Click, click, click, says the wheel.

Falcon4 · Post by **Falcon4** » Wed Apr 04, 2007 12:59 am

Okay, let's see if the word-filtering, psychotic animated smiley-loving Fiero nerds of RFT can help me out any with this fucked up problem. I mean, it does make me worried to even drive the thing.

For a while now, before the accident (yay for faggoty insurance companies that still won't get my car fixed), I'd had a "bump" in the front-left wheel. It's like, as the tire rolls, I can't tell if it happens once per turn or twice, but I imagine it would sound a lot worse if it were half a turn. But I mean, I can see these bumps in the headlight position, and feel it in the car. It takes a bit of concentration to see the bumps on the headlight beam (e.g. on the back of another car), but it's there. It's like you're going over bumps in the road that just aren't there, and happen on every surface.

What the fuck is it? Cause for concern, obviously... but what is it? I've never gotten into the suspension of the car (I still have two Rodney adjustable upper ball joints I don't know how to replace), so this may sound totally n00b, but these cars have bearings don't they? And don't give me that "lol yuo need muffler bearings" shit either. <_<

Could use some help... I'm not looking for a performance car, I just want a daily driver that gets the most out of its 18mpg. :salute:

Series8217 · Post by **Series8217** » Wed Apr 04, 2007 1:00 am

Bent rim?

crzyone · Post by **crzyone** » Wed Apr 04, 2007 2:21 am

Wheel bearing?

Falcon4 · Post by **Falcon4** » Wed Apr 04, 2007 5:03 am

Series8217 wrote:Bent rim?

Don't think so... is there a way to check besides looking at it? I mean, it feels more like a sharp drop than a wobble. Like rolling over equal-distance cracks in the road like rush hour on the freeway.

As for wheel bearings... how much a possibility is that... and how much would it cost (or how much work is involved) to have it checked and fixed? :scratch:

crzyone · Post by **crzyone** » Wed Apr 04, 2007 5:54 am

Wheel bearings are easy to check. Pull off the wheel, take off your brake caliper, take off the hub dust cap, take out the cotter pin, take off the nut and you can slide your whole hub off. You have an inner and outter wheel bearing. You can look at them yourself or have someone look at them for you.

Its entirely possible you have a flat spot on your tire, did your car sit for any length of time?

Sounds to me like a bent rim or wheel bearing. Not too many things that will go clunk clunk in yout front end while driving straight.

Check your wheel lugs as well, maybe they are loose.

Falcon4 · Post by **Falcon4** » Wed Apr 04, 2007 6:06 am

I will do all that. :thumbleft:

The car hasn't sat for more than a week since the tires were brand new, so it's certainly not a flat spot. Bent rim... I'm still not sure, wouldn't that cause a wobble though? I mean, this is a steady clunk that seems to lessen at higher speeds... but I'll see if I can check for that too. It's the fancy spoke style rims, y'know, in case it matters. *shrug*

Better me asking this forum about my car than asking why in god's name a 400mhz Celeron is outperforming my 1ghz P3 in memory performance... :la:

crzyone · Post by **crzyone** » Wed Apr 04, 2007 6:34 am

Try jacking the front of your car up and spinning the tire. It might be apparent what is making the clunk noise.

If you were in an accident then a bent rim is a possibility. Need more info on the accident to say for sure.

Series8217 · Post by **Series8217** » Wed Apr 04, 2007 1:57 pm

I didn't think about a flat spot.. that's more likely. You generally don't feel a wheel bearing as a bumping motion unless its reaallly fucked up but then its going to be loud as hell too.
Did you skid during/before the accident?

stimpy · Post by **stimpy** » Wed Apr 04, 2007 2:00 pm

Falcon4 wrote:Okay, let's see if the word-filtering, psychotic animated smiley-loving Fiero nerds of RFT ...

Ooh, ooh, can I help?

Take your car down to have the balance checked on the tires, preferably at a shop that has a load balancing machine. Most chain tire shops (BigO, America's Tire, etc.) won't charge you anything to do the check. They're just overjoyed to get your car on a rack. An unbalanced tire (manufacturing variation, flat spotting, lost weights) could be causing your issue, as well as a bent rim. Either way, spinning the tire on the balancer will detect that. Ruling out the bent rim or out of round-out of balance tire will narrow it down to wheel bearings or suspension parts. at any rate, they shouldn't charge you anything to look at it.

