Brakes or Wheel Bearing?

If I could ask your guys opinion on something, I'd appreciate your input. My 91 Camry has begun to make a noise while I'm driving it. It's more of a squeaking sound, and I'm pretty sure it's coming from the front driver's side. The sound is very much like a squeaky spedometer cable. The faster I go, the faster the noise is.

I've been to two shops (once again), both have had my tires off and inspected the brakes. Both have said they looked fine. They've spun the rotor to make sure it's not out of round nor any gouges in them. Again, both times at the shop, it wouldn't make the noise. Now it's doing it constantly, the only time it doesn't is when I make a left turn. :screwy:

So I go to AutoZone to buy the wheel bearing for my car, and there was 3 guys in there who says it sounds like a brake problem, not a wheel bearing. When describing the sound to my first shop's mechanic, he said it sounded like a brake problem as well, but checked them all out and nothing.

So, what's your opinion - bearings or brakes? The bearings are pressed in, so there really is no way other than changing them to find out the problem right? The guys who work at AutoZone said to try new brakes, but my car also shakes a little while going down the road. There are new CV shafts on the front end if that matters any.

Thanks

did your troubles happen to start after you got the cv shafts replaced? The first thing i though after you wrote "it stops when i'm turning left" was those shafts.

is it a continous squeal or something that repeats faster and faster as you speed up?

The CV shafts were replaced about 3 months ago, but the noise only started about 2 weeks ago. At first it was just on occassion, but now the noise is there as soon as I start driving. The squeak gets faster as I go faster. The only way to describe it is like a squeaky spedometer cable. It's not a continuous squeal.

Something just tells me it isn't the brakes and it's a wheel bearing. I quit driving it about 4 days ago until it gets fixed.

Well from your description, the first thing I would suspect is one of the CV shafts or the intermediate shaft bearing that is shot. If they pulled the intermediate shaft as well, then they could have damaged that bearing. Or, you got a bum CV shaft or half axle. Did they use reman'ed shafts?

It's possible it could be something else, but it would be pretty co-incidental with the shaft replacements.

dave mc

It doesn't happen often but there is a light piece of metal channeling the air flow over the brakes. Sometimes this gets jimmied to rub on the inside of the wheel hub. When you remove the wheel it no longer rubs so no more noise. If this is the culprit you just bend it back where it belongs.

Kep

What was the conclusion of this story? This sounds like exactly the problem I've been having for the past several weeks. Squeaky noise from front driver's side wheel area, squeaks faster as I drive faster, and the brakes are fine. I think it even stops when I turn left, too. I talked to a guy yesterday who suggested the bearing, and if you fixed your problem, jjastew, by replacing the bearing, then I'll feel confident enough to take my car out of commission to replace mine.

I went ahead with the bearing replacement, up until I had the driveshaft out, and then with the help of a fellow DIY-er discovered that the brake pads were, in fact, the problem. (They were more worn on one side than the side I had originally looked at.) Slapped new pads on both front brakes, and the problem is gone. I suspect at some point in the next couple years I'll have to do a caliper rebuild, since that's probably the root of the problem.

Uneven wear betwen inside and outside pads means the caliper isn't sliding on the guide pins like it should.

The Camry and many other Toyotas use a slide pin that has a little rubber ring on the end that over time swells up or even break and causes it to bind up. If you can, replace them with pins from the dealer that don't have the rubber on the end. All of the pins sold by AZ and others have the groove cut into them to accept the rubber grommet/ring. The plain pin is better IMO.

If you remove the pin and there is no rubber on the end, it's probably still in the bore and you'll have to fish it out with a hook.