kayvan_pour

Ok, my car is making a strange noise and I'm not sure if I should be worried or not... I'm pretty sure its coming from the driver side rear. Sounds coming from around the wheel area. It's hard to describe, but it makes a sound like maybe 2 hollow metal pipes tapping each other, or maybe like to drum sticks tapping each other, kind of a squeaking noise. It's kind of just a high pitch tapping sound. And it makes the noise with like every rotation of the wheel it seems.

It doesn't seem to be affecting the cars performance or handling, it just makes this annoying noise. I mostly hear it and speeds below 15mph (maybe because no road noise at this point, not sure about higher speeds). I don't know what could have caused this. The only thing I can think of is a few weeks back I was lowering the rear coilovers just a little bit and I forgot to tighten the lug nuts tight when putting the wheel back on. So after driving a bit I heard the wheels was loose and wobbling a bit, so I simply tightened the lug nuts on the side of the road and every thing was cool.

So I'm not sure if that caused the noise or what... But here is the weird part; I hear the noise when driving around at low speeds going FORWARD. So I was curious what would happen if I drove in REVERSE, trying to see if the noise would be there. And it made NO noise in reverse. So I was like WTF could it be. I took of the wheel off yesterday, re-tightened it and looked at the coilovers and the suspension and everything looked cool. So I dunno what to do.


So to recap, I'm hearing an annoying tapping, squeaking sound coming from the driver side rear of the car around the wheel area. Can hear it when going forward and not in reverse. Every thing looks cool just a very annoying sound. Makes noise with every rotation of the wheel it seems.

Hopefully you guys can help; I

xviper

Double thread. Should close/delete one or the other.

kayvan_pour

[QUOTE=xviper,Apr 7 2006, 12:36 PM] Double thread.

xviper

You "snug" them on when the wheel is in the air to make sure the rim is mostly centered on the hub and lugnuts, but you final torque them on the ground

ReD aT 9

i had the same noise in my car and it's the wheel baring if you dont change it , it will get louder and louder but dont worry it's like $100 buxzzzz .....

kayvan_pour

Really??? Thats interesting... Why do wheel bearings go out? Is it because I'm lowered or is it normal wear and tear? Is it normal that it wont make this noise in reverse and only going forward?

Thanks for the help BTW

xviper

The wheel bearings on your car are the things that take the full weight of your car. They are the major friction bearing devices while the car rolls down the road. As good as modern day bearings are, they do wear out, some sooner than others. If it is the wheel bearing, yes, it'll get louder and louder. In your case, I doubt that's what it is. Wheel bearings tend to whine or hum as they go bad. They don't generally click in one direction. CV joints on a FWD can but that's not what we have here.

kayvan_pour

Oh I see... In a way I'm relieved I wont have to buy new ones, and kind of worried because I dont what it is yet... But for sure I'm gonna do what you suggested and take the wheels off and look at the wheel weights... I'm hoping thats what it is.

50 mins until I'm off from work, and I can see whats going on... Fridays always take for ever!!!

ScottnHeidi

My vote is for the wheel bearing. Mine had a low groaning noise. When I discovered it was at slower speeds, but only because wind noise covered it up at anything higher than 20mph. Mine made the noise in reverse and forward, dricers side also (56K miles). Only after removing the old one was I sure I got it right. It was discolored from heat, but rolled smoothly. Now no noise.

Scott

RACER

As xviper stated, I dun't think it is a wheel bearing. If you want, there is a way to test for play and notchyness.

1: Grab top of wheel with both hands and shake it furiously back and forth. If there is any play in either the suspension or bearing, it will show here. This test is primarily for suspension componetry.

2: Remove wheel, and brake pads. Slowly spin hub by hand back and forth. If there is any notchyness, you will it feel during this test.

When I worked on Formula Mazda race cars, we used the inner section of a three piece wheel and bolted it securely to the hub to perform this test. If you grabbed the section with both hands on opposite sides, you could check for play as well as notchyness.