Rubbing noise gets louder when driving.

[plastik06]

Hi all. I have a quick question before I bring the car to the mechanic. My car is making some rubbing/grinding noises as I drive. In idle there is no sound, but as soon as I start driving it gets louder/faster and when I slow down the sound is slower, then nothing when I stop.

The trans seems to be shifting smoothly and I put new tires on it about 25000 km ago.

99 grand am se, 3400v6, tires bf. goodrich traction t/a

any help would be great.

[Hoags]

How are your brakes? Does the noise stop when you apply the brake? Is the noise coming from the front or rear of the car?

[plastik06]

The noise is from the front. The brakes are fine. I had them replaced in the summer and they have been fine since. It sounds like an airplane engine and there seems to be a small vibration that I can feel in the pedals. I thought it might be a gear noise because of how the sound changes but the tranny shifts smoothly and does not hesitate. It has one of the sealed trannies so I don't know how to check it unless I bring it to a shop. Any help?

[gmack221]

Does the sound change or stay the same while turning? My only guess without seeing it would be wheel bearing, those will normally change the sound when turning though. Or maybe the brake backing plate got bent in and is touching the rotor. Or maybe you have a caliper that froze up and is dragging the pads on the rotor.

[Hoags]

If the brakes are ok, then I'm withe gmack, although when you say you can feel vibration through the pedals, your rotors may be out of round. But that will not cause the noise.
If you have access to tools and jacks and the like you may want to jack the front end up and put the tranny in neutral. Make sure the car is secure, block the rear wheels so the car does not come down off the jacks. When the car is up try to spin the wheels you may be able to hear/see where the noise is comming from, if it is something like the back plate you can simply bend it back out. If you can't see anything I would then take it to a reliable shop and have them look at it.

Good luck

[JRTBandit]

If you have hit a pot hole or have bad tires it could be a broken belt in the tire, if all the other things check out you make want to try to rotate your tires.

[JRTBandit]

BTW-I just noticed I have the same tires as you do, these tires are loud with no problems let alone if there is a problem.

[plastik06]

Hey guys. Turns out to be the wheel bearing. They want $875 CDN to fix it after parts and labour. So I guess I will be shopping around for a better deal from a private mechanic. Any suggestions on how much it should cost?

[gmack221]

You can get the hub assembly from any auto parts store for $115 - $145 American, these prices are from Autozone, i'd go with to most expensive one they have, its made by Timken (a good bearing company). If your mechanically inclined its a pretty easy job with a few tools. Remove the wheel, remove the brake caliper, remove the brake rotor, remove the axle shaft nut, remove the 3 bolts that hold it on, depending on the type of hub unit you may have to disconnect one wire, use a puller to seperate the hub from the axle shaft. Pick up a Haynes manual and it will give step by step instructions & the torques for the 3 bolts and axle shaft nut. If you have some tools you can pick up a few more tools and do it yourself to save $$$. good luck