Reporting back again. I replaced both front bearings and the noise/roar disappeared. Neither bearing ever showed hot.

Hawk

Reporting back as promised. I drove the car about 20 miles and checked the temperature of each hub. All were about 65 degress F. All the wheels were tight.


Took to the tire shop. They said it needed to be aligned and the the front tires were worn funny. Sure enough,that was it. Noise is reduced and moved to the rear.

Thanks for the help.

Hawkeye

There's another way to look at wheel bearings.
You might assign so many miles or years and decide its time for a grease job.
Since there's no grease fittings I changed out the wheel bearings/hubs after 200,000 miles and 21 years.

I used the cheaper Chinese hubs instead of OEM, I'll take my chances.

Bill

If you have ears like mine, it is impossible to tell which wheel bearing is bad even with the windows rolled down. Some suggest jacking up the car and try moving the wheel in and out (6 and 12 o'clock) - any movement is bad.

Using an IR thermometer is not easy if the brakes have been used, but you can compare side to side readings at the center of the hubs. If the IR thermometer has a red pointer light, that is even better.

The rear hubs are easier to replace than the front, cheaper also. If you do not have the equipment and jack stands, any GOOD mechanic can do this job. The axle bolts require a lot of torque, both to remove and put back on.
--
Keeping it running is better than buying new

Here's the socket set you need for the front hubs: E16 is the one you need
I dunno if the parts joints might loan you a socket or not?
There's also impact sockets for more money, and that's what I got here.
The front hub bolts were stubborn here.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/11pc-Female-E-Torx-Torque-Star-Socket-Bit-Set-on-Snap-in-Rail-E4-E20-/191874319300?hash=item2cac99c3c4:g:91cAAOSwf05XOpKQ&item=191874319300&vxp=mtr

A bad wheel bearing should run hotter. You might try checking the hubs with a
IR thermometer that you can find at Harbor Freight and elsewhere at low cost.
Check after some high speed highway miles.

The front hubs go in with E-15 or E16 (reverse Torx head bolts) so you'll
need the special socket and you have to deal with the Big nut on the axle shaft.
I'd soak the front hub bolts with Mystery oil for several days before starting.

You need to separate the control arm at either end, and If you decide to take
it apart at the ball joint, beware of prying it apart with a 4' pry bar.
This practice can result in splitting the forged clamp for the ball joint
on the steering knuckle. You DON'T WANT THAT...Ask me how I know.

I found that you can use a wedge to open the clamp
slightly to remove the ball joint. Get some steel wedge in the end of the split
clamp and gently drive the wedge to spring the clamp loose, easy does it.
The other perhaps safer option is to remove the two control arm bolts at the frame that don't require messing with the ball joint clamp.

Bill