LithiuMax

OK, so here's a litte background info:

-About 2 months ago I started hearing noises coming from what I believed to be the front passeneger side wheel. It was a metal on metal sound while the brakes were not being applied, but as soon as I touched the brakes, the noise would go away.

-About a month ago I decide to get my front brake pads replaced with stock ones, hoping that they are the cause of the noise. I get them replaced and the noise is still there.

-Fast forward to about 2 weeks ago, when I notice that, while the noise is intermittent when I am moving forward, it is ALWAYS there when I am going in reverse. As soon as I move half a foot backwards the noise is heard (very loud, metal on metal grinding/whining sound). Also, now when I apply the brakes while moving forward, the noise doesn't necessarily go away like it did when I first heard it 2 months ago.

-Now I am not sure whether the noise is coming from the front, the rear, or both.. but I am sure that it's on the passenger side of the car.

Any ideas?

bigsherv

iTrader: (1)

I have the same problem I think. If I go over a moderately rough road(I mean slightly rough) you hear a small non-stop rattle. Freeway driving I hear nothing but on normal roads I hear it all the time.

Dealer thought it might be a strut problem but mechanic found nothing wrong. They can't open up the car because it is past the 12,000 mile adjustment period.

My dad has had a guy at his shop look at it real quick and mechanically the car is fine. My dad said it just take a while to remove all the pieces that keep mud out of the engine so it will have to wait for a slow day to take a closer look. If I ever get it fixed I will let you know what is going on.

But Christ it is the most frustrating sound on earth.

BTW I don't have it when I reverse> at least I don't think so.

darrelfsu

I had the "salt shaker" sound coming from my front wheels and had the wheel bearing replaced. Sound went away. I'm now facing a God-awful whining noise coming from my driverside rear wheel. Meineke told me I need to replace my rotors because my e-brake wasn't releasing all the way, causing the rotor to wear out. Now that the rotors are below its "normal surface area", it whines everytime the wheel turns. Very embarrassing.

LithiuMax

It's not a rattle and it has nothing to do with the surface I am on.

LithiuMax

No one has any ideas of what this might be? I don't really want to take it into the dealer and have them tell me that it's because of my drop...

LithiuMax

Anyone at all with any advice/diagnosis?

brettb

iTrader: (2)

I had a similar problem and it turned out to be a bad wheel bearing and hub. Have that checked out that might be the problem.

irish44j

iTrader: (38)

look at the metal dust shield behind (toward the inside of the car) the rotors. It is VERY close to the back of the rotors, and is easily bent so it scrapes the back of the rotor, especially if brake work is done to the car.

take the wheel(s) off, on a jack, and use some pliars to bend the dust shield back away from the rotor. The dust shield is the thin metal piece on the backside of the rotor that is the same general shape as the rotor. Bend it back, your problem will be gone.

LithiuMax

OK, I did this without taking the wheels off. I just stuck my hand through my rims and bent the shields back (they are only on the rear rotors). The sound seemed to disappear for about 8-10 miles, but then came back.

Also, I noticed that on both of my front calipers there are little prongs that are not attached how they should be. They are sticking out rather than being connected to a little clip (the clip is missing). What is that and is it important?

irish44j

iTrader: (38)

1. The front rotors have dust shields too....but you can't bend them back (or easily see them) with the car on the ground....trust me on this one. You need to bend the fronts back quite a bit, on all sides - if you just push one side at a time, the other side will just rub...The front dust shields are the same diameter as the front rotors, so they are not visible from outside.....if you get UNDER the car and look from the back, you'll see them.

the little prongs go through the loops on the end of the brake pads....they are spring clips, so to say...

LithiuMax

OK.. now I need to find a way to get my car up.

irish44j

iTrader: (38)

there's a jack in the trunk. Use it to lift the car, and use the lug wrench to take the wheel off. Then you will be able to get to it fine.

hardrivn

I had a metal on metal rubbing noise comming out of the strut tower brace for the longest time, the dealer had replaced the struts and the sway bar as well as the lower control arm before they figured out it was the plates up top, if someone can get me a digital diagram of the front suspension I can show you which part specifically. This took 4 visits and 3 weeks without my car before they could figure it out and was a pain in the ***. To repro my problem simply drive in tight circles while modulating the steering wheel at under 7 mph.

hakimis

Sounds like the barings for sure!

irish44j

iTrader: (38)

this is the strut bearing. I'm having the same problem now...Though I've diagnosed it as the strut bearing, I'm just too lazy to actually fix it

SoonerMaxima

i know this might be too late to help but i just joined the forum and i have had the same exact problem...i took it to the Nissan dealership here in Norman and they told me that my hub bearing on my passgener front tire needed to replaced...once they replaced that, they showed me that the driver side hub bearing was gone too...so i had to replace both hub bearings and a hub...it cost me $750....i tried to see if i could have done it myself but u have to have a press machine to remove and replace the bearing....the dealership blamed it on my Tein S.Tech lowering springs and the fact that i drive really hard...i dont kno if they are right but they dont told me to get better springs or put back the factory springs the hub bearings will go out again cuz they say they are not made to hold the kind of pressure that the lowering springs puts on them...now i dont kno how much of they said is true..i am sure a lot of the guys on the forum know a lot more than me abt this so they can tell u how right the dealership is?...but it sounds like u have the same problem....hope this helps..

Bensmax00

dude the backing plates can be seen depending on the whees that u have--if u have hub caps, or the wheels that look like hubcaps(u know those ugly stock wheels) u can not see them--but when i had my five star stock 16" wheels u can see them--also the backing plate will bend how ever u need it to--we rarley have to take the rims off to bend it--use a screwdriver and bend it back

LithiuMax

Update: the noise is coming from the BACK, not the front as I earlier suspected. I have been told by 2 knowledgeable people that it is a brake problem. I will have a shop look at it next week.