OMG! This car is drivin me nutz!

[Eric VerValin]

Ok.... Here I am again with another grinding noise in the front.... Appears to be on the passenger side from road tests. When its cold, it feels like the tire is out of balance, or a rotor is warped. If I drive it "fast" (70mph) for a while, then slow down to 40 or so, its really loud / bad. I hear it at all times, braking dosen't change anything.... and the only time it goes away, is if I turn right really hard... like almost understeering hard.. the sound is gone.

When I got out of the car yesterday, I started grabbing things. The only thing that felt warm was the inner half of the passenger halfshaft. But its only an inch away from that cat, so maybe thats what heated it up?

Rotors appear ok, nothing weird, no play in the wheel bearing that I can tell... (everything short of pulling the rotor off). I know I need some strut mounts, as the rubber bushing is starting to tear, but everything else seems ok. I just have no idea on how to test a halfshaft for play.


This car just won't stop asking for my attention...

 

[boat]

even tho I haven't been around the car for long, as much as you have helped me, I will give you a hand to fix the prob once it is found. Let me know... I will be talkin to ya soon anyway...

thanks

 

[bubba]

**** ya man I here for you too. Just one more week lol. If you find it, we will fix it. It could be ball joints

 

[Eric VerValin]

Nope... lca's are new too... I just don't know how I can tell if the halfshaft is bad. Plus I got them at Advance... soooo I would have to take them off, and drive an hour to get a replacement.. on top of the fact that they don't stock em...

When my wheel bearings went bad.. the corresponding wheel was very warm... and this time nothing is outta the ordinary. I just feel lost I guess.. kinda has to be the halfshaft I would assume...

 

[rubydist]

If the 'cv' joints are bad, wouldn't there be rotational play - you should be able to jack up the front wheels and rotate the wheel some without the halfshaft turning - or not?

I would think you would hear a little 'clunk' when you do that.

 

[Mr Anonymous]

Wheel bearing.

 

[Eric VerValin]

Tell ya what.. I'm going to jack her up now, and double check that wheel bearing....

I'm going to be seriously ****** off and trash an Autozone store if that other one was junk too. If you remember the driver side quit at 13 months.. if this makes 2.... I'm gunna flip out on em... lol


Edit: Found some play in the inner half of the halfshaft.. goin for video before it gets dark...

 

[shoshirtsandhat]

front end grinding

Ok.... Here I am again with another grinding noise in the front.... Appears to be on the passenger side from road tests. When its cold, it feels like the tire is out of balance, or a rotor is warped. If I drive it "fast" (70mph) for a while, then slow down to 40 or so, its really loud / bad. I hear it at all times, braking dosen't change anything.... and the only time it goes away, is if I turn right really hard... like almost understeering hard.. the sound is gone.

When I got out of the car yesterday, I started grabbing things. The only thing that felt warm was the inner half of the passenger halfshaft. But its only an inch away from that cat, so maybe thats what heated it up?

Rotors appear ok, nothing weird, no play in the wheel bearing that I can tell... (everything short of pulling the rotor off). I know I need some strut mounts, as the rubber bushing is starting to tear, but everything else seems ok. I just have no idea on how to test a halfshaft for play.


This car just won't stop asking for my attention...

Put the car on a rack..NOT JACK STANDS <<<DANGER !!!! Raise the car up start it and have someone inside put it in gear and look & inspect it as it turns , maybe you will see something ..Worth a try!

or:sun: just get a free estimate from a front end shop

 

[Mr Anonymous]

the only time it goes away, is if I turn right really hard... like almost understeering hard.. the sound is gone.

Tell ya what.. I'm going to jack her up now, and double check that wheel bearing....

I'm going to be seriously ****** off and trash an Autozone store if that other one was junk too. If you remember the driver side quit at 13 months.. if this makes 2.... I'm gunna flip out on em... lol

The sound going away in a hard turn is the giveaway.

FWIW, I never just replace the wheel bearing. Once a bearing starts going bad, if it's not tended to immediately the snout of the hub can become out-of-round and then you just keep chasing the problem due to accelerated bearing wear. Replace both the bearing and hub, and make sure the installer knows what they are doing -- I'd bet 1/3rd of bearing installs are done wrong.

 

[St Louis SHO]

I've never seen a bearing hub that wasnt bad.....

 

[Eric VerValin]

Tore it down, no play in the bearing at all... unless maybe I should loosen the axle nut too? If not.. there is 0 play there... I've always replaced them as a set.. bearing and hub.


Bearing into the knuckle... then bearing onto the hub... right? I went out and bought a special socket to fit the bearings even... Went in nice and easy.. nothing weird...

 

[Eric VerValin]

Ok... other tire is on the ground.. car in gear... the sound is coming from the 'cup' not the gears in the tranny fyi..

 

[93rev2sev]

swap tires front to rear. I suspect bent rim+strut mount

 

[Racer X]

Wheel bearing.

Co-signed.

 

[Eric VerValin]

I just tore it all the way down... no play... ? Still the bearing?

And that play in the 'cup' is normal your telling me? I'll get another video of it in the morning when there is more light. Twisting that cup produces a neato little clicking sound. Don't remember that when I put them in.

 

[St Louis SHO]

Wheel bearings do not have to have play to make noise. The noise will come from pits in the race

 

[Eric VerValin]

Well.. after driving the car for an hour at 60-70 mph... wouldn't that wheel be warm compared to the other? Friction = heat does it not? I almost wonder if I shoulda added more grease to those bearings when I installed them.


Edit: And another thing, I did jack it up off the ground, and spun the wheels up to 60 mph, and killed the car... didn't hear any noise at all..... that makes me think bearing being that there is no load on it off the ground... but thats also when I found the halfshaft to have some play in the cup.

 

[93rev2sev]

If you want to rule out the wheel bearing, the best way I know is to get a $40 knuckle at the junk yard. Knuckle replacement is one of the easier suspension jobs on this car.

 

[Mr Anonymous]

Well.. after driving the car for an hour at 60-70 mph... wouldn't that wheel be warm compared to the other? Friction = heat does it not? I almost wonder if I shoulda added more grease to those bearings when I installed them.


Edit: And another thing, I did jack it up off the ground, and spun the wheels up to 60 mph, and killed the car... didn't hear any noise at all..... that makes me think bearing being that there is no load on it off the ground... but thats also when I found the halfshaft to have some play in the cup.

Stop thinking about it so hard.

If you don't believe it's a wheel bearing, then just turn up the volume on the radio and eventually the noise will go away.

 

[Eric VerValin]

LoL... well I guess I shouldn't be suprised, I just gotta get some money back from AZ to get a real bearing / hub from NAPA. The one on the other side lasted just as long really.. I just swapped it out like 2 weekends ago. And they wouldn't give me another one because I was 1 week past the warranty....

Thanks again guys! It's not that I don't believe ya.. its just hard to believe I guess.. Besides my old strut mounts, is there anything else that could accelerate bearing wear? Maybe I tightened the nut too tight? 180 lbs or something isn't it? My TQ wrench goes to 150... so basically I tighten it until it clicks, then turn it another 1/8 -1/4 turn. Maybe I'm getting it too tight? I dunno.


But.. like you said with the hard turning making it go away.... I would assume it to be the right side, since it goes away turning right really hard, it should be the passanger side bearing going out, since there isn't any weight on it? Without play its hard to tell what side it is... makes more since being that side, since the driver side was just done a few weeks ago.