to fail except I heard a creak one day. The car only had 80K on it too!! Odd.

Mazda only sells the whole hub, other afternarket MFRs sell bearings/races.

I have the bearings/races for both front and rear as well as the seals and your oil pan gasket and thermostat..

give me a shout if u need anything..

Can you by anu chance get those upper and lower bushings for a good price or should i just go with the mazdaspeed website for those?