have a noise related question : calling Dr. Ron

[obracer12]

Car:
92 Civic Si USDM (hatch)
b-series swap
Correct axles, intermediate shaft

Issue:

Driver Side
slight grinding and a "thumping" that increases with speed of the vehicle in a straight line.
NO effect on the steering
Sound dissipates when turning.

I was suspecting a wheel bearing, but didn't think the thumping would be indicative of a wheel bearing issue.

Thought my wheel was out of round or the weights came off of the wheel when the tire was balanced, but the wheel stands alone at all angles and rolls straight ( tested with car on stands and letting out the clutch).

The wheel bearing is my primary suspect, but with suspensions there could be any number of things in line and some experienced input would be appreciated.

 

[MistahJuice]

Pull Off the wheel and spin the bearing by hand. If it feels like its crunching instead of rolling smooth then that's definitely the problem. Also check to make sure lugs are tight, brake pads arent dragging and dust shield isn't bent

 

[Billy.]

Just taking a guess, I think its the tire.

 

[obracer12]

an unbalanced tire would explain the vibration at about 35-50mph that I'm getting, but not the squealing...

guess I'll take the tire off, give the bearing a shake/spin and take the rim and tire to see if it's off balance.

 

[mymmeryloss]

Im betting its wheel bearing...

With car jacked up do u have side to side play in the wheel?

 

[Billy.]

You didn't say anything previously about squealing. That changes things

 

[obracer12]

Just took a peak... 0 weights on the wheel.. Taking it off in about 15 minutes to check the bearing and take the wheel to good ole pep boys to get the wheel checked.

 

[Logan98036wa]

any results?

 

[young_]

any results?

 

[obracer12]

Wheel was unbalanced, still get a slight vibration... Going to check pressures( they seem low) and see if 100 % corrected. Will update after my drive to work.

 

[obracer12]

well the vibration is a little less, but at about 45-50mph it is pretty bad... going to get the passenger side wheel balanced as well.

the grinding noise was a stone wedged between the top of the rotor and the caliper...

 

[Jersey8]

are you still experiencing the thumping noise? because that is a common symptom of a bad wheel bearing...

 

[obracer12]

No thumping anymore, doing the same check as last night on the passenger side tonight with a bearing check and tire balancing.

 

[RonJ]

If you swap the front and rear wheels, is there any change?

Did you already have all 4 wheels balanced?

 

[obracer12]

getting the remaining wheels balanced on my way home from work and will update tonight. if there is no change, any suggestions?

 

[K-N-2-EK]

Front end alignment

 

[mymmeryloss]

Lol ive had so many pebbles get lodged in between my brakes and the dust shield...

 

[Zedicous]

What tire do you have? As vibration goes wheel, rim problems you will notice below highway speeds as with axels generally 60mph and up. Also bearings tend to roar when going out.

 

[obracer12]

all 4 balanced... they were all out of balance. in good ole pep boys fashion they stripped 2 lugs and had to replace them.. 10 minute stop turned into a 2 hour ordeal as they had an 85lb kid trying to pound out lugs with a 3lb hammer...

the vibration still exists but, I have found the issue...

Got the car up on stands after the balance, did both axles last weekend (rules out), tires balances lastnight (ruled out), new ball joints as of 5/1/12 (ruled out), new FF type 2s as of 4/27/12 (ruled out), so I turned my attention to the rack, got it up on stands and checked driver side and there is 0 play, then the passenger side wiggled about .5-.75 " in either direction, get under it and move it again....

Inner tie rod on the passenger side is bad... part on the way and should be here today. will do the job ( should take all of 20 mins with air tools) either Friday or Saturday afternoon and get an alignment right after.

We'll see if that corrects it 100%, which I suspect it will.