Banging noise!, Changed axel, bearing, hub & the whole spindle... Options

[str8thugginit4ya]

Hey guys,

Really getting kind of frustrated with this & would really appreciate your help; so my passenger side hub & bearing went bad a couple weeks ago & started making a lot of noise. You don't hear the noise until you reach to about 10-15 miles & up. It's like almost a banging noise & it progresses with speed. It's hard to explain the noise through text, but if you can imagine, it's like a DOOM DOOM DOOM kind of noise. Also, as I turn right or left the noise progresses more as well. I changed the hub, which was worn down to NOTHING, and also the bearing & the whole spindle and I'm still hearing the same exact noise. Now, when I changed all of that stuff, the axle nut was loose cause the nut-lock & cotter pin was missing (I don't know). So I figured since the axle nut was loose, that wore down the hub really bad. So after I changed it I thought everything would be fixed, but I guess I was wrong. I put back a nut-lock & cotter pin. Does anyone have any ideas on what else it could be? I even tried changing out my wheels to see if it were a wheel problem, but no luck. It still made the noise with new wheels. If anyone has any ideas on what it could be, your help would be much appreciated.


-Thank you for your time, Ryan

[schmooot]

Are these new parts you are putting in? (hub/bearing) or parts from a wrecker? If they are wrecker parts you can't rule them out just yet

u-joint is probably referring to your cv joint (aka driveaxles) as that is the only place on your particular car you would find one. But you say you changed the axle as well.


So to break it down...you changed the hub assembly, as well as the driveaxle and the wheels, and the noise is exactly the same? You are sure the noise is coming from the passenger side?

If the noise changes with speed that can narrow down your search to only the parts that spin. Which is your two cv joints, bearings inside the hub, and brake disc/caliper setup.

The beauty of a FWD is you can jack up the front end (support it well and proper with jackstands obviously!!) and then crawl under there and have a listen while someone gets in the drivers seat and gets it rolling, and turns the wheel. Now there are quite obviously safety concerns with this method but as long as you aren't a complete moron you should have no problem pinpointing the noise.

IMO even though you changed the axle, I would still suspect it as being the culprit, bad cv joints make that noise and get louder when turning, they will also make noises if they aren't properly inserted into the transmission, or if the axle nut is loose. Suspension is tricky, check and double check that all the joints and bolts are tight, jack the car up and then put a jack under the wheel to get it sprung back up and then start prying at things with a big bar as well.

This post has been edited by schmooot: Mar 12, 2012 - 9:55 PM

[str8thugginit4ya]

Are these new parts you are putting in? (hub/bearing) or parts from a wrecker? If they are wrecker parts you can't rule them out just yet

u-joint is probably referring to your cv joint (aka driveaxles) as that is the only place on your particular car you would find one. But you say you changed the axle as well.


So to break it down...you changed the hub assembly, as well as the driveaxle and the wheels, and the noise is exactly the same? You are sure the noise is coming from the passenger side?

If the noise changes with speed that can narrow down your search to only the parts that spin. Which is your two cv joints, bearings inside the hub, and brake disc/caliper setup.

The beauty of a FWD is you can jack up the front end (support it well and proper with jackstands obviously!!) and then crawl under there and have a listen while someone gets in the drivers seat and gets it rolling, and turns the wheel. Now there are quite obviously safety concerns with this method but as long as you aren't a complete moron you should have no problem pinpointing the noise.

IMO even though you changed the axle, I would still suspect it as being the culprit, bad cv joints make that noise and get louder when turning, they will also make noises if they aren't properly inserted into the transmission, or if the axle nut is loose. Suspension is tricky, check and double check that all the joints and bolts are tight, jack the car up and then put a jack under the wheel to get it sprung back up and then start prying at things with a big bar as well.

Yes sir, all the parts that I changed were brand new. But after I changed the hub/bearing & it was still making a noise, so I tried to change it again with a used one to see if it would make a difference. Unfortunately it didn't, so I'll probably put back the new one back in soon. I will see if I could check out the cv joints & what not today or maybe tomorrow. I doubt that it could be the axel, but I could be wrong. I'll see if I could double check when I have the car on jack stands again.


-Thanks, Ryan


Yes, I'm pretty sure it's coming from the passenger side. Well, at least that's what it sounds like inside the car. I haven't had a second set of ears listen to it on the outside or what not. And yes, when I changed out the wheels, the noise got a LITTLE bit quieter, but was still noticeably there.


-Thanks again, Ryan