How would you describe it's sounding? I have a whomp whomp sound coming from my left front tire occasionally, and the car sort of vibrates along with this noise as it rolls. Kinda feels like you have a rock or somehitng in the tire and ur hitting it each time the tire hits the road.
Ryan1
Thats probably not your wheel bearing making that sound. When you have a bad wheel bearing, it tends to make a "squeak-squeak" or chirping sound as you drive.
I'd guess that your tire is probably not balanced correctly, perhaps one of your wheel weights fell off or something. That would cause the wheel to be out of balance and vibrate, it would be very apparent when driving, as you said.
Check it out yourself or take it to a shop, chances are one of your tires just needs to be re-balanced.
My CarDomain Page
bad wheel bearings do not squeek, if its squeeking its prolly the strut mount, bad wheel bearings make a grinding noise when turning a certain dirrection depending on which side is bad, also if you lift the car hold the tire by its edges and gently wiggle i back and forth, if there is play in it its either the tie rod or the wheel bearing, wigle it top to bottom and if there is play in it its either the ball joint or the wheel bearing, if you spin it and it makes a growling/grinding noise it is the wheel bearing
Thanks again!
I think it's a messed up tire....
Ryan1
Wheel bearings can make that noise when your driving in a straight line at a low speed.
Darkstars wrote:bad wheel bearings do not squeek, if its squeeking its prolly the strut mount, bad wheel bearings make a grinding noise when turning a certain dirrection depending on which side is bad, also if you lift the car hold the tire by its edges and gently wiggle i back and forth, if there is play in it its either the tie rod or the wheel bearing, wigle it top to bottom and if there is play in it its either the ball joint or the wheel bearing, if you spin it and it makes a growling/grinding noise it is the wheel bearing
ah dark*s, you are the man. u save me from typing.
-Borsty
the wheel hub.sounds like an airplane..it sounds like air is coming in fast..but in reality it isnt...i think your tires are on wrong..or like the bolts arent tight...check it out ..could be dangerous
Heh might wanna inspect the tire, a belt shift can cause a whomping noise, and vibrations inside the car.
2000 Cavalier 5spd Manual 2.2L
check to see if theres any air in that tire. a flat tire makes weird noises.
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it's not ghetto, it's "in progress"
When I bashed into a curb a couple winters ago and messed up my hub assembly (I know that's what it was because I had to get it fixed), it was a grinding noise at low speeds, just like Darkstars and Zach said.
Rob
Sold 2/2/05
I believe it's a bad tire sinde i put air in it and the noise wasn't as bad. I think with the cold winter we've had here and possibly a slow leak that i have in the tire that maybe it's developed a wear pattern.
Ryan1
if it's a "whomp whomp" with a vibration, you either have a flat spot on your tire, or you have a knot on your tire. now just pinpoint which one it is.
can you feel it in the steering wheel, or more in your ass. If you feel it more in the steering wheel, it's a front. if it's more in your ass, then it's a rear.
it's up to you to figure out which side it's on.
The vibration is more in the steering wheel. ITs sort of vibrates. I think it's the drivers left tire as i think there is a small bulge int eh side wall. I can only deteermine this by running my hand aroudn the sidewall and noticing a dip in the tire.
Ryan1
To start with rotate your tires and see if it makes any difference. If you're not running directional tires try swapping the front left for the right rear. Torque yor lug nuts and check. If the problem doesn't go away, change your hub bearings. GM has used the same hub bearings in the smaller cars since around '85, so they're around $70 ea at autozone/etc or plentiful in junkyards. Find a junkyard car that looks like it's had 'em replaced recently and snag those. I just bought a pair for $20 used, as I've had to change them on 2 J bodys and an N body. They'd all went bad at 80,000-100,000 miles. You can change both sides in under an hour with air tools. Jack up one front side of the car, remove the wheel, remove the brake caliper (2 bolts) and hang off to the side, remove the rotor and set aside, remove the axle nut with an impact wrench, tap on the axle stub to break the splines loose (careful with the threads!), slowly rotate the wheel hub until you can get to each of the 3 bolts holding the mounting flange on the back side of the hub to the spindle. Torx bolts. When they're all out knock the hub out of the spindle by tapping around the flange with a chisel. Don't destroy the spindle. I use an air chisel and just work around it gently. Hub slides off the half shaft splines, and installation is reverse of removal. No need paying a shop $300+ to do this if you're mechanically adept and have basic automotive tools.
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