u cant visually check the inner cv jonits for wear. wheel bearings go bad over time. u dont even notice it. one went out on my sister's 90 corolla. passenger side. she had a horrendous vibration and noise. u could feel it vibrate the entire floor board, sounded like a wind tunnel, air plane taking off. sounded loud enough to be an exhaust leak. u can jack up the car, grasp each wheel and see if it moves any to and from u. there shouldnt be any play. that would be the wheel bearing. as they go bad it becomes harder for the wheel to move in any direction. eventually they just stop moving and break. try driving thru a bank drive thru where u have a wall see if u can hear the bearing. she also had the driver's side axle go. similar symptoms that there was a vibration but it felt more like a brake problem. when it broke she could feel it in her brake pedal. she didnt notice any clicking sound. do a search here for wheel bearing and axles.

a whine is usually a bearing going bad. wheel bearing, altenator, water pump, distributor.. all have bearings.

i have a 92 and a boot went bad. it had split but hadnt shot grease everywhere. i never had any axle problem but replaced the whole unit anyway. i had no click or vibration. u may not get a click with inner joints. u may notice looseness in the front end.