Need Help Diagnosing Noise and Pull
12-01-2014, 09:17 PM
#1
Need Help Diagnosing Noise and Pull I recently acquired another camaro last friday. It is a 1994 z28 A4 with 94,000 miles. When driving, the car makes a sound that i thought for sure is bearing noise. Also, the car pulls pretty hard to the right. Just now, i jacked up the front end and checked both tires for play. I did not notice any, however, my right side wheel is pretty difficult to spin. Could this be the caliper sticking? Would that cause the car to pull right? How could i verify that the caliper is sticking? The left side is easier to spin except it kind a feels like it gets hung up at a certain point in the revolution and then it spins easily again. Could this be a warped rotor? Should my first step be to get an alignment, or is whatever is causing the noise probably causing the pull?
UPDATE: when I got to work today, I felt all of my rotors as soon as I parked the car. All of then were warm, but the right front one was HOT. It burnt my hand. That is pretty much conclusive evidence that that caliper is sticking, right? That would also certainly cause the pulling to the right. But that just leaves the noise unsolved. Would a sticking rotor be noisy?
UPDATE II: I just pulled the front right caliper off and lubed up the slide pins. The rotor was not hot after a short test drive, but the car still pulls and makes noise. While I had the caliper off, I pulled the rotor off and I spun the hub assembly. It sounded awful! I believe that that bearing definitely is shot. Also, I noticed that the rubber part on the outer tie rid end on that side was all busted up and dry rotted. Would this cause a pull or noise?
UPDATE III:
I replaced the right front wheel bearing. The noise is still there and the car still pulls to the right... I have been listening especially carefully and I am almost completely sure that the noise is actually coming from the rear, specifically I believe it to be the left rear. When I am slowing and almost to a stop the noise is very pronounced and you can hear individual noises, but as the car speeds up the noise becomes a roar or hum. I am now thinking rear wheel bearing, carrier bearing, pinion bearing, u joint, or some other scary repair lol can someone, anyone, please give some advice on how to narrow down what is causing this noise?!
UPDATE: when I got to work today, I felt all of my rotors as soon as I parked the car. All of then were warm, but the right front one was HOT. It burnt my hand. That is pretty much conclusive evidence that that caliper is sticking, right? That would also certainly cause the pulling to the right. But that just leaves the noise unsolved. Would a sticking rotor be noisy?
UPDATE II: I just pulled the front right caliper off and lubed up the slide pins. The rotor was not hot after a short test drive, but the car still pulls and makes noise. While I had the caliper off, I pulled the rotor off and I spun the hub assembly. It sounded awful! I believe that that bearing definitely is shot. Also, I noticed that the rubber part on the outer tie rid end on that side was all busted up and dry rotted. Would this cause a pull or noise?
UPDATE III:
I replaced the right front wheel bearing. The noise is still there and the car still pulls to the right... I have been listening especially carefully and I am almost completely sure that the noise is actually coming from the rear, specifically I believe it to be the left rear. When I am slowing and almost to a stop the noise is very pronounced and you can hear individual noises, but as the car speeds up the noise becomes a roar or hum. I am now thinking rear wheel bearing, carrier bearing, pinion bearing, u joint, or some other scary repair lol can someone, anyone, please give some advice on how to narrow down what is causing this noise?!
Last edited by 1995_maro_z; 12-05-2014 at 01:32 PM. Reason: Update
12-05-2014, 01:35 PM
#2
And yes, I have tried many many searches on this forum and others. I keep finding some helpful things on fixing the individual possibilities, but I need to know how to find out what is wrong with my car. ANY help will be greatly appreciated.
12-05-2014, 03:00 PM
#3
Check the rear wheels for play. I worked on a car that had a broken c-clip and the only thing retaining the axle was the rotor/caliper/bracket. I only found it because the rotor would rub on the caliper bracket.
12-05-2014, 03:02 PM
#4
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Is the noise always just a static progressive hum that gets continually louder the faster you go?
The outer tie rod boot being dry rotted and cracked won't make a hum or any noise, unless it's ball stud is loose, then it might make a very minor thunk noise if you hit a bump, probably not though. A loose tie rod gives you more play in the steering, still probably not enough to have the car be pulled to one side. My guess is that it needs an alignment, or possibly even just air in the tires just so that all the air pressure is equal from the left and right side of your tires.
Have a friend sit in the left and right backseat and have them tell you if the noise is more prominent on either side, that would narrow down to which side the noise is coming from and if it's coming from the front or rear.
The outer tie rod boot being dry rotted and cracked won't make a hum or any noise, unless it's ball stud is loose, then it might make a very minor thunk noise if you hit a bump, probably not though. A loose tie rod gives you more play in the steering, still probably not enough to have the car be pulled to one side. My guess is that it needs an alignment, or possibly even just air in the tires just so that all the air pressure is equal from the left and right side of your tires.
Have a friend sit in the left and right backseat and have them tell you if the noise is more prominent on either side, that would narrow down to which side the noise is coming from and if it's coming from the front or rear.
12-05-2014, 06:15 PM
#5
Thanks! It is a hum that gets a bit louder and higher in pitch the faster I go. It is definitely based on vehicle speed and has no correlation to engine rpm. I will have a friend do that tonight and update. I will be getting an alignment on Monday or Tuesday and then will update again.
12-10-2014, 09:06 AM
#6
Is the noise always just a static progressive hum that gets continually louder the faster you go?
