Front End/Bearing/Tire Noise! HELP!

[UsedtobeSmart]

Okay, I'm far from helpless when it comes to cars. I can tell tire noise from a worn-out bearing better than most mechanics I've run across (though I think that's because I don't spend all day listening to an impact wrench/hammer going off and don't crank my music so loud my ears bleed), but I've about had it with this car.

The story, in brief. My 1997 GL sedan with under 140k just got a bunch of new parts; inner and outer tie-rod end on the driver's side, wheel bearings on both sides (passenger side was OEM), anti-sway bar on the passenger side, ball joints on both sides, struts in the rear (and I think they were the stabalizers in the rear too, but I can't remember now), brake pads on the front... Anyway, when they installed the bearing on the passenger side they had to use a wire brush (on an air wrench or whatever that thingw as called) to clean out the corrosion because the bearing wouldn't fit without hammering it in, and when they were done it just slid in. They also didn't tighten it down properly, as I found out getting an inspection the next day (the mechanic impacted it down slowly about six turns till it was snug). The guy doing my alignment said it was tight, but I'm not sure it wasn't still a bit loose or overtight -- nobody has used a torque wrench on it and I don't have a 1/2" drive torque wrench... and with the ground so soft here I can't jack the car up enough to even get the wheel off.

Now the fun part -- I started hearing a noise like a worn-out bearing on my way home from the alignment shop yesterday. It's bad enough that I have a radial pull in my tires that have less than 10k on them (and a rear alignment that was never corrected from Ford's factory garbage -- bad toe-in and camber from the factory. Thanks, Ford!) with some noticable feathering that is pulling me to the left, now I have bearing problems again!

Is it possible that they removed too much material from the knuckle/hub/whatever it's called and the bearing is failing after less than 400 miles as a result? If so, should I get one from a junkyard? I'm out, and I mean out, of cash at this point and don't expect any more any time soon. I'm hoping that it's just not torqued right and I'll be able to get that checked/fixed Monday. Any ideas would be GREATLY appreciated! If I got a bad bearing it's just going back for a replacement (something I haven't ruled out entirely, but what are the chances?) and hopefully I'll be done sinking money into this car (it went in to the shop for rear struts and front brakes) for at least six months.

HELP!

[shorod]

Originally Posted by UsedtobeSmart

It's bad enough that I have a radial pull in my tires that have less than 10k on them (and a rear alignment that was never corrected from Ford's factory garbage -- bad toe-in and camber from the factory. Thanks, Ford!) with some noticable feathering that is pulling me to the left, now I have bearing problems again!

So let me see if I understand this. You have a noise that sounds like a bad bearing. You also have bad tires that are feathered/cupped. You have new bearings and a bunch of other new parts for the steering/suspension. Why do you think the noise is a bearing rather than the cupped tire?

-Rod

[UsedtobeSmart]

Originally Posted by shorod

So let me see if I understand this. You have a noise that sounds like a bad bearing. You also have bad tires that are feathered/cupped. You have new bearings and a bunch of other new parts for the steering/suspension. Why do you think the noise is a bearing rather than the cupped tire?

-Rod

If I load the passenger side bearing the noise fades (along with another noise I forgot to mention but can't really describe), and that's the one that wasn't tightened down properly when it was installed. By load I mean roll the wheel so the weight is on the driver's side during a turn. The guy at the alignment shop (which is a tire/oil change/inspection specialty shop) had nothing to say about my tires being bad, so I'm assuming they're not that bad; but if you run your hands on them there's a slight ridge on the backwards stroke. I've seen worse feathering on far more aggressive tread not cause noise or a pull.

More information, if it's useful. I had the alignment done and then had the tires rotated the next day. At that point it started pulling to the right, so I went back to the shop that did the alignment and it's spot on in the front still, so he swapped the tires side to side to see if that fixed the problem. That's when it started pulling to the left.

The pull is from the tires -- the guy said something about the steel belts settling (which is called a radial pull, I thought). But, whenever I've had this noise before it's been from the bearings (had to replace the driver's side twice this year so I'm getting familiar with the sound of one going bad). The tires are aggressive tread, but they've been quiet thus far. Why would they suddenly turn noisy a week after a new bearing was put in?

[UsedtobeSmart]

Rod -- I got out my lug wrench and checked the lug nuts and boy were they loose. Well, not like finger-tight loose, but they weren't anywhere near the 100 ft-lbs of torque they're supposed to be at. I drove it down the road like a maniac and rolled the wheel a few times and I can't duplicate the noise now. Maybe it's because it's 20 degrees cooler now than it was Friday, but I'm thinking it was the lug nuts letting the tire vibrate. The pull is nearly gone too, from what I can tell. I'm still going to see about getting that bearing retorqued, though. I'll let you know what comes of it.

Sorry, it's just been a case of fix one thing I know needs fixing and then something else went and then something else went and then something ELSE went... I'm getting paranoid.

Also, if the noise comes back before I get the bearing torqued I'll know it's not the lugnuts and if it comes back afterwards I'll look VERY carefully at the tires.

Anyway, thanks for making me think about simpler solutions.

Let this be a lesson -- if you don't see them torque your lugnuts, check 'em as soon as you can!

[shorod]

Originally Posted by UsedtobeSmart

Why would they suddenly turn noisy a week after a new bearing was put in?

I don't know the answer to that, but I also have not heard of wheel bearings going bad at the frequency that you are experiencing. Sounds like you may be chasing the wrong part.

If you are experiencing a pull due to tires, then maybe rather than it being radial pull, it's actually a separated belt. A separated belt can cause a bulge or pit that can trap air and make an odd noise with every rotation of the tire. Since you know you have an issue with the tires, I'd suggest you get that remedied rather than changing out the bearing again. Maybe you can cycle your spare tire around to see if you can find one faulty tire and see what happens to the noise.

-Rod

[tripletdaddy]

Now I'm not an expert with the repair of the bearing, hub, knuckle asssembly, but aren't all of these parts pressed on and off? That sure is what is in the Auto Zone online repair section. So, when the bearing just slides in after removing heavy rust, doesn't a spun bearing come to mind, especially when the spindle nut is not fully seated?

[UsedtobeSmart]

Rod, Thank You for all your help on this. I've done this and done that and had the lug nuts torqued and both wheel bearings torqued (one was at least fifty foot-pounds off) and the noise has been reduced to tire noise and is far less intrusive now, and so far it hasn't cost me anything more than some time and gasoline. Aggressive tread designs can be a problem in the noise department. Next on the agenda for me is the rear alignment, but I have to get some ice out of the frame making the most horrific clunk you ever heard come out of a car taken care of first.

Sorry this reply took so long but I haven't had internet for a while thanks to my phone company's billing practices, not that it's relavant to this discussion.

Anyway, I wanted you to know that I, and everyone else here, appreciates your dedication to this board.

[shorod]

Glad to hear that you got the noise to tolerable levels, and thanks for the kind words.

-Rod