I drive a 97 SE Maxima, with 135,000miles on it and I get this weird noise from the driver's side wheel. It sounds like when you are riding a bike with a flat tire, squish squash....

I get the noise when I make right turns or accelerating forward at around 10-25mph or slowing down. Anything above 25mph the noise goes away. I don't get the noise when going in reverse. I don't think I get the noise when making left turns but I'm not sure.

I'm thinking it's the CV boot but I just recently replaced it so what else can it be.

I know it is not my brake cause I would hear a different noise like a metal shimming noise.

Any inputs are welcome please don't flame me.

 

who replaced the cv shaft?, make sure the center axle nut is tight. check wheel bearing play once the car is up in the car. Also spray some Liquid wrench where the abs tone ring is and the hub. Between the two just a quick spray you might be rubbing. Had the same noise at low speeds Sprayed some in there and its gone.

 

I have the same problem. It happens every once in a while. I could describe the sound as letting air out of a ballon slowly, I guess...But your example of riding on a flat bike tire is more realistic.

 

Thanks for the reply, but can it be my struts going too? Cause it is only when I make right turns. I'll spray some liquid wrench on them and see if that helps.

Thanks again.

 

same noise here bump

 

Try removing the remains of the French Poodle from the wheel well...

 

It may be your wheel bearings. I just picked my car up from the shop today and there was some play in my left front wheel it turns out my bearings were going. I had a noise at slow speeds and when I turned as well. I have a 97 SE and I just went over 136k miles.

 

another sign of a bad bearing is a rythmnic grinding or resonance coming from the wheel at speeds of 40+, getting worse and worse as the bearing goes.

I have had the squishy sound coming from my front left wheel for years. I let a bad bearing go WAAAY beyond repair and wound up getting heat damage to the spindle and hub knuckle.

 

so the squishy noise was from the wheel bearing?

 

I think my letting the bearing go (have since fixed it) caused permanent damage to the axle. Didn't feel like replacing the axle, so i just live with it.

it's a very slight (hardly noticeable) squishy sound.

 

Still this noise is some annoying noise. Can't stand it so I'm going to plan to replace the wheel bearing soon. Don't know when but I'll keep heads up on here. Thanks for the info. Anymore info will help as well.

 

Did you check your swaybar endlinks??

 

I also have a similar if not the same problem that comes up intermitently. It sounds like a squishy squishy noise, only at low speeds, and seems speed dependent...noise gets faster as the car picks up speed.

 

Roger that, good catch Tim96, I forgot to mention that I had my sway bar links replaced just before the wheel bearings. I don't know if they were related but they both needed replacement. With the swaybar links my mechanic f##ked up and installed links that have to be greased every oil change. In my case every 5k miles, to make matters worse the heads on them spin around and have to be turned so I can get the grease gun on them which is a PITA.