Lately my passenger side front wheel area has been making a lot of noise. I can't exactly describe the noise, but it sounds like a clunking noise as I speed up and also when I'm coming to a stop. It sounds kind of like what it would sound like if the lug nuts were really loose, but they're actually tight, so it couldn't be that. I'm at college right now and can't get home to fix my car for a few weeks, and I don't have tools and a garage here of course. So, I was wondering if anyone knows what the sound could be, like what are the suspension parts there that would make that noise? Just wondering, so when I do go home, I know what to look for right away. Thanks

Also, is it safe to drive my car home (an hour away)? Or could the wheel fall off on me?

 

would you say its happening upon loading and unloading the front suspension? Anything happen around corners?

 

have u actually taken the time to look under that side to see what u can see? have someone bounce the front while u look.

 

Hey guys

I drove the car again for the first time in a week and paid really close attention this time. This time, the noise was a lot worse. It sounds like the wheel is loose even though, like I said, the lugnuts are tight. Over 30 mph, it gets really loud, and it's also pretty loud when it goes over bumps. When I was done driving it, I went to look at the area on the car. Without a flashlight or jack or anything, I tried to look behind the wheel to see if I could see anything broken, but couldn't see anything. Then, I started kicking the wheel to see if it seemed loose, and it was actually very loose and noisy. So I called my dad to see what he thought it could be. He wasn't much help, he just said he didn't know and that it might be a bad wheel bearing. Hope this gives a good idea. Anyone know what it sounds like it probably is?

Hope this helps describe it. With how shaky and loose that wheel is, it's looking like I won't be able to drive it home : /...

 

if the lug nuts are tight. then the entire hub assembly is loose. jack up that side, remove the wheel.

remove the dust cover from the middle of the brake rotor, some channel locks work nicely.

you will see the nut that holds the rotor onto the car. it should be secured with a cotter-pin, a lock cover for that, then the nut. tighten the nut to 50ft-lbs and replace the cotter pin.

im doing brake work, and on my vehicle these nuts were not even finger tight. the cotter pin was the only thing holding the rotor in place.

 

what i do in situations like this is i jack up that side of the car and start jerking, pulling, hitting on things. grab ahold of the tire at 12 and 6 or 3 and 9 and give it a good wiggle. i had a friends car that the rod that runs up towards the front of the car with the 2 nuts on the end of it had worked themselves loose and were making a knocking sound when going over bumps.

 

I would just order new bearings now, and maybe a rotor too. Good chance that these parts have been damaged by now. You can get a rotor from rockauto for about 15 bucks, they work just fine.




.

 

Agreed with what was said above. Bad wheel bearing. Order:

brake rotor
inner bearing
outer bearing
inner race
outer race
inner dust seal.

It'll run you about $50. Pick up a tub of wheel bearing grease, pack the bearings, tap in the races (drift and hammer, big ball-pien hammer, etc.) very carefully, install everything, torque it properly, and you're home free.

And no, it's not safe to drive home like that.

 

Ok cool, well it's good to know what exactly is wrong with it now. I'm bringing it to a shop a block away from my school today. Hopefully, it isn't expensive...

 

Also, might want to check the strut tower on that side; these are rubber encased bearings that hold the top of the strut in place. When they go, you'll see tears in the rubber around the edge of where the strut bolts to the top bearing.

If you open the hood, look at the strut tower on that side, and you'll see a plastic cap. Remove the cap from the center and look down into where the strut bolts to the bearing. If you see any rubber wearing away, bolt loose, etc., then the problem may not be your wheel bearings. Strut Bearings are the same for 81+ model years, and pretty easy to find.

Also, the wheel bearings must be 'pre-loaded' and tightened ONLY to the pre-load tension. I believe the front wheel bearing pre-load on our cars is between 5-8lbs when measured from one of the lug studs at a 90deg angle from the stud, in other words, it should only take about 5-8lbs of force to turn the brake rotor using one of the studs as the handle. It's not a lot of force, and certainly not cranked down 'until it's tight' which would result in premature bearing failure due to overloading. It's documented here, just search on 'WHEEL BEARING PRE-LOAD' and you'll get hits.

Good luck,

 

Hey guys I just got back from bringing the car to a shop. They put it on the lift and found that the idler arm is shot. The wheel was all wobbly and really easy to turn. The driver side wheel didn't turn at all when the other one was moved to the left and right. They came up with a repair cost of $140. Probably not worth that, but since I have no way to work on the car at school, it's my only option. The part comes in tomorrow and the car will be ready that afternoon. Hopefully that solves the problem.

 

Man, if all they are doing is replacing the idler arm, I think you're getting raped. I believe they run about 20 bucks, and can be installed in about 20 minutes.

 

Better yet, the stock idler arm bushings probably just need to be replaced, even
cheaper and just as easy to do. They disintegrate due to the all the heat from the
nearby exhaust. If you have a header its goes even faster.