Saturday while driving around there suddenly came a loud noise from the rear of the car. My mechanic can't see me until next week so I was going to try and fix it myself. Does anyone know how to make sure it's the wheel bearings and not some other issue? I'm not so familiar with Volvo's as this is my first. I had a 1960 bug for years, but this car is a whole new venture!
Thanks!
Charlie

As RSTARKIE said, Wheel bearings don't usually come on suddenly. They whine for a long time first.

Just throwing a thought out there. The Emergency Brake Pads can delaminate from the metal shoe and drop a bit and scratch on the Drum.
I guess after 20 + years, they can do that. I would lean in that direction first. It would come on suddenly, it would sound really bad at the axle, And it's cheaper then doing Bearings so hope for the e-brake shoes.

Does the car drag when driving. Like the Brake is depressed a bit? Does the noise change when in reverse?
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'75 Jeep CJ5 345Hp ChevyPwrd, two motorcycles, '85 Pickup: The '89 Volvo is the newest vehicle I own. it wasn't Volvos safety , it was Longevity that sold me http://home.lyse.net/brox/TonyPage4.html

Wheel bearings don't usually announce themselves "suddenly".

It sounds like you are guessing and that can get expensive. You might be able to find some help here at the Brickboard but you need to provide a lot more information.

Does the sound begin when the car starts to move? Does it occur in forward and reverse motion? Is it more pronounced at some speeds? Does the sound change with different levels of load on the drivetrain; as in accelerating or coasting? Is it an automatic or standard transmission? How many miles are on the car? Other wise we would be guessing as well.

Randy