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Puzzling wheel noise


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OldNick
Novice

Feb 27, 2015, 3:12 AM

Post #1 of 7 (1698 views)
  post locked   Puzzling wheel noise  

I hear a repetitive growlong from the rear of my car (1999/200 Hyundai Lantra 135,000Km) and I immediately think wheel bearings. I would estimate 2 brief growls per wheel rev.

However I have jacked up the car wheel by wheel and all wheels are silky smooth and silent. My experienbce of bearings (home mechanic so a few sets changed...car, trailer etc) says that if a bearing is noisy than you will hear or feel it with a spin.

Am I wrong? Is the next step to remove each bearing and feel for grinding? Do wheel bearings sometimes growl under load yet not when free spinnning the wheel?

I included the car type in case somebody knows something specific about my car model.

Any advice appreciated.

Nick


Discretesignals
Ultimate Carjunky / Moderator
Discretesignals profile image

Feb 27, 2015, 5:38 AM

Post #2 of 7 (1681 views)
  post locked   Re: Puzzling wheel noise  


Quote
Am I wrong? Is the next step to remove each bearing and feel for grinding? Do wheel bearings sometimes growl under load yet not when free spinnning the wheel?



You could be. You could do that, but what happens if it isn't a wheel bearing doing that? Yes, load will be a major factor

Drive the vehicle with it growling. Then swerve the vehicle left and right. This moves the load. Usually if the noise goes away if you swerve to one side or the other that is a sign of a wheel bearing issue. As you listen to the noise attempt to determine what side of the vehicle the noise is coming from.

You could also have tire noise. Inspect the tires for chopping. Drive the vehicle over different road surfaces. If those noise changes or goes away over different surfaces, it would unlikely be a wheel bearing causing that.





Since we volunteer our time and knowledge, we ask for you to please follow up when a problem is resolved.

(This post was edited by Discretesignals on Feb 27, 2015, 5:42 AM)


Hammer Time
Ultimate Carjunky / Moderator
Hammer Time profile image

Feb 27, 2015, 5:39 AM

Post #3 of 7 (1680 views)
  post locked   Re: Puzzling wheel noise  

You are only part right. The weight of the vehicle has a large effect on the amount of noise produced. The dragging brakes can also make that difficult. If you can get the wheel to spin free, hold one hand on a spring coil. That is where it will be most noticeable.



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OldNick
Novice

Feb 27, 2015, 1:51 PM

Post #4 of 7 (1661 views)
  post locked   Re: Puzzling wheel noise  

@discretesignals

The trouble is the sound is so quiet that, if I drive on any surface other than total smooth road, it gets swamped. But I will try the swerving idea and see what happens.

Nick


OldNick
Novice

Feb 27, 2015, 1:55 PM

Post #5 of 7 (1659 views)
  post locked   Re: Puzzling wheel noise  

Ok, so load can make a difference. I will certainly give that tuch the springs idea a go. All makes sense.

Nick


OldNick
Novice

Mar 5, 2015, 10:54 PM

Post #6 of 7 (1629 views)
  post locked   Re: Puzzling wheel noise  

It was the brake drum Blush It was a bit unfair, because when I first tried spinning the wheel, there was no noise at all. When I loosened the lugnuts there was a brake scrape, but only _once_ per wheel rev. After I took the wheel off, there was the "double tap" that I had been hearing. I can only assume that loosing the wheel allowed a tiny bit of movement in the drum.

So thanks a lot for your advice and help.

Nick


Discretesignals
Ultimate Carjunky / Moderator
Discretesignals profile image

Mar 6, 2015, 5:11 PM

Post #7 of 7 (1617 views)
  post locked   Re: Puzzling wheel noise  

Great to read you got it solved Smile Closed as solved. Can be reopened upon request by the OP.





Since we volunteer our time and knowledge, we ask for you to please follow up when a problem is resolved.






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