Expect to pay $$$ if you want them to fix it though. And try not to act like an asshole with people who are doing things for you.

Mach10 · Post by **Mach10** » Wed Apr 04, 2007 2:37 pm

Does it get worse if you ride the brake? Better? Does the brake pedal pulse when you're slowing down, consistant with the noise?

Likely it's a right fucked wheel bearing, but if it's shaking the whole car, it could be a warped rotor with a nice big rust spot dragging on the brake. If your pads are at all loose, it'll make that click noise.

I'm still betting on a chewed up wheel bearing. Take the wheel off and look. :salute:

Shaun41178(2) · Post by **Shaun41178(2)** » Wed Apr 04, 2007 5:39 pm

broken belt in the tire is a possiblity too.

Mach10 · Post by **Mach10** » Wed Apr 04, 2007 5:48 pm

Yeah, forgot about that. Jack the front of the car up and look for goose-eggs on the tire.

Falcon4 · Post by **Falcon4** » Wed Apr 04, 2007 8:30 pm

Woo, so much to do and such a shitty day to do anything outside. I swear it looks like it's going to rain any minute. >.<

Okay... some more info I noted today. I can feel it in the steering wheel, just a bit. It happens most between >0 and 5MPH (just slow rolling). When I was on the freeway though, I don't know if it was the road or the tire, but I could feel a good rumble in the steering wheel... but nothing major in the car. And as far as the brakes? I can't feel it at high speeds, but getting closer to a stop you can feel the car stutter its slowing-down by the bumps. Makes me think something's bent or majorly out of whack. It's not a smooth slow-down...

On one hand I hope it's the tire (the belt thing). They're still in warranty. But I really hope it's not something serious. >.<

crzyone · Post by **crzyone** » Wed Apr 04, 2007 10:14 pm

A rumble at highway speeds. Its definitly starting to sound like a wheel bearing.

I would suggest parking it until you take the hub off.

Mach10 · Post by **Mach10** » Thu Apr 05, 2007 9:29 am

On a sidenote, Crzyone: That's the NASTIEST avatar pic I've ever seen. :salute:

Rumble while driving is almost definitely a wheel bearing. Sounds like you've flattened a needlebearing.

Pull the hub apart, I'm almost guaranteeing you that it won't be pretty. Fortunately wheel bearings are retarded cheap... But make sure you pack them properly with grease.

stimpy · Post by **stimpy** » Thu Apr 05, 2007 11:56 am

I thought Fieros used sealed bearings?

Kohburn · Post by **Kohburn** » Thu Apr 05, 2007 12:07 pm

i vote its a bad tire

Mach10 · Post by **Mach10** » Thu Apr 05, 2007 12:10 pm

stimpy wrote:I thought Fieros used sealed bearings?

On the rears, and in 88s, yes.

Otherwise, No.

Falcon4 · Post by **Falcon4** » Thu Apr 05, 2007 2:44 pm

Wull, I just walked (yup. fucking walked.) back from Pep Boys. They said they can do an inspection for free, zippo, nada, for bearings and tires and wheels and alignment and shit. So I couldn't pass up that offer. It's over there now getting the microscope thrown at it. Their labor rate is like, $82 an hour, which is fucking asinine (for me), so I'm gonna say "thanks for the info, I'll do it myself now". :thumbleft:

That is, if they don't just throw me a piece of paper with a bunch of numbers on it and say "have a nice day" like they did last time with the maintenance inspection. :la:

edit: Other pieces of relevant information: the tires are about 8 months old and it's been doing this bumping thing for at least 5 of those. They were "dirt cheap compatible" tires... I couldn't throw ALL my money at the car, that's for sure. I'm not (always) driving it like a performance hot-shit-mobile (though I *love* looking like I could smoke a Mustang). So... cheap shit. =\

stimpy · Post by **stimpy** » Thu Apr 05, 2007 3:08 pm

Pep Boys? Fresno doesn't have a real tire store? I don't know anyone who doesn't have a horror story from Manny, Moe, and Jack. I got stuck having to take a car there for a flat tire on a Sunday (I don't believe in rolling around on donut tires), waited 90 minutes for them to get my car, then when I checked them they had THE WRONG TIRE off of the car to fix. Fortunately that was a fairly benign mistake. I've heard of some doozies. I would have gone to a Big O, but then again, I'm biased.

Real Fiero Tech

Click, click, click, says the wheel.

Click, click, click, says the wheel.

Re: Click, click, click, says the wheel.