Rubbing/grinding noise...not the PPF
 

Hi All:

I'm trying to find the source of a rubbing noise that I hear only when I'm turning left or sometimes under acceleration. It seems to be coming from directly underneath the car, but it's kinda hard to tell. I am completely deaf in one ear (no joke), so locating the source of sounds is often very hard for me.

I thought it was the powerplant frame being cracked, but that wasn't the culprit (took it out and checked it). The tires do not rub. Wheel bearings appear to be ok, but I've gotta look into that a little further. Is there anything I should beyond spin the wheels by hand?

I was gonna remove the cat and exhaust and drive around (no boost of course!) and get up just enough speed to determine whether or not some part of the exhaust is rubbing.

Thanks,
Sonny

I had the same problem... only on left turns, it sounded like the tranny would hit/rub the tunnel. Well, I just changed my motor mounts (urethane) and the problem is solved.

See if your engine moves when you hit the gas...that should let you know if you have a worn motor mount or two.

Thanks for the tip, man. Time to crawl under there and have a look.

Sonny

Also check your wheel bearings....

-Kib

"Wheel bearings appear to be ok, but I've gotta look into that a little further."

I think he might already be looking into his wheel bearings but i might be wrong :p:

I got under the car. The motor mounts look ok. Do I need to take them out to determine if they are broken? The boots don't appear to have tears and I don't see cracking in the metal brackets.

I spun both front wheels while pulling/pushing on the rim. No funny noises.

Damn, this is driving me nucking futs. :mad:

Sonny

you don't need to get dirty checking the motor mounts. your transmission shift lever is bolted to your engine which is bolted to your motor mounts.

drive the car. get on and off the gas. if your gearshift lever moves side to side any abnormal amount it is time for a driver's side motor mount.

install an engine torque brace from Garfinkle (search) and you will never have the problem again.

good luck,

howard coleman

Ok, I am having almost the same problem only there is tire rubbing. Here is the situation. I started to notice that my car was rubbing around left turns so I went and got an alignment. The car had a 14 point insteer so they fixed that. But that did not change the rubbing. On the wheel well it is to the front of the tire (not the top) and in (when turning) so somehow the wheel is moving more forward. The alignment is still fine. I went out today to check a hunch and yes, the passenger side front tire is about a fingers width higher than the drivers side (only on the fronts). This is a stock suspension. Also, I noticed when I installed the short shift that the tranny is a little bit to the right in the housing....the car has never been in a accident while I had it nor a major one prior. Any help would be much appreciated.
PS....the rubbing is not subject to hard lefts and it will rub a tiny bit on right hand turns.
THANKS!

did you check your trailing arms?

no, I havent...is there a way I can do that without jackstnding the car and taking a wheel off. I have the unfortunate luck of living in a condo with the dreaded "board" that can fine you for working on your car. What should I look for?

your engine mounts may look okay but is not always the case. Mine look okay but I can move the motor just by shaking it with my hands

havent tried that....could the motor be leaning and that is causing the problem with weight transfer/rubbing?

^

I check the motor for movement this morning. There is almost no travel what so ever. I pushed on it pretty hard, it would give just a tiny tiny bit before it was transfered to the suspension.

Sonny fixed his problem in another thread. He removed the shifter panel and saw that the shifter was rubbing on the tranny tunnel. He ended up re-aligning the driveline to solve the problem (there is a procedure in the FSM on how to do it).

As long as your shifter is not rubbing against the tranny tunnel, then Sonny's problem is/was not like yours.

my tires are actually rubbing against the wheel well of the car...though I may need to do the drivetrain since it is a tad off center.

any thoughts on what would make it rub in the front/left of the wheel? this has got all of us confussed.

Did you ever get this figured out? Just curious because my car is doing this on the driver side front ... tire is rubbing against the wheel well on right hand turns. Pretty obvious because there is now a hole in plastic wheel well ... it's now rubbing against the wire conduit there (headlights?).

I'm running stock rims, brand new tires (Toyo Proxes4), have Tokico 5-way adjustible shocks, no clue on the springs though. After measuring from the wheel center cap up to the fender, the left front is a 1/2" lower than the right front. I'm guessing the springs are worn out and sagging?

Any suggestions? Thanks!

Yes, he did:
https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-generation-specific-1993-2002-16/rubbing-grinding-noise-found-how-do-i-fix-302692/

mine only grind when i floor it in second gear it grinds what it sounds like right behind me under the car I just changed the ppf. What do you guys think it is

Thanks for the reply Mahjik ... good to see that Sonny did solve & fix the problem. That's always a great feeling!

In my case, where I'm definitely having tire rub and the left side of the car has dropped 1/2", would that be a symptom of bad springs? Just curios before i order some new ones. Any suggestions/comments would be appreciated. Thanks.

grinding noise
 

My 94 is doing the same thing.It only grind when turning left.It sounds like the drive shaft is too long.It is right under your sit.I was thinking it might be the bushings holding the rear end letting the rear end twist and jamming the drive shaft.I will be glad when it is fixed