weird front driver's side wheel noise

Lunatik

Member
:
2003.5 MSP
Everytime I drive my front drivers side wheel makes a weird, low, flapping-like noise and when I make left turns it gets a lot louder. I can also feel it in the steering wheel a little bit. I took it to a shop and they said they didnt hear anything and that the CV joints are fine. What can it be? Its driving me crazy! My car also seems to be going to the right a lot more now.
 
It is a shot in the dark but have you checked to see if any of your splash guards are loose or missing the fasteners? It wouldn't fix the pull to the right, that sounds like an alignment issue.
 
check for loose lugs...I had the same issue and noticed one day that 2 of my 5 lugs were missing...scary day
 
checked the lugs not the lugs and not splash guards..

i hate that everytime i get a small problem its impossible to find out
 
no nail also.... a mechanic told me the cv joints are good but damn idk.

how do the check if cv joints are bad?
 
pull off the tire, check behind the hub for the rubber boot, if the boot appears to be broken that's a pretty good indicator, if not, wiggle the joint a little just to check...the sound you describe is not indicative of a busted cv joint but its easy to check...
 
yeah i took off the wheel the other day and I really dont know much about any suspension/alignment stuff so I had no idea what to look for. I kind of heard the sound when I turned the rotor with the wheel off but I dont know if it was the transmission. I'm gonna try and find a place to check it out but its hard to explain it. You have to drive the car to hear and feel it
 
i also found my brakes look a little rusty.... should i be concerned?

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Are you sure it's coming from that side and not coming from another corner?? Get on a slight decline(not a hill or anything) and let the car roll and have someone walk next to each wheel and see if they can hear anything strange. Or better yet have someone trustworthy steer and brake and you listen for the noise since you know what it sounds like already. If not you could try jacking up each wheel one by one and spinning it by hand...also check to see if the wheel is on tight...you wouldn't want to be driving around with a bad bearing....
 
damn idk ive been driving like this for like 2 weeks already. This sound is not THAT noticeable but I'm picky with the car and that noise is bothering me. I'm gonna check it out soon with a friend that knows A LOT more than I do
 
ok so wheel bearing and warped rotors. I'll try and figure this out. Thanks a lot guys I appreciate it.
 
yeah thats true haha hopefully I can get it fixed. Its been bothering me and I hope its not something serious.
 
yea hope so....a bearing can be tough to do and you need a press. Also how do your tires look? Are they worn? Cause that can cause a noise too and you'd feel it in the steering wheel.
 
tires were bought new in december and look new. I dont do burnouts or drive crazy. The sound came out of no where so cant be. How much would it cost if it was a bearing?
 
tires were bought new in december and look new. I dont do burnouts or drive crazy. The sound came out of no where so cant be. How much would it cost if it was a bearing?

well a bearing is not much, under $100 by far, and well labor is prob like 2hrs at a shop so.....maybe $300. Or you could take the knuckle out yourself and bring it and the new bearing to a place and they can press it in for you.

But i don't know what kind of tools you have, getting the axle out of the knuckle can be a pain in the ass and sometimes frozen.
 
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