So im getting a metal scratching noise from the front left wheel. It doesnt happen right away only after driving for awhile maybe 10-15 mins. I thought it might have been the dust shield so i didnt really rush to fix it. I finially had time to jack it up few days later and the dust shield wasnt the probelm. Where is this noise coming from? I can not figure it out. I also took off the calipers and check and everything seem to look fine. Could it be the bearing that i had replace 3 months ago? Anyone else encounter the same problem or have any idea what it could be?

 

you say everything is fine with the brakes and such, how much pad is truely left there, since you just say everything is fine

 

what bearing was replaced?

 

pads/rotors are only 3 months old. Front left bearing was replace. But would bearing make that kind of noise??

 

was the axle nut fully tightened back down??? (and not bottomed out on the threads, so it is fully preloading the bearing as necessary


so see if there is any play in that bearing, even though it was replaced , who knows it may not have been done correctly , just want to make sure the wheel is not moving around and such

 

What the proper way of retightening the axle nuts ?

I screwed the nut as tight as I could get it by hand with the wheels off the ground,then gave it a little extra with a socket.
Put car on the ground and tightened with all I have with a 2foot bar.
I had my shop and had them hit it with a impact,and they were already fully tightened.
How would you gauge if they were too tight ?
I don't have a touque wrench that probally goes high enough.

 

with about 90 pounds on the end of that bar, it should be good, the issue i was having on my old accord was that the nut was literally bottoming out so it was not fully loading the bearing, basically like what was happening is that i would all of a sudden hit the torque value, and literally could not tighten it anymore, then when i had to remove it later, i could not get it easily off cause it been bottomed out, (same basic thing happen to you when you use that too long of a bolt on the intake manifold)
and then after some time with the bearing not being preloaded as necessary, it got a little of play in it, then i basically noticed it was bottoming out on the nut, so i put a washer under it, which then let the bearing be preloaded correctly, and it got rid of said play

and if you think it was an aftermarket bearing, sorry to disappoint you lol, it was a Honda bearing, with the original hub (so Honda too), then the axle was also a Honda one too (i don't remember if i had replaced the axle yet due to a bad boot/joint, either way it should not matter cause i had gotten a Honda rebuilt axle anyways , so basically what i am saying for that part is that it was ALL honda parts involved, with not fully tightening down)

and btw this was before i fully became an auto tech, so was also a learning process for me

 

and as far as your shop hitting them with an impact afterward, i think i had borrowed a torque wrench afterward also, to make sure it was tight, which it was

and btw it sounds like you did it, it would have been tight, then you also had it doable checked, so you know the nut itself is tight

 

Drive the car until you hear the noise, jack the car up, has both front wheel off the ground, start the car and put it in gear and see if you can hear exactly where the noise coming from and we can go on from there.

 

hate to say it but hammering on a bearing locknut may have damaged it
Preload is critical on bearings- Ive seen improperly installed brand new wheel bearings go 10 miles and fail-(wheel left the car!)
way too much preload on them

 

This damn noise is bugging the shit out of me!!!
So here is what i have done.....
1) got new brake pads.....no help
2) inspected all rotating parts and nothing looks out of place
3) brought it into Sears who installed my bearings and they couldnt get the noise i was hearing and they also said everything looked fine.

What can it be anyone??????

 

an audio/video clip might help

 

that was my next plan!!!

 

When you brought the car back to Sears auto center, you should go test drive with the tech and show him the noise that you heard, he might find something.

 

also do you feel any sort of vibration in the steering wheel or brake pedal when braking... (if not it may still be an ever so slight warped rotor, scraping against the pads as it rotates)

also do you hear said noise on the highway, or like city streets/slow speeds

 

I wanted to do that but they were to busy. I told them they had to drive it for 10-15min to get the noise i was hearing. The tech took it on the highway and city streets and nothing, go figure.

 

No vibration on steering wheel nor brake pedal. You hear the noise mostly when traveling around 10-15mph , but i have also heard it around 40mph. This is a weird one, i can not figure this one out.

 

take off the wheel, i would say put a couple of lugnuts back on, but the those mounting screws for the rotor will do though LOL, but anyways turn the wheel and watch that rotor very closely, to see if it is pushing the pads back and such (it does NOT have to be even enough to cause a pulsation while braking)

 

Ive done that. I took the wheel off put it in "N" and turn the rotor to see if it was making contact with anything what so ever and its free as a bird!

