NineTwoSi

Alright, I'm majorly stressed for several reasons so please don't make rude comments. I use my car as a daily driver and borrowing a car, renting a car or just not driving are not options. I absolutely must get to work and if I have to take a day off to handle this that's fine, but I just want to make the most of that time. I'm just looking for some input/ideas/insight from you guys. Please help a brother out!

Symptoms:

My car has a bad vibration (sounds like a constant hum) coming from the driver's side front tire area at roughly 30 mph and above. The noise seems to speed up and slow down with the speed of the car (not the engine).

History:

My car has been making a "knocking" noise for some time coming from the same general area.

Status as of now:

The knocking noise stopped several days ago and this very obvious vibration/noise is coming from the driver's side in it's place.

Observations & Steps I've taken:

I have had torn boots on my rack and pinion for quite a while. My steering has always been a bit sloppy and I drew the conclusion that ultimately I would need to replace the rack at some point. I felt pretty confident that when I started hearing this "knocking" noise that it was coming from my rack and pinion, but since that noise has disappeared and this new steady, constant vibration has presented itself I don't know what to think. It's got me very concerned as I must use this car and it seems to get progressively worse with every trip I make in my car. I of course have thought about the obvious problems that would make one sound but doesn't make sense for the other sound and it's left me racking my brain because I don't have the time and/or the disposable income to just replace friggin' everything. I would love to just take my car into a shop and not deal with it but it would probably cost me as much to have a shop fix just one possible problem as it would for me to fix several problems if I do the work myself.

So far, I have replaced the driver's side axle and switched the driver's side tire to the passenger side. This has eliminated either one of those things being the issue. The noise is still there and didn't go away with the new axle or change sides with the moving of the tire. Other possibilities in my mind are the driver's side wheel bearings or the rack and pinion still. I have also eliminated the possibility that it is engine related or tranny related. The vibration/noise follows the speed of the wheels not the engine and since it's coming from the driver's side wheel area and the tranny is completely on the other side of the car, that pretty much means it's not tranny related.

I could understand how it could be the rack and pinion when it was the knocking noise but not since that noise has gone away and been replaced with the vibration/hum that changes with the speed of the wheels. I could also see how the wheel bearings could make the vibration/hum noise but the knocking that it was making prior to that doesn't sound like any kind of wheel bearing problem. So this is where I'm stuck. I can't think of much else it would be other than these two things that changes with the speed of the car and presents these kind of symptoms.

I would also like to know what the possible worst case scenarios are if I was driving and either one of these went out (rack and pinion or wheel bearings). I don't mean crash and die scenarios but more from a mechanical standpoint what would result from them failing. I intend on being as careful with my car as I can and keep driving to a minimum, but until I figure this out I don't have the luxury of just sitting home. PLEASE HELP!

chrisw85

If your bearings fails, the hub can rip/seperate from the knuckle and you'll almost certainly crash. I'm thinking its the bearing. How many miles on the parts, like the bearings, the suspension, chassis, shocks, brakes, steering stuff? Is it all still original?

marshun

either way it sounds like you need an alignment

Crasian

i would recomend taking it to a shop and getting them to diagnose the problem for u, then if u are capable, ull know just what to fix and u can do it on your dayy off

bart2546

I am thinking the wheel bearings from your description as well. On my 86 Jaguar the rear wheel bearings kicked the bucket and the wheel fell out of it's hub, luckily I didn't wreck because the axle and axle nut were strong enough to hold it in until I drove it home but the inside of the hub was engraved deeply from the driving on a bad bearing. The clicking/knocking noise you heard would probably have been the bearing starting to go bad, probably one of the bearings from the racer itself popped and was clanging on the hub, now the entire bearing is shot and you're just running metal to metal grinding which is producing the humming. As the previous poster stated, if the wheel bearing fails completely the wheel and hub assembly could fall off completely and if you don't crash you would be lucky but the underside of your car will almost deffinitely be harmed immensely because it will fall to the pavement at whatever speed you may be going at that time.

There's really no way of knowing how long they'll last in the current condition and it is something that you deffinitely shouldn't play games with, get it fixed or get it to a shop for exact diagnosis ASAP even if you do the work yourself. Rack and pinion may need fixed as you stated but I would see nothing in the rack that would cause a knocking/humming with the wheel speed itself. Good luck on your repair!

NineTwoSi

Ok, so I took my car into the shop today and had them replace the driver's side wheel bearing. I kept the old one because I wanted to see how bad the damage was. Part of the housing was completely gone and the bearings inside were exposed. So, one problem down and one to go. I'm getting a shuttering kind of feeling coming from the front end that can be felt through the steering wheel, (I can't pinpoint which side) but it's not making any noise. It was doing this when the bad bearing was still inside so I was hoping all of it was related to that but unfortunately this is a separate issue.

So now I need some ideas for this shuttering. It is most noticeable on acceleration but it can be felt somewhat at cruising speeds (mostly between 4k - 5k rpms)... I am thinking maybe tires, rack and pinion and possibly even warped rotors because I get some pulsing (I do not have ABS) in my brake pedal when I step on the brakes. I'm hoping tires are the culprit because even though I have torn boots on my rack and pinion there seems to be no play on either side. I could see how it might be brakes if it was primarily when I was on the brakes but I do know a considerable amount about cars and from what I know I just don't think it's brake related. I appreciate all of your input so far with my ongoing car drama. My brain is just so frazzled from dealing with this and I'm stressed because of Christmas that I can't even think straight. That is why I'm coming to you guys for ideas that I might be overlooking because my mind is so preoccupied right now. Thanks again everyone! Let me know what you guys think.

NineTwoSi

Bump for some help!

YoungKadafi

kinda whizzed over everything, but maybe a stuck caliper, or warped rotor which grabs on a high spot, and not a low, causing a sound that increases with speed.

Axles- mine were hanging on by a thread, and the noises it made were like Predator when Arnold was getting owned, and the steering wheel shook like it was climaxing.

Yes get these done, all at the same time, which will fix your problems

All new wheel studs from ARP, New axles, new tie rod ends, wheels bearings, make sure tie rods are tight, bearings are Zero'ed out, DO NOT use anti-seize grease on the Wheel studs, you will break them like van damme.

Get some new bushings if you want, that would help. and then alignment. Spend a few days doing this all, and your moral will be lifted