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greetings,

I have noticed an odd noise coming from the front end of my car. It sounds like a distant jackhammer pounding away when I am at high speeds. The sound decreases in intensity and the speed of the pounding as I decrease my speed. The sound only is omitted when I keep the steering wheel straight. As soon as I turn the wheel as much as 5 degress in either direction the noise stops. So during a turn no matter how little the noise lessens. I checked the tires for any obstructions (first thing that came to mind) and did not find any. I can feel a slight vibration from the pounding in the steering wheel, if that helps any.

Ryan

sounds like one of your hub bearings have gone out. jack your front end up, and shake your wheel top and bottom, then left and right you shouldnt have any play in any direction (meaning you wheel should not wiggle).

your going to need to pull the front spindles, remove the bearings and have new ones pressed in a very fun project, try to do the work yourself this will save you alot of money, the only thing your going to need help on is pressing the hubs in, once you have your spindles removed, just take them with the hub bearings to a machine shop they should only charge you about 50-75 to press the new ones in. if you take it to a car shop look to spend anywhere from 150-300 per side.

I agree 100% with Mnemonic. Sounds like the wheel bearings need replacing badly.

On a side note..


How creepy is it that you have that particular avatar and begin your post with


"greetings"

I mean.. come on.. why not throw in "Greetings Earthlings" or something a bit more dramatic

Tunes67

now if you didn't mind spending a little more money, you could go pick you up a set of spindles from the 93ish protege (just make sure it has the bp motor) there lighter, and you just need to make sure you use the ball joint from the proteges spindles

Thanks for the response. I went outside and kicked my rim and noticed that it vibrated slightly more than the other rims (the jack is at the cabin apparently). So I guess I'll be replacing the bearings, oh well not the first time.

LOL I never even noticed my avatar. I think the last time I was on this site was about 2 years ago. Totally forgot about the alien.

Ryan

ok heres an update,

I took off the tire and was about to loosen the big nut (can't remember its name) and realised it was loose. so now that the source is figured out, should i still replace the bearing?

if the axle nut was loose that could of been what was wrong, tighten it down, a quarter turn past tight as hell should do with a breaker bar of course. then drive on it and see if it still acts the same (while your at it make sure your other side is tight as well). if it acts the same then its your bearing, if its gone away then it was just to loose.

I have similar noises I think it's time to check. Does it sound like a knocking from side to side? The front spoiler original is split, I was hoping that it might be that flapping in the wind. Is there a lot of work involed in pulling the spindle? I have much knowledge with repacking bearing on a Jeep. Is it the same?

not sure how to do it on a jeep, but its simple to do just have to have the tools to do it with. a few bolts to pull the spindle off and pop the old bearing out then press the other one in with a press. I have see people use sockets with rubber mallets to put the new bearing in, but doing it the wrong way, and you may not have it 100% balanced in the spindle

I tightened the axle nut and it seems fine. So that was the problem.

Thanks

Ryan