Sounds coming from drivers side front wheel

[Aisengard]

Here's the situation:

Oftentimes (not all the time), when I turn the steering wheel even slightly left, I get a slight metalish-squealing sound coming from the drivers side front wheel area.

Sometimes, when I make a slow, hard right turn (like making a 90-degree turn from a stop), I get two clunking sounds from approximately the same area.

Is this something to be concerned about? I googled the first sound and there were many mentions of a warped rotor (and my friend told me he had the same problem and it was his rotor), but before I start the wild and expensive goose chase of bringing it to mechanics I figured I'd check around the internet.

I have a 2004 Hyundai Elantra, and got new tires 6 months ago.

Any suggestions?

 

[AMCRambler]

Probably that three year old and his tricycle you ran over last week. Extricate the toddler and he'll probably stop squealing. lol

 

[exdeath]

Strut and it's upper mount most likely, but don't rule out ball joint and tie rod end either before a proper diagnosis.

Something squealing and clunking at the same time on the same side is normally a strut. Tie rod ends and ball joints don't have the surface area to resonate and squeal the way a strut does when turning, they just tend to feel crunchy and creaky.

 

[AMCRambler]

Ok, on a more serious note the first issue does sound like a warped rotor or perhaps pads that have worn down to the metal. The second issue I'm thinking could be a bad tie rod end, bad ball joint or worn control arm bushings.

The first if you're slightly handy you could tackle yourself. Take the calipers off and check the pads, if they're good then pick up two new front rotors and install them to see if it fixes it.

The second problem takes a little more skill and some specialized tools when you're working with suspension. And after you're done you'll still want to get an alignment done. Probably best to take it into the shop for that.

 

[brblx]

why in the hell would a warped rotor make a squealing sound while turning?

does noise happen when you hit the brakes? does it change when you let off the brakes? if it remains constant and is not effected by braking, it's probably not brake related.

 

[AMCRambler]

When the wheels are turned while the car is moving you're directing force from pushing straight down on the wheel to pushing in and out on the wheel. A warped rotor could brush against the pads/wear indicator and make noise. Although if you're only turning the wheel slightly, then perhaps not. Maybe a wheel bearing then?

 

[Saga]

Sounds like a wheel bearing.

 

[GasX]

Awww, come on guys, it's so simple maybe you need a refresher course. It's all ball bearings nowadays. Now you prepare that Fetzer valve with some 3-in-1 oil and some gauze pads, and I'm gonna need 'bout ten quarts of anti-freeze, preferably Prestone. No, no make that Quaker State.

 

[ayabe]

Awww, come on guys, it's so simple maybe you need a refresher course. It's all ball bearings nowadays. Now you prepare that Fetzer valve with some 3-in-1 oil and some gauze pads, and I'm gonna need 'bout ten quarts of anti-freeze, preferably Prestone. No, no make that Quaker State.

Thanks Gordo.

I was talking to Abe Froman the Sausage King of Chicago the other day.......

I'll chime in with my own guess, CV joints...

 

[exdeath]

When the wheels are turned while the car is moving you're directing force from pushing straight down on the wheel to pushing in and out on the wheel. A warped rotor could brush against the pads/wear indicator and make noise. Although if you're only turning the wheel slightly, then perhaps not. Maybe a wheel bearing then?

The brake disc and caliper are rigidly fixed to the wheel knuckle and move with the wheel in all degrees of movement. They would not move independently as wheel loads change. Warped rotor would also cause vibrations at speed and a wobble when the brakes are applied, and if it was squealing, would do so independently of steering.

Wheel bearing would exhibit a consistent groaning noise or vibration at various speeds, not make a squeal when turning the steering wheel. If the bearing was bad enough to clunk, you'd have serious stability issues. Likewise with loose lug nuts.

Need to look at the pivot points in the steering system, namely the strut and upper mount, which can not only scrape or squeal when turning, but clunk when traveling up and down. When the steering wheel is turned, the strut is rotating and binding to make a squeal sound (in one direction only), and when turning hard right, the left strut is loaded (compression) and unloaded (rebound) hence two distinct clunks from the left only when turning right.

The clunking should be easy to replicate by bouncing the front left corner of the car, or if more force is required, standing on the driver door sill and bouncing up and down. If you can have someone do that for you, you can feel for a pop or thud in the strut mount as the noise is made. There will be two distinct and complementary sounds with a "click" and "clack" relationship each time the wheel goes up and down.

 

[AMCRambler]

The brake disc and caliper are rigidly fixed to the wheel knuckle and move with the wheel in all degrees of movement. They would not move independently as wheel loads change. Warped rotor would also cause vibrations at speed and a wobble when the brakes are applied, and if it was squealing, would do so independently of steering.

Wheel bearing would exhibit a consistent groaning noise or vibration at various speeds, not make a squeal when turning the steering wheel. If the bearing was bad enough to clunk, you'd have serious stability issues. Likewise with loose lug nuts.

Need to look at the pivot points in the steering system, namely the strut and upper mount, which can not only scrape or squeal when turning, but clunk when traveling up and down. When the steering wheel is turned, the strut is rotating and binding to make a squeal sound (in one direction only), and when turning hard right, the left strut is loaded (compression) and unloaded (rebound) hence two distinct clunks from the left only when turning right.

The clunking should be easy to replicate by bouncing the front left corner of the car, or if more force is required, standing on the driver door sill and bouncing up and down. If you can have someone do that for you, you can feel for a pop or thud in the strut mount as the noise is made. There will be two distinct and complementary sounds with a "click" and "clack" relationship each time the wheel goes up and down.

