Hey,

About 5 months ago I got a 4-wheel alignment, wheel balance, and rotation..

After that I had a rotational noise as I drove. I was informed by the shop whom done the work that like, 1 or 2 of my rims were bent... if I remember correctly, but Im sure they said at least one was.

Well I'm thinking that this noise I have now is a result of my bent/untrue steelies. If so, should I look into getting a new set, or is there something that can be done about the current ones?

Also, how much should they cost?

 

You can probably pick up new steelies from a junkyard for $10/rim. You could get them repaired at a wheel shop for probably $50/rim. You do the math.

Pretty sure the shop that did the work didn't check for bent rims and, thus, they're pinning the blame there because they don't have conclusive evidence that it's something else.

What kind of noise is it? Does it only happen at certain speeds/conditions? More information!

 

They told me the wheel(s) were bent like when they done the balance, before their inital test drive and before i got the car back.

I had a rough winter before that, really rough. So it was no surprise to me that I need an alighnment, or that one or two of my wheels were 'slightly' bent.

The noise is constant. It's frequence is directly proportional to my speed; So the faster I go the higher more frequent the noise... kinda like the pulse a bent rotor sends through the brake lines back to the pedal.

 

bump for some anzwers plz~!~

 

?? bump

 

Sounds like either a bad CV joint, bad wheel bearing, or bent wheel. I would look into maybe swapping a friends wheels onto your car to see if that stops the noise. If not I would look under the car and see if one of your CV joints is torn or has slung grease everywhere. Even if it hasnt, it still might be one of your CV joints. I'd start with the wheels though, sense the shop did tell you that they are bent......

 

if your wheels are bent and the rotational mass with the unbalance wheel, your probably putting stress on your wheel bearing causing it to wear faster. Like hatchy said, swap rims and see if anything is happening. if it still is, then it's probably your CV joint or wheel bearings.

 

Mann thanks for the suggestions guys,

Wish I had someone to actually swap wheels with.. lol this **** sucks!

 

Ya, check out your axles. Look for a torn boot or grease spewing everywhere.

 

I checked them axles, they look fine. Good shape.

Im thinkin either the wheels are not balanced properly or one or both of them is bent, I could rotate them both to the back and see if that makes a difference but thats alot of work with only 1 Jack lol;

Today I got some spontaneous idea that if I replaced the suspect wheel with my spare, that the noise would go away and I'd have identified which wheel was the culprit. Well that wasn't too successful as that wheel made a noise itself, but then again it is the doughnut emergency spare, so ... yeah. Thats where I am right now.

 

you can try looking on the rims of the wheel to see if threw a weight. Look for a discoloured area where a weight would have been. There is one on the inside and one on the outside normally.

Cheers.

 

Did I mention I drove the car out of the shop acting like this? I mean that I don't think it had a chance to throw a weight. I'll check, but incase nobody knew, I noticed this driving down the street from the shop, and yeah yeah yeah I kno - I shoulda turned back and asked questions!

 

id say wheel bearing most likely

 

Where is this wheel bearing? Expensive?