chevygirl

iTrader: (69)

I have a noise I can't figure out. It just started and I tried jacking the car up and spinning the tires on the front to see if something is locking up. I just put new pads and turned the rotors a week ago. I thought it had something to do with that but I don't know. I have never dealt with hub bearing assembleys so I wanted some ideas how to diagnosis it.

Jeresous

I'm pretty clueless on this myself and I'm having a crap ton of rear end work done on my car as we speak, however... I can share a link that was pretty useful to me, toward the bottom you will find a bunch of common noises and likely causes.

http://www.dippy.org/svcman/sm03.html

keliente

iTrader: (22)

What kind of noise is it and when does it happen?

chevygirl

iTrader: (69)

The noise sounds like a vibration low noise kind of. You know how hard it is to describe to someone else. It starts around 25 to 40 and then the exhaust is too loud and road noise so you can't hear it. It sounds like it is coming from up front. I just had the rotors turned and put new pads on last weekend. I didn't notice the noise before then. I also had a front end alignment done. I jacked up the car and both wheels spin okay with your hands. One side has brake dust heavy and the other doesn't. This didn't start until the new pads. The calipers are not getting hot. I checked that too. Car does not veer to one side when I use the brake. It makes the noise coasting and accelerating. Will not do it in park or neutral sitting still. You can actually feel something in the steering wheel and floorboard a little when it does this noise. It doesn't do it everytime you get in that mph range but sometimes it is louder than others. The car has 56,000 babied miles on it. The rotors were in good shape and only had to have a very small amount taken off. They ran straight on the machine. I have no other problems.

nocturnalZ

iTrader: (4)

I had the exact problem with my girlfriends car it was the wheel bearing same symtoms to the t.

chevygirl

iTrader: (69)

Thank you. How do you figure out which side it is on. Both wheels spun okay.

Jeresous

the only way I know of is by taking turns... if you're taking a hard left then all the weight on your car should move to the right and vice versa, the side with the bad bearing should make less noise when the load is relieved. So if it gets quiet taking a left then its probably the left side, or if it gets quiet taking a right then its probably the right side.

Formula413

iTrader: (1)

One good way to check your wheel bearings is to jack up the car, hold the tire from the top and bottom and try to rock it in and out, if there is play it is likely a bad wheel bearing.

chevygirl

iTrader: (69)

Thanks I will try that.

ghardester

Please recheck the brake work first. That is the most recent change and the likely cause of your problem. The front wheel bearings are completely sealed units and usually problem free. Don't spend money searching for a new problem unless you are sure of the brake work.

2000badbird

iTrader: (5)

alot of times wheel "hub" bearings when going bad sound like a helicopter of an airplane when you drive down the road if you turn the wheel in a direction and the noise goes away it will give you a good idea which "hub" is goin bad

koolaid_kid

iTrader: (21)

I agree. The difference in dust should point you in the place to look first (the one with the heavy dust). Almost sounds like your caliper(s) are not releasing or aligning properly.

chevygirl

iTrader: (69)

It acts like it is up front for sure. How can I check to see if the caliper are releasing? I have checked the temp with an infared on both sides and they match. The calipers are not getting real hot like they are locking up.

How do you check the alignment of the calipers? We simply just took the caliper off to remove the rotors and places the calipers where there was they were not hanging down. Had the rotors turned then put it back together with new clips, pushed the pistons back with c clamps and a block of wood and slipped the brake pads in and closed the caliper down.

DaddySS

Things to check:

Since you used a C clamp, block of wood etc. which sounds like you know what you are doing, I will leave out the obvious stuff.

Remove the wheels, check the rotors carefully for any signs of contact.

Check the caliper mounting bolt torque - BTW GM recommends new bolts if you remove the bracket.

Turn the rotors by hand and check for any run out, uneven wear on the contact surface, etc. Have someone apply the brake lightly until they stop and then release, make sure the rotor turns freely.

BTW, are you sure that you put the tires back in the same place?

When you reassemble be sure to torque the nuts to 100 lbs in a star pattern.

chevygirl

iTrader: (69)

Yes I am sure about the tires. We left them on the side of the car they go on so we could not mix it up. We took a flashlight and looked at the rotors and turned them by hand with it jacked up. It sure seems like something is vibrating. We did flip the bracket up in the air to put the pads in. I don't think we took that part completely off of the caliper. We can't figure out why they noise is mainly 25-45 mph. I know the lugs were torqued properly because I did them and I am **** about that. I had a tire come off one time. I will take the wheels off and check all the things you said. We didn't see anything wrong with the bolts so we didn't replace them. Hopefully I will be able to see something when I get the wheels off. Thanks guys for your help!!!

donalr76

the only way I know of is by taking turns... if you're taking a hard left then all the weight on your car should move to the right and vice versa, the side with the bad bearing should make less noise when the load is relieved. So if it gets quiet taking a left then its probably the left side, or if it gets quiet taking a right then its probably the right side.--------- Jeresous

I agree with this test method and if that doesn't work break it down and see. I bought my car with 53K and what I thought were bad wheel bearings but turned out to be bad axles. They were both corroded where the bearing travels. I bought new axles and replaced the bearings then the roaring sound finally stopped.

chevygirl

iTrader: (69)

The noise sounds like it is coming from up from to me.

qwkta98

jack up the car and try moving the wheel up and down and side to side.

chevygirl

iTrader: (69)

We found a caliper slide pin froze up in the bracket. We got it out after 4 hours and put a new one in. That was the side the dust was the darkest. I still have the noise though. We couldn't find any movement in the bearings. Do tires make a noise between 30-40 if something is wrong with them? My rotors were turned and they said they were straight so I don't know where this noise is coming from. Will not do it sitting still.

todddchi

iTrader: (3)

Feathered tires (actually pretty common on these cars if you don't rotate frequently) will make a low pitched whamp whamp whamp noise, but it is definitely speed based, and tends to be most noticeable on very smooth pavement and low speeds, like when you are slowing for a stop sign.

This is easy enough to check, just rotate the tires.

Beyond that, hubs are pretty easy to change.