I have owned my SL1 for 6 years, and put on half of its 110,000 miles:

For years now I have noticed a light noise when I curve to the right. I notice it most at highway speeds, on curves. In a right curve, there is an increase in noise. And as soon as you swing the wheel back left (to straight ahead) it goes away. The tighter the curve, or the higher the speed, the greater the increase in volume.
I thought it used to be a wheel bearing beginning to wear out. But it hasn't changed noticeable in 6 years, and 50,000 miles. so that doesn't seem likely. Starting to think that it might just be something that all SL's do, maybe having to do with the differential?

Not really concerning, just curious, Does anybody else notice this in their Saturn?

 

I have replaced the wheel bearing in two S cars that could be described as you are describing your noise problem.
Now before going further when I checked at the Saturn Service desk the first time I had to deal with this I was told by the service manager the bearing was non-serviceable. That means non replaceable.
Now that there are no Saturn Dealers there are no Saturn Service managers to tell me I can not replace that bearing.
Another way to go about this is to find a pick apart or a wrecking yard that you can either remove a Steering knuckle complete with the bearing or have them sell you a junk yard one, that is also a way to get this done.
I bought the bearing and have the tools to deal with it. I also have a passenger side steering knuckle complete from the lower ball joint up to the strut mount just in case I have to deal with one again.

 

Non-serviceable means that it cannot be greased, its just an R&R. The rear bearings have to be replaced with the whole hub assembly, the bearing is not available separately. You can get a new front bearing here

http://www.autopartswarehouse.com/se...:Wheel+Bearing)

A wheel bearing can be noisy for a long time and not cause any drivability problems, its just that the noise gets annoying after awhile.

BTW, I'm assuming the noise is a roaring sound and not a clicking sound. A clicking sound would be the CV joint.

 

I would like to correct the definition of non-serviceable. I meant what I said exactly as I said it. Non-serviceable means exactly what I said.
And that includes non-replaceable.
At least that is the story from the Service manager at the time.
Now having done it despite the definition I can say that with out the 12 ton press that I own, it would not have been replaced either.
I would have had to resort to replacing the entire steering knuckle. Of which at the present I happen to have one. And the reason for that after replacing the 2nd front wheel bearing for some one who was told the same thing and thinking to my self that it was a rather unusual problem in that of all the years I have worked on cars of various types I have never had to replace a front wheel bearing on a front wheel drive car and never on on a rear axle of a rear wheel drive car other than the 2 on S series Saturns, when the chance to grab the entire front wheel assembly for next to nothing turned up while at a wrecking yard I did and stashed it my spare parts pile on the outside chance I would need something off of it. And it sits there still.

 

Non serviceable means it can't be greased, period. I have never seen a FWD vehicle that didn't require a pretty substantial press to change the wheel bearing, I use a 25 ton press for this.

I have only had two FWD vehicles that had serviceable wheel bearings, a 79 Dodge Colt and an 86 Toyota Tercel. I was told that the suppliers for the Toyota was a secondary supplier so only about 10% had the serviceable bearings. It still took the press to replace them.

But I have never had a wheel bearing actually go bad, that is where they failed the run out test, but I have had them get noisy and were replaced for that reason. Even then, I could not see why they developed the roaring sounds.

 

You have your definition which I disagree with, I have the one the service manager gave me. I will go with that one because if fits the circumstance. As to replaceable front wheel drive bearings, I have replaced enough over the years that I forgot what and why but about half of them did not need a press. That means if you need to replace one and you don't have a press and it is needed, you are not going to be able to do it. And what it is called does not make a bit of difference because at that point junk pretty much covers it. And in my world one that makes a noise it should not make is in a failure mode. What then you decide to do with it is a decision not a definition.