thump, thump, thump... rotor problem?

[mygreenmustang]

Hi,
The best I can describe what it feals like is, something like my front tire or tires have a flat spot. As I roll, it goes thump thump thump... feals worse at slow speed.
The stearing wheel does jump up and down at high speed but seems to level out around 62-65 MPH
I bought this car used and I now have a fealing it may have been in an accident?
Nothing visually wrong, pads, rotors, and tires.
Any ideas? Thank you so much.

[351wStang]

Shakedown the front-end. Check ball joints, wheel bearings, tie-rod ends, ect. Also check to see if your rotors are warped. Does it do this "thump" only while brakeing or is it constant while moving?

[mygreenmustang]

Thanks.
I did a thorough shake down, checked all joints and and front end... it all seems to check out!
It brakes fine, does not do any thing out of the normal during the braking...
it does the thump thing ONLY in motion. As soon as you start to roll. Even while coasting.
How can I visually see if the rotors are warped?

[351wStang]

Originally Posted by mygreenmustang

How can I visually see if the rotors are warped?

You cant. You could try a straight edge and feeler guage but that may not work. Thats only good to check for high/low spots, not warpage. It sounds to me like you may have a cage failure in a wheel bearing or something of that nature. You may try jacking the front of the car up and spinning the wheels to see if there is anything visually odd going on then. This problem is difficult to diagnose without being there to see it for myself. You may end up having to take it to the shop.

[mygreenmustang]

I did jack it up and the only thing I can see, hear or feal is ... with the wheel on... when spinning around, the pads do touch the disc very slightly for aprox. 4 - 5 inch's. but really, barely enough to slow it down!
????????
I know too many people (including myself) whom have been taken by shops....
I find it much less expensive just replacing myself. Even if I replace and it was not the problem... it still always ends up less expensive!

But.... yup, this one is getting to me!

[351wStang]

I really dont know what to tell ya man. Its hard for me to fix a problem when I cant see it for myself. The best sugestion I have for you is to shakedown the front of the car again. There has to be something. Check all moving parts up front. Also make sure the struts are tight. I have seen loose shocks/struts make some loud thumping noises. Just get the whole front of the car a good once over. With the wheels supporting the weight push up/down ect on the car. Try anything you can think of to get it to make the noise even if its not as loud until you can pinpoint it. Good Luck! Let me know what you find out.