The outer tie rod boot being dry rotted and cracked won't make a hum or any noise, unless it's ball stud is loose, then it might make a very minor thunk noise if you hit a bump, probably not though. A loose tie rod gives you more play in the steering, still probably not enough to have the car be pulled to one side. My guess is that it needs an alignment, or possibly even just air in the tires just so that all the air pressure is equal from the left and right side of your tires.
Have a friend sit in the left and right backseat and have them tell you if the noise is more prominent on either side, that would narrow down to which side the noise is coming from and if it's coming from the front or rear.
The outer tie rod boot being dry rotted and cracked won't make a hum or any noise, unless it's ball stud is loose, then it might make a very minor thunk noise if you hit a bump, probably not though. A loose tie rod gives you more play in the steering, still probably not enough to have the car be pulled to one side. My guess is that it needs an alignment, or possibly even just air in the tires just so that all the air pressure is equal from the left and right side of your tires.
Have a friend sit in the left and right backseat and have them tell you if the noise is more prominent on either side, that would narrow down to which side the noise is coming from and if it's coming from the front or rear.
) but i got my car in to an alignment shop yesterday after class. They told me that my right front shock is leaking, my left front inner tie rod end is bad, my steering rack has a very small leak, and that my tires were causing the pull. They put the front tires on the back, and that alleviated the pull quite a bit. I know that for the cost of two front inner tie rod ends that i can almost get a whole new steering rack that includes inner tie rod ends at http://www.partsgeek.com/catalog/199...ring_rack.html ($181.58 including shipping and before the $80 dollar core return...). Now for the questions lol. Will my car fall apart and burst into flames if i don't fix any of that immediately? The steering rack above is for a 1995 and my car is a 1994, i cant imagine that that would matter, but would it work on my car? Can a moderately competent home mechanic replace a steering rack? If i replace the front shocks, should i do the rear?
12-11-2014, 07:28 PM
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No, nothing will sudden combust on you if you don't replace it right away lol. Changing the rack isn't too difficult of a task, I'd suspect it would take a good portion of a day though if you were to replace it. If your car isn't your baby, a small leak isn't something to fret about IMO; however the tie rod might be of interest to look at/replace.
The front shocks can add up in price depending on the mileage on your car and if certain parts can be salvaged or not. And you can just replace the front shocks and not do the rear, but rear shocks are a lot cheaper and so easy to replace that it wouldn't be a bad idea to look into those for an all 4 corners replaced with new shocks. It's mainly up to your finances though and what you want to put into it.
I'm in the same boat as you too, finals next week for me...
The front shocks can add up in price depending on the mileage on your car and if certain parts can be salvaged or not. And you can just replace the front shocks and not do the rear, but rear shocks are a lot cheaper and so easy to replace that it wouldn't be a bad idea to look into those for an all 4 corners replaced with new shocks. It's mainly up to your finances though and what you want to put into it.
I'm in the same boat as you too, finals next week for me...
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12-11-2014, 09:00 PM
#8
No, nothing will sudden combust on you if you don't replace it right away lol. Changing the rack isn't too difficult of a task, I'd suspect it would take a good portion of a day though if you were to replace it. If your car isn't your baby, a small leak isn't something to fret about IMO; however the tie rod might be of interest to look at/replace.
The front shocks can add up in price depending on the mileage on your car and if certain parts can be salvaged or not. And you can just replace the front shocks and not do the rear, but rear shocks are a lot cheaper and so easy to replace that it wouldn't be a bad idea to look into those for an all 4 corners replaced with new shocks. It's mainly up to your finances though and what you want to put into it.
I'm in the same boat as you too, finals next week for me...
The front shocks can add up in price depending on the mileage on your car and if certain parts can be salvaged or not. And you can just replace the front shocks and not do the rear, but rear shocks are a lot cheaper and so easy to replace that it wouldn't be a bad idea to look into those for an all 4 corners replaced with new shocks. It's mainly up to your finances though and what you want to put into it.
I'm in the same boat as you too, finals next week for me...
12-11-2014, 11:38 PM
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My car is my baby, but i've got to keep insurance paid and gas in it to continue to own it lol and In reference to the bit about front shocks adding up in price, what specific problems could i encounter when doing them? or what things might i find that i need to replace? The car has 94,000 miles FWIW
I would replace the rack simply because it's just as much work as replacing the inner tie rod and if you do one you REALLY should do both, because you need to get an alignment done after swapping them out so the cost difference is minimal, I would also suggest replacing both of the outer tie rods, because there is no point in doing things half way.
as for danger, if the inner tie rod separates (ball comes out of joint) you would lose total control of the car so I would fix it sooner rather then later.
12-12-2014, 03:36 PM
#10
common issue is the upper mounts tend to get rusted so when replacing shocks you usually have to replace them and they aren't that cheap, about a 100 bucks for the pair of Moog parts (the ONLY ones you want to use there) from rockauto.
I would replace the rack simply because it's just as much work as replacing the inner tie rod and if you do one you REALLY should do both, because you need to get an alignment done after swapping them out so the cost difference is minimal, I would also suggest replacing both of the outer tie rods, because there is no point in doing things half way.
as for danger, if the inner tie rod separates (ball comes out of joint) you would lose total control of the car so I would fix it sooner rather then later.
I would replace the rack simply because it's just as much work as replacing the inner tie rod and if you do one you REALLY should do both, because you need to get an alignment done after swapping them out so the cost difference is minimal, I would also suggest replacing both of the outer tie rods, because there is no point in doing things half way.
as for danger, if the inner tie rod separates (ball comes out of joint) you would lose total control of the car so I would fix it sooner rather then later.
