1992 Suzuki Swift sedan, sounds a little like a wheel bearing? on the way out, but the noise seems to come from under the bonnet, when the clutch is depressed it sounds more as though it is coming from the rear, starts at around 40kmh, and gets louder the faster you go. can you please help?

Sounds to me like a throw out bearing in the clutch.

Wheel bearing,

It dosent have a fan belt it should be an electric fan mounted on your radiator if its making a squeeling belt noise its probly the altinator belt located on the righthand side of the engine bay.

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check this site out. its selling upgraded parts and the parts come with instructions and specs. thses are going to be one of two styles. either you need to remove the cap like you were saying or if you look at the back you may see 3-4 bolts which will allow the release of the bearing assembly. try taking a screwdriver under the lip of the cap and do thiall the way around with a hammer tapping just enough to get under the lip. if you are doing the left side, be careful as it will have left hand threads.

This would be most likely the first noise of a wearing input shaft bearing. It will only get louder, and eventual failure of the bearing will probably mean catastrophic gearbox failure. It stops when you put your foot on the clutch because the gearbox stops spinning then, and it is quiet in 4th and 5th because there is no side loading (as there is in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd) on the failing bearing. It wouldn't matter what sort of car it was, the gearbox should be overhauled as soon as possible.

Could be one of the wheel bearings. Swifts are known for having quite brittle bearings. Could also be shock absorbers

At that mileage it could be, and most likely is given your description of the noise. I assume it reduces in volume as you slow down. If you can find a quite piece of road drive up to where the noise is apparent and lightly swerve from left to right. (Don't roll the car!! ) If the noise reduces as you swerve left then its the left bearing. If its when you swerve right that the noise reduces its the right bearing. If its both the only way is to jack the rear up and spin the wheels as fast as you can and listen. If there's a hint of a rumble from it, its that bearing or both. It should be completely quite apart from the slight hiss as the shoes rub on the drum.
35K may not seem much but if you don't know the history of the car it could have hit a bad pot hole or even had a knock on a kerb.
I have replaced bearing with a lot less miles than yours.

Cheers John

I think that the difficulty in shifting is unrelated to the squeal. I had a '99 Swift that had belt squeal all the time first thing in the morning, and I did not want to tighten the belt too much as it is bad for the alternator and water pump bearings. However, I did figure out a way to make it *******. When the noise happened, I would make the DRLs turn off by pulling the handbrake up just one click, and the noise would immediately cease. If this works for you, then you have identified the problem. It seems as though the alternator loads up too much. Not a big deal though.
As for the shifting, check to see that your clutch cable is properly adjusted. It should not be too loose or too tight, it should be set so that there is about a 1/4 inch of play at the clutch pedal.
Good luck with your Swift, they're great little cars!

Front or rear?? Big diff! Frankster016

sounds like the catalytic converter,,,kyle id do some more looking around brfore buying his.you dont know what you might be gettting into