Ford EscortFord Escort ZX2 is a hot-looking compact coupe with a rakish design. Yet its handsome interior reveals a roomy back seat and surprisingly large trunk. ZX2 provides responsive handling and good road manners and its engine delivers decent power. At the same time, the ZX2 is a practical car, with plenty of room in the back seats for friends.
I have a 1999 Escort with 2.0 SOHC. It has 101,000 miles and it's makes a humm noise when i am cruising down the road. The faster i go the louder it gets. I brought the tires around two years ago and the were always like that noisy. I am wondering if this is tire noise or bearing noise . I am also going to rotate the tires to see if i hear any difference. So ,any reponse will be appreciated.
Jack the car up on each corner and see if the wheels roll freely or if there's any noise when you roll them. I too suspect a wheel bearing. Do you ever hear any grinding or popping? If so it's almost definitely a wheel bearing. The popping or grinding is usually more noticeable when going around curves or making turns.
I jack it up and heart no noise. I even move the wheel to see if there is any play but none at all. I do hear a tic,tic,tic, noise when i go slow coming from the front passanger side. When i turn the wheel i don't hear anything ,so i know it is not the CV joint. Anyway, I will jack up the car again and will give as much info as i can.
Ok, I replace the wheel bearing,rotor and brakes on the car and now the humming noise is none. I had to change the rotor & brakes because it needed to be replaced. All i know is that the wheel bearing were my real problem and now is all history. I hope that this post helps others as it did for me.
Another way to confirm wheel bearing problems is, when driving, say above 30 mph, sharply and momentarily, turn the steering wheel in the opposite direction of the suspect bearing, so the car leans into the bearing in question. If you hear a difference in the volume, or pitch, of the sound that the bearing is making, it usually needs to be replaced.
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humming noise when cruising 
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