Wheel Noise / Steering Pop / Suspension

[JadedEvan]

Hey all, got some maintenance questions about my MX-3.

#1 - Wheel Noise
Over the past 2-3 months, I've noticed that my rear tires seem to be making more and more noise. The faster I go, the louder the noise becomes. Whatever the noise is, it is related directly to the speed. It has kind of a "phoomph-phoomph-phoomph" sound. Very dull sounding. It doesn't sound like anything serious. Not a screeching metal on metal kind sound. It sometimes gives a little feedback when driving. When decelerating off of the freeway with the brakes I get some feedback from the brake pedal. Any ideas on what this might be?

#2 - Steering Pop
Ocassionally, when I'm turning the steering wheel hard to the left or hard to the right, I get a kind of "pop" that I can hear and feel in the steering wheel. It has been increasing in frequency (maybe 2-6 times a day) for a little while. From having read some other forums, it seems that this might be the start of CV problem?

#3 - Suspension
It seems that my little Mazda is riding kind of rough. Is there any easy way to tell if the shocks are worn out? I have been in cars where they have gone bad, leads to kind of a bouncy hoopty ride. It just seems like when I hit a pothole or big bump that it impacts rather hard. I know little cars tend to ride a bit rougher than a fancy cadillac, I'm just wondering if I'm paranoid or justified in thinking something might be wrong.

I appreciate you guys reading this and giving it some thought.

[neutral]

Welcome to the board. The following free advice is easily worth twice the price lol. This is just a sort of SWAG ("scientific wild-a-- guess") cuz noises are tough to diagnose over the Net. Still, you may find the info useful...

#1 - Wheel Noise
A worn rear wheel bearing is a prime suspect from your description of the noise. The braking feedback would also likely be related, at least if you have rear discs (don't know if drum brakes would be similar in feel). A bad wheel bearing can cause the disc brake on that wheel to "chatter", especially when the brakes are first applied with light pedal pressure and at freeway speeds. If you jack up the rear and find the wheels have excessive side-to-side play, it's almost definitely the bearings wearing out. Rear wheel bearing replacement is a straightforward DIY job by replacing the entire bolt-on rear hub assembly, which usually runs ~40 USD for each hub assembly. http://www.Rockauto.com is one source and there are others online, or may be available thru your local autoparts store like NAPA, Autozone, etc.

#2 - Steering Pop
Could certainly be a worn CV joint but need more info. Is the "pop" cyclical like during wheel rotation thru the turn or just a single "pop?" Is the sound coming from one side or both sides? Bad CV's usually wear out more frequently on the passenger side which has a longer 1/2 axle distance (than driver side) so receives greater wear.

#3 - Suspension
Get problem #1 addressed first because it may be related to #3, then if still needed, worry about #3. A worn bearing can cause a nasty hard rough transmittal of road surface irregularities thru the body that can mimic other worn suspension component probs. You can also do a quick visual check of each strut looking to spot any signs of fluid seepage on the strut body, which indicates a blown strut cartridge that has leaked its hydraulic fluid and lost it's damping ability. The offending corner usually produces an annoying kocking sound over even mild road surface irregularities.

btw, even tires that are extremely worn can make the car drive like the suspension is getting "tired" when going over road surface irregularities.

[mx-3north]

I just took my gs into a garage to have a popping or knocking sound checked out. Mine made the noise in the right side when going over sharp
bumps and /or turning hard left. It turned out to be a totally shot lower ball joint on the right side. I also need to replace both stabilizer control
links, but the main noise was the ball joint. It was moving alot. Just thought this might help you out. welcome to the mx-3 family

[JadedEvan]

Hi again.
First of all, thanks for the information to those who replied so far. I really appreciate you being kind enough to share your knowledge and your time on the issue.

neutral-
in regards to #1 - I have drum brakes in the rear. Do you suspect that it would still be the bearings? I will probaby get to jacking it up and checking out the wobble later this week.

#2 - The pop is a single pop. Usually when turning hard left, but has happened on a hard right turn. It generally comes from the left front tire. I'm wondering if it might be like the other reply said, a bad ball joint.


mx-3north
I take it the garage fixed up the bad ball joint for you? How much did that repair run? I only ask because I feel car repair is something I can save some money and be able to learn more about my car. I'd like to be a little more familiar with all of it!

Thanks again guys.

[neutral]

Certainly possible bearings, even with drum rears. I just don't have firsthand knowledge about brake feedback from a bad rear bearing and rear drum brakes.

[mx-3north]

the mechanic quoted me $100 to replace the ball joint and both front stabilizer links,«««««parts extra. Sounds fair to me.ìm not equipped to do
the work myself

[neutral]

mx-3north, sounds like a fair price for labor to do that front-end work.

JadedEvan, if you do have a bad rear bearing(s), and decide to do the hub/bearing unit replacement yourself, a pair of repacement hubs for ~$60 USD shipped is a nice price. I got mine from this ebay seller last year with no probs. The bearings are new. The hub housings are "remanufactured." Pretty standard as that is what you'd get from any autoparts supply place. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/WHEEL-BE ... enameZWDVW

The online manual linked on the home page should be all you need to DIY. Post back with whatcha find out.

[JadedEvan]

Always seems that whenever I need to work on a car I'm totally opening up a can of worms.

So I got a second opinion, opinion agreed that wheel bearings are probably bad in the rear. I have ordered new rear hub assemblies, but here comes the fun part! Getting the drum off the passenger side is a nightmare. Getting the drum off the driver's side is even worse.

One of the two screws is in there REALLY tight. The other has what appears to be a piece of metal lodged right in + of the phillips head screw. Seriously, this thing just isn't some little piece that fell in and got stuck, it looks like it is EMBEDDED in the screw like shrapnel. So while I try to fight to get the other one off, anyone have any suggestions for getting this other screw out?

I'll take some pictures, you won't believe how stupid this is.