Wheel Howling
 

Before I tear into this project, thought I'd ask to see if someone's had the same problem...

When I turn left, at 10MPH +, I get a howling out of the right wheel. I have new shocks, new RB springs, no wheel rubbing. I can go nice and slow (no fun) and I won't get the same noise. Conversely, I can be coming down an off ramp, bank fairly hard into a left turn - and I won't get any noise at all. The noise is a low howling sound...

My first guess would be a bearing, but wouldn't that make noise all the time? I've also considered the wheel alignment as related to the strut mount, but I just had an alignment done recently. Is the strut mount a possibilty - I just replaced that recently with a piece from the junkyard?

Thanks for any input!

I would guess bearing myself. They won't neccesarily make noise all the time, just under certain loads/stresses. It's an easy thing to check, and cheap to fix if need be.

Basically, just pull the wheel, and hub cap. Pull the bearing, and stick two fingers in the center, spin the outside and feel for any grinding. If there's any possibility that it's not perfect, junk it and replace it. Might cost ya $15. And don't forget to buy grease when you buy the bearing. :) 'Cause making a second trip for something that silly just sucks.

Good luck,
Brian

wheel bearing would be my guess too.

Survey saaaays......... wheel bearing.

Turning puts more load on the bearing that's why bad wheel bearings usually start making noise when you turn. If you let it go long enough it'll make noise all the time.

Thanks for the help! :peace:

Have you considered supernatural causes, given the time of year?

Spooky man- I was just getting ready to post this as well! I have the exact same problem with my 85GSL and thought at first it was either wheel bearing, tires or brakes binding. My moan occurs during slow spped accel or braking left hand turns. My car has Tockiko blues and Tockiko springs..I started looking for obvious binding and what not, and discovered that the rear passenger (right) side is riding approx 1" higher than the left. I didn't have time to jack up the car and look at the springs/shocks, but will do so tonight. Maybe the spring or shock is not properly mounted or seated and is causing it to moan?
Maybe it's unrelated period but I'm going to fix this first and rule it out beofre I go on.
Just out of curiosity- look at your ride height..It would pretty weird if yours had the same prob..

raygreen - evil spirits? Thought had crossed my mind - though I'd say the poltergeists are on my side. Pretty sure they're the only thing that saved me from a barrelling Durango coming down the off ramp yesterday (some dumb bitch was was reaching down for her lighter, unlit square hanging from her lip, not looking at the road). She looked up just in time to see traffic stopped. She screeched to a halt, inches from my RX's sweet ass... Something saved me - spirits maybe...

Tom - I just put RB springs on a few months ago, and then I noticed the howling. I can't honestly remember whether the sound was there before, I didn't drive it enough after I bought it - and right after I bought it I put the springs on. I probably won't get to the wheel over the next several days. If you get yours looked at, drop me line and let me know what you find...

Like I said previously, I think it's a bearing - but I was also considering the strut mount/spring/alignment angle (no pun intended)...

Thanks again for the help!

im getting a strange problem as well..but only when i brake. it squeels..i checked the rotor and pads, all good. seems like its the right-rear wheel...i didn't check the bearing though.

My 84SE has the same type of front wheel 'moan' when cornering at low speeds (about 5-10mph, tops). This has been constant since I've owned the car, in spite of Tokico Blue installation, RB spring installation, and then upper strut mounts and lower control arms last summer. I have yet to figure out what's making the noise, but it only comes up when making left hand turns, and is definitely coming from the right front tire.

I've also replaced idle arm bushings, and really can't figure out what it is that's causing this noise. Wheel bearings sound like a good thing to check, and certainly haven't been something I've changed in the past. Any assistance is appreciated,

Yea i had the exact same thing, did you also notice a slight vibration in the wheel. I changed my front bearings, and i repacked them with "high Performance Lucas greace" (oooohhhh, aaaahhhhh) And the vibration and noise went away imediately. Remember to tighten them in to specs though, cause too tight and your losing gas milage and to loose and there is a shit load of noise and vibration. Good luck.

Ps bearings and greace cost me like 20 dollars. worth it as far as i'm concerned.

I think I found the ills to both of my problems (right rear groan and 1" lower ride height). The right rear top sway bar end link bushing is completely destroyed, leaving metal on metal contact. I checked the left rear bushings and they are all fine. The difference in height if a new bushing is installed on the right rear sway bar end link (top) would be....1". Imagine that.
What I don't understand is why a left hand turn would cause it to moan...You would think a right hand turn would compress those bushings....
I guess the shop who installed this product for the previous owner was really conscious of their work...
In any event- it's worth a look in your case (and bearings).

Tom - If you turn left, weight is shifted to the right, which would cause the rub area in question to groan.

LongDuck - Don't be so sure that it's the right front. I thought so too, until I checked it and it was fine. Then I had to pull me right rear axle, 'cause it was actually that bearing.

Later,
Brian

Well Duhhh...I was having a bourbon induced brain fart last night.

I still think it's spooks. A bunch of other people have been having these strange noise problems lately and my 7 has been goaning on slow turns, but its coming out of the rear end. Should get a little worse today and then real bad tonight, you will probably be able to go out in the driveway and hear it moaning just sitting there. RXTbone, you got lucky with your durango woman, the durango woman behind me didn't stop in time, crunching my pretty little 7's butt. Course she had been rear ended by a Ford F250 that had been rear ended by a semi, so it wasn't entirely her fault. About the only thing that you can do about all this is to keep putting that MMO in the tank, to appease the rotary gods.

So I'm picking up my daughter from daycare yesterday, and heard a popping noise from the right wheel. Which reminded me off a pertinent piece of information on this problem...

When I turn the wheel, I'll hear popping - as if the spring is rotating? OR maybe this is a bad bearing shifting?

I guess the thing to do is go ahead and replace the bearing and reseat the spring... I'm answering my own questions now... :eek:

... and don't get me started on these f'n soccer moms (and some shelaly challenged men) driving big ass SUV's...

"shelaly challenged men" - what's that mean? Hope I'm not one. While I'm asking question, RXTbone, what color is that on your RX-7? Is it stock? Nice! I have the "cinnamon" or perhaps better named "turd" brown, kinda looks like yours but darker.

Ray

ray green - shelaly challenged, penial challenged - as in the bigger the SUV, the smaller the man's junk. Just a comment born out of frustation at the number four ton metal hammers we have rumbling down the highways now...

The color is Maya Gold, an original OEM color.- and thanks for the comment. If I had been at a dealership in '83, I probably wouldn't have chosen such a color - but it's grown on me. It stands out a little bit in a crowd now, without screaming "look at me"! I'll leave those Fast and Furious colors to the young guns... :D

I know, I got rear ended by one and I can never see around them. That is definately the color for a 1st generation, I like it better than the light beige, which was my previous favorite. The light colors set off the trim. Uh oh, I think my wheels are howling, gotta go.

Any 'clunking' or 'popping' coming from the front end can usually be traced back to the spring mounts at the top of the strut. When you turn, it will rotate the upright, causing the strut housing and spring to rotate, as well. When the spring is twisted and the upper mount doesn't move right away, the further you turn it, the more tension it builds, until 'pop', and the mount is aligned with the spring tension as it's been released.

A fix to this is to ensure that your spring mount, the metal plate at the top of the strut mechanism is able to turn freely on the shaft. You can also lube the top of the spring where it contacts the mount, to ensure that it will not pop due to sudden release of tension. HTH,