While the caliper is rigidly attached(bolted) to the wheel knuckle, the brake disc is not. It's mounted to the hub which is attached to the axle half shaft held in place by bearings. As such there could be play in the bearings or cv joint causing the axle, hub and disc to move in and out slightly when the force on the wheel changes.

 

[brblx]

the only thing that would let the rotor move is a bad wheel bearing. bad wheel bearing != warped rotor.

 

[AMCRambler]

the only thing that would let the rotor move is a bad wheel bearing. bad wheel bearing != warped rotor.

Right. It would have to be a bad wheel bearing + a warped rotor for the squealing. Either way, I already said perhaps this isn't the case, seems highly unlikely. There would be a wicked vibration or hum that you'd notice way before a pad wore down and started squealing.

My point with this post is that Exdeath is wrong. The rotor is not rigidly attached to the wheel knuckle. It moves independently of the wheel knuckle or else the car would not roll.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

My bet is a bad cv joint in your driver's side half shaft. Those two loud clunks when turning hard right give it away.

 

[holden j caufield]

My bet is a bad cv joint in your driver's side half shaft. Those two loud clunks when turning hard right give it away.

2nd on the CV

 

[zoiks]

What's fleabag's take on this?

 

[exdeath]

While the caliper is rigidly attached(bolted) to the wheel knuckle, the brake disc is not. It's mounted to the hub which is attached to the axle half shaft held in place by bearings. As such there could be play in the bearings or cv joint causing the axle, hub and disc to move in and out slightly when the force on the wheel changes.

In normal operation, the wheel, the hub, and the rotor are fixed together and can be considered a solid piece, which other than rotation, is again fixed solid in relation to the knuckle and brake caliper. No lateral forces in the wheel are going to change the relationship between the disc and the caliper; the wheel, hub, rotor, knuckle and caliper will move as one unit when forces act on the wheel or knuckle. Sorry for the misunderstanding.

The only thing that can allow that rigid relationship to change is a very bad or no wheel bearing, and then your problem is simply a bad wheel bearing, not a "warped rotor brushing against the pads when forces in the wheel change". And a wheel bearing can be ruled out in this case because bad wheel bearings produce continuous noise at all times in relation to vehicle speed. That isn't what was described.

Similarly the condition of the axle joint has no effect on the relationship between the disc and caliper. CV joints make continuous noises while turning as well or during accel/decel or during shifts, they don't squeal or clunk twice then stop.

Bad ball joints would cause a noticeable degradation of ride quality (wobble or vibration) and not simply clunk twice, and they clunk and creak more than squeal. Likewise, tie rod ends don't squeal so much as creak and pop and would result in clunks that could be reproduced sitting in the car rocking the steering wheel back and forth.

Of all the things left, the strut and/or mount is the only thing that makes sense given the limited info. Jumping up and down on the driver door sill to reproduce the clunking noise heard would quickly rule it out.

Bottom line, we are pretty much left playing guessing games without seeing the car.

 

[Aisengard]

Thanks guys, I'm not handy at all with cars (unless it involves replacing something easily modular), so I'm going to bring it in to my mechanic in a few weeks. Or should I not wait that long?

Sounds like bad cv joints may be the winner. I'm guessing that's fairly expensive. Any ideas on what could have caused that? The tire replacement/alignment maybe? Should I just get the drivers' side cv joint fixed, or have the mechanic look at the other side too?

EDIT: I didn't read exdeath's post. I'll jump up and down on the drivers' side door to try and reproduce the clunking sounds, and report back.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

........................................

Similarly the condition of the axle joint has no effect on the relationship between the disc and caliper. CV joints make continuous noises while turning as well or during accel/decel or during shifts, they don't squeal or clunk twice then stop.


........................................

A half shaft can 'pop' once or twice very rarely under very specific conditions. The fact that it does it when he is at full lock basically proves it imo.

Although it could be his shock mount (the spring pops as it twists over the mount) but usually that is a very noticeable problem.. It would happen if he wasn't moving. The key here is that the sounds are heard at low speeds and weird steering angles.

Plus it's a small car, hyundai, which most likely doesn't have beefy half shafts.



To the op - get underneath the car and look for broken rubber boots/seals that look like this:

http://www.saabcentral.com/~munki/technical/transmission/cv_boot_stretch_type.htm

And ball joints and tie rod ends with busted rubbers which look like this:

http://www.allfordmustangs.com/foru...after-eibach-springs-installed-ball-joint.jpg

Edit:

Just a heads up, you will need a flashlight. You may find it easier to drive it up on 2x6's or ramps so you can crawl underneath, just don't drop the car on your head.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

Thanks guys, I'm not handy at all with cars (unless it involves replacing something easily modular), so I'm going to bring it in to my mechanic in a few weeks. Or should I not wait that long?

Sounds like bad cv joints may be the winner. I'm guessing that's fairly expensive. Any ideas on what could have caused that? The tire replacement/alignment maybe? Should I just get the drivers' side cv joint fixed, or have the mechanic look at the other side too?

EDIT: I didn't read exdeath's post. I'll jump up and down on the drivers' side door to try and reproduce the clunking sounds, and report back.

A mechanic will try and talk you into replacing both sides and probably a bunch of other stuff "while he's in there". Figure out what it is first, and worry about the other stuff after that.

I would get it looked at soon. If it's some sort of horribly failing/failed suspension part (like a lower ball joint) then it may not be safe to drive.. But most likely you're fine for a few weeks.

 

[holden j caufield]

usually a CV joint isn't too expensive, only about $120 for a remanufactured one. I think if the right is rattling, every time you turn left you should hear it and vice versa.