Clunking gone, replaced by roaring

[zalock]

A while back i posted a thread about a clunking noice coming from my passenger side front wheel. Since then, that has pretty much gone away, only a very occasional clunk. In its place now is a roaring noice that happens anytime the car is travaling 30MPH or more. Along with this noice my gas pedal vibrates quite a bit. At first i assumed it was tire/road noice, but lastnight as i was out driving i realized that when I am going straight or making a left turn the noise and vibration is present, but if I move the steering wheel to the right even a little bit the noice and vibration are gone and its nice and quiet. Any thoughts on what this could be? What should i look for?
Thanks

 

[TribalTalon]

check your Ball joint.. other then that, could be cv axle, or tie rod. easy way to check your ball joint is to jack up the car a little, and hold the top and bottom of the wheel.. wiggle the tire, it shouldnt move at all. if it does, thats your ball joint going out. highly recommend you replace it, it might even be covered under the recall. if you dont, and the ball joint falls, say bye bye to your wheel.. it'll go flying off.

 

[zalock]

I did jack the car up the other day and from top to bottom there was no movement, but from side to side it did have a little play, and there was a clunk noise coming from the center area of the car.

 

[MrBoxx]

wiggle the tire, it shouldnt move at all. if it does, thats your ball joint going out.

Actually, that would be more likely the wheel bearing. I've had three go out on me. All three times there was a roaring noise at highway speeds, but it would go away if I turned the wheel a certain direction. Turning the other direction usually made the noise louder.

If your wheel has play in it, it's most likely a bad bearing. Replacement prices can vary depending on whether it's seized on the axle splines or not. If it is, you're looking at torching the bearing off, along with the axle, and possibly the speed sensor. If you can get the bearing off with just a puller tool and a couple whacks with a big mallet, you're lucky and it shouldn't take long at all.

Edit: And while you're at the dealership, see if the ball joint recall service has been done to your car, as TribalTalon said. If it hasn't, have them do it immediately. As he mentioned, if they go out while your at high speeds, it could be very dangerous.

 

[JessesTalon]

Sounds like a axle/wheel bearing...

make sure the cv boots arn't torn and have grease in them. and if you wiggle the wheel like someone said, and it moves then your wheel bearing needs to be replaced.

 

[zalock]

Now that you mention the bearing, ive noticed a few times, not all the time but there will be kind of a grinding noise coming fromt he wheels area at low speeds (5 mph). Is this something i could fix myself or do you recomend taking it in?

 

[MrBoxx]

It depends. Now that I've seen it done the hard way a few times, I could do it if the bearing weren't seized on the axle, and I could probably get it done within an hour with the right tools. BUT, if the bearing IS seized, there's not much you can do on your own. The first time I had a bearing changed, a friend who worked at Sears Auto Center did it for me and let me help. The bearing seized on the axle, and they were using an air-gun powered puller tool (grips the lug studs, while a threaded post pushes on the end of the axle. Threaded post is turned by an air-gun.) What ended up happening was they took three hours to get the bearing off, but the tool actually turned the end of the axle into a mushroom shape from the pushing force. Then they had to grind the axle back into shape and re-shape the threads with a cutting wheel so they could screw the castle nut back on. All in all, six hours of work, but they still only charged me $60 for it.

The second and third time a bearing went out, I took it to Mitsubishi. Both times the bearings were seized on the axles and the tech had to use a cutting torch to cut through the bearing, ruining the axle in the process. So, add another $100 for an aftermarket axle if this happens. Also, since there's a speed sensor right there the torch may just fry that too. That's another $100. Figure that they pounded on the bearing with a sledge-hammer for a good 45 minutes worth of labor before they figured out it wasn't coming off, then an hour for the torch, then another hour of re-installing an axle, a bearing, speed sensor, brakes, etc. In the end, I think the cost of this whole operation was around $500, give or take. That's just for one time. The second time, the tech said to me "Now that I've had some practice on your car, I think I can save the speed sensor this time."

I made sure they anti-seized the hell out of every damn moving part when they put it back together though.

If you don't have much experience with this part of the car, I'd say take it to the dealership or a trusted mechanic who knows how to properly do this.

Note: If you do the math (4 wheels - 3 replaced bearings), this means I have one bearing left that I'm expecting to start failing on me. I'm just waiting for the day....

 

[4G63Boosted]

I agree fully with what MrBoxx said. With the right tools, and provided the bearing isnt siezed, its typically and pretty straight forward job. I work at a Sears Auto Center, and have seen a number of botched jobs by people trying to do wheel bearings without the right tools or know how just to save themselves a few dollars. I say if you feel confident in doing that type of work yourself, then go for it. If not, save yourself the headache and take it to a shop.

 

[zalock]

Ok, thanks for all the help guys. I will just take it in and have it looked at. Thanks again.