Driving the car it sounds like my front left wheel is making a decent amount of noise. I've rotated tires, checked for freeplay (none whatsoever) and checked my brakes. It pretty much sounds like a hum, increases in sound frequency when going faster. Seems to match my engine sound when in fourth gear (7at) Could this be a wheel bearing or could there be more?

edit: should also mention that when the car loads up on the driver side like in a right hand corner it does get louder, vice versa when turning left

 

A wheel bearing doesn't have to have play to be bad or make noise. I've ran into that myself.

 

Yep it's the bearing! Mine was exactly the same. Very easy diy replacement. The whole hub is replaced, no need to press bearings.
Blast it well with PB from the front back and in the abs sensor hole. Overnight is best.
Make sure you rent the wheel hub puller from AutoZone, you will not get it off by hand. And line up your cv with the axles very straight when you're pulling. My first attempt I bent the cv joint pretty extremely, its not broken, but I anticipate life will be shorter.
Do grind away any rust or debris with a brass brush drill attachment, its amazing how corroded it is in there. And use copper anti-seize on the install.
Lastly when inserting the bearing, make sure to line up the abs sensor hole beforehand. You'll kick yourself if you don't.

Timkin is the OE mfg. most here have found their bearing to work best. I think around $70 shipped from RockAuto.

 

Glad to hear I was on the right track! I will definitely use your advice on the bearing puller and PB blast Bee. I shoud have mentioned this but I am in an X so I do have front axles to deal with. Will I be able to take the axle nut off and push it back into the hub, hopefully circumventing the cv bend? or could I possibly jack up the assembly to make things line up a little nicer on the removal?

Thanks!

 

I took out the bolt to the upper wishbone and let the whole hub assembly relax. Gives you a lot more play to slide the axle out of the hub and grant access to the bolts on the back of the hub as well.

 

Noted. Did you put any grease on the spline when putting the axle back in the hub? I seem to recall there was a certain grease you are supposed to use, but I'm not sure.

 

I don't know if it's necessary but yes, I just used all purpose grease; helped it slide into the bearing easier than not using it. Been running over 30k miles or so with no issues on the last one I installed.

 

Also did this on my xS. Once your spindle nut is off the axle slides smoothly back. Everything is actually in line, but the cv is heavy, so it sags. Just support it with your hand while turning that socket, it will stay in line and you'll have no issue. I originally loosened the wishbone bolt, but it was more stuck than I wanted to deal with.
On the front you'll have absolutely no problems accessing the bolts on the rear of the hub by turning the wheels and using various wobble extensions. (harbor freight set works great).
The rear hub is the real PITA
Fwiw I greased the splines with silicone brake lube.
I also reused my cotter pin, even though the FSM says not to... I couldn't find the part number.

 

Drive for a bit and then take the temperature of each hub using an infrared thermometer. If that hub is significantly hotter than the others then it's likely a bad wheel bearing.