 

no, if the rotor is pushing the pads ever so slightly, then you here the rotor scraping against those every time it rotate, because it is warped ever so slightly, but not enough to feel vibrations though

 

Sorry for the confusion but i think what your describing is what im doing.
1.Jack the front end up
2.Took the wheel off
3. Turn the rotor by hand and check to see if anything was coming in contact with the rotor
4 Free as a bird!

Is that what your recommending i do?

 

kinda, but i am also saying to watch the rotor for any possible run out, which would possibly make the noise you are describing, every time the high spots pass by the pads, when rotating

 

S.O.B ......So i take the video camera out to capture the moment and the batt is dead!!!

 

Yeah they do need to be recharge once in a while.

 

Lmfao

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3dwqnEDohc

Braking was very minimum if at all. Going around 10-15 mph

 

are you sure its coming from the front? If your driving and plan to hear the noise from the passenger side, it can sound from anywhere... Have someone drive with you if you havent yet. I was in a similar situation where I thought the front was making some noise and had my mechanic inspect the front end only to find the problem near the rear caliper..

 

If your driving and plan to hear the noise from the passenger side, it can sound from anywhere...

Not sure what you mean in that sentence.

But now that you mention it, my rear brakes could use a new set. I was so stuck on the sound coming from the front, never thought the problem could be coming from the rear. But why would it sound like its coming from the front??? New rear rotors and pads tomorrow morning.
Next time ill think outside the box! Will report back.

 

+1

 

Meaning... If your driving and trying to hear the noise yourself and the noise is occuring from the passenger side as you said... It can sound as if its in the front but can be coming from anywhere, not just the front.. You do have back rotors too.. lol Check there.

 

It sounds from the front because your focusing on the front, plus you drive from the front... Lol... Hey, it could be from the front as you say but if you inspected the front, then start moving to other moving parts... I got my axle replaced the other day and when I hit bumps I heard rattles... I swore up and down it was the front too.. but it was my back caliper. sounded like the front since thats your ear is focusing since your located in the front. Clean your discs. Dont assume its major yet. Process of elimination dude..

 

and they fact that noises like to travel through other parts before you actually here it, gotta find the actually cause of the noise


but yeah that noise sounds very low pitched, compared to normal scraping noises

 

Hey fellas thanks again for all the input.

 

Your best plan of attack is to get a friend and have them drive your car while you stick your head out the window.

 

Well im going to do the rear anyways, its well overdue! and maybe i can knock two birds out at the same time!

 

So i changes the rear brakes and the DAMN noise is still there!!!!

The noise actually went away before i changes the rear brakes, but i did it anyways since i had the parts in hand.. The noise had seem to be gone and all was well. Until yesterday i heard it creeping back!

 

Go to a parking lot and have a friend drive your car slowly while you stand outside and run beside it. Kind of goofy, but will allow you to hear better. Yes, I have done this. I also did what piggy suggested and jacked-up both front wheels (use emergency brake and/or blocks to hold back wheels still!) and run car in gear while front wheels spin. Take off the wheel from the side where noise is coming from and get close for inspection of noise.

Mine turned out to be the dust shield rubbing the rotor. Yes, I know you checked that, but I did to. In fact, I thought I had fixed it after all the work above, but the noise returned when the car was back on the ground and rolling again. I had to bend the dust sheild a few times to get it totally clear and stop the noise. You can also get a flashlight to look inside the dust shield for a shiny spot indicating where rubbing has occurred, and that's where you would need to bend.

 

you guys kill me preload on a circular roller bearing or angular contact bearings, now that's funny since the races float. Crazy people, find the wheel bearing in the rear that's going out and you'll fix the noise.

lets see now the outer race is a slight interference fit to the spindle, then the inner race sits on the CV jount that is attached to the half shaft that floats inbetween. Glade none of you are designing parts for cars or anything for that matter don't thing they would last too long..

Another funny comment that the pads shouldn't be touching the rotors what fools some of you guys are.

 

Both the rear bearings have been replace.

 

replaced bearings does not guarantee part good now--see transmission threads~

park brake shoes may have minor drag at the end of pad- thats drum brakes~
In the old days, when drum brakes were installed as main brakes, you would grind the shoes to fit the drums perfect before install- so they had max contact on application

the disc brake pads should rest about 1MM off the rotors, so they are there instantly on application of fluid pressure to the caliper piston
The pistons retract when fluid pressure is released and the rotors minor side to side movement kicks the pads off itself the right distance