Noise at Rear-end of vehicle

[hillre]

Hello,
I've 96 Grand Prix, SE, 3.1 with 222,000 miles. I'm hearing some sort of noise, especially while driving at low speed, in the rear end area. The noise sounds as if it is coming from one of the rear tires. When I take off, it feels like the car is bouncing up and down while at the same time I can hear this noise. It's like the noise is coming from one of the tires. Could the tires be out of balance? Dry rotted? etc? It seems like when I apply the brakes, the noise increases but there in no squeaking, just a thumping like noise. I noticed that when driving at a high speed, the noise can't be heard and there is no vibration in the steering system. When I'm slowing down like at a red light, I hear the sound again like when approaching a red light. Could this be a bad brake caliper or bad wheel bearings? The passenger side brake caliper has been replaced but not the driver side. I removed both rear tires, inspected them and check the brake pads and made sure both caliper were tight, etc. The struts seems to be ok as well. I didn't see anything out of the ordinary. The bushings have already been replaced in the leaf spring assembly (I had noise in this area prior to this problem). I would appreciate any thoughts and or suggestions. I really don't want to take it to a local shop (unless absolutely necessary) that will probably tell me I need to replace something that isn't the problem. Take Care and thanks!

[GPFred]

You could have a busted belt on that tire. You can't always tell a busted belt by pulling it off and looking at it. Jack up the rear of the car, release the emergency brake and spin the tire, look at the tread of the tire as it spins and you should see the tread bouncing up and down. It can't be anything else based on what you have told us. The mechanical parts wouldn't cause the car to bounce up and down on take off other than a bad strut/shock that is totally worn out, but that usually requires hitting a bump to learn that. Good luck.

[JonJon68]

I'm no expert by any means but how old are your tires? Perhaps you have a broken steel belt in your tire or something along those lines. Just a thought. Keep us informed as to what you eventually find.

[hillre]

Thanks for taking time to respond, I really appreciate it. I will definitely do as you suggested as soon as I get off of work today and it cool off a bit). I will let you know the outcome. Take care!

You could have a busted belt on that tire. You can't always tell a busted belt by pulling it off and looking at it. Jack up the rear of the car, release the emergency brake and spin the tire, look at the tread of the tire as it spins and you should see the tread bouncing up and down. It can't be anything else based on what you have told us. The mechanical parts wouldn't cause the car to bounce up and down on take off other than a bad strut/shock that is totally worn out, but that usually requires hitting a bump to learn that. Good luck.[/quote]

[hillre]

Thanks for taking time to respond! These tires are going on seven years old. I had them installed at 110,500 miles on December 6, 2000. Now the vehicle has 222,000 miles. I suppose I have got my money worth out of them ha). I will definitely let you know the outcome. Take care!

I'm no expert by any means but how old are your tires? Perhaps you have a broken steel belt in your tire or something along those lines. Just a thought. Keep us informed as to what you eventually find.[/quote]