orchard

I have been having an issue where my front wheels are making a pulsing grinding sound when I cut the wheel left (that is, the noise lasts for a split second every revolution). The sound increases in frequency when I speed up. I just took it to a parking lot to test it:

Driving forward with wheel cut left: sound in front right wheel
Driving forward with wheel cut right: no audible sound
Reverse with wheel cut right: sound appears to be in left wheel
Reverse with wheel cut left: sound appears to be in front right wheel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MqVnOqWrR4

I inspected the CV joint boot today and there does not appear to be any tears. Are there any other tell-tale signs of a bad CV joint?

Potentially unrelated, there is also a whirring sound in my front right wheel which increases in volume as I speed up. I am thinking that I may need to replace the hub/bearing assembly, but i want to make sure that its not related to whatever sound I am hearing when I cut my wheel. Lastly, my car is vibrating at higher speeds. I just had a rotation, balance and alignment and the problem persisted.

Here is a video of said whirring...it is more pronounced at some points than it is at others (eg 45 second mark):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xV-nNNBnUO8

Any thoughts?

weezeey

I'd like to know what's causing this too, I've got a very similar issue with my 4th gen.

orchard

Anyone? I hate to bump threads, but I have to bring my car into the shop on Friday and would really appreciate any input/diagnoses on the sounds in the videos.

Could it be the case that both sounds are caused by failing wheel bearings? Is it at all possible that they are axle bearings, and if so, what might I look for in order to make that determination?

shortymust23

it sounds like the brake rotor shield that is behind the rotor is rubbing ,try pushing it back to see if solves the problem. or it could be the brake clips rubbing on the rotor, hope that helps

orchard

Is it possible that the rotor shield or brake clips would be causing the noise only while I am turning?

I did check out the shields yesterday (which are pretty badly rusted) and they were not making any contact. In terms of any of the hardware on the pads, what is the best approach to bending things back should that be the issue? That is, do I need to go to the extent of removing my calipers, etc., or do you have some suggestions that would save me some time and effort?

I'm still thinking that the "whirring" in the second video is a bearing issue. Do you have any thoughts on that? I know it is difficult to hear it clearly in the video I posted...

orchard

Is there any chance that the whirring sound could be caused by a warped rotor? As I said above, I am experiencing some vibration at higher speeds, but also while braking.

If the axle nut was loose, could it cause the scraping and wheel vibration? I've been driving on it for quite some time, so if it were in fact the axle nut causing the scraping noise, could it have also caused my wheel bearing to go bad?

Thanks for any and all input--just trying to narrow things down before I take it into the shop.

03VQMAX

iTrader: (46)

Does sound like your brake shields, did you check them with your wheels mounted on the car or not? The other vibration could be cause my a seized caliper and or runout on the rotor..

orchard

I looked at them quickly without wheels mounted. I'll check them out again later this week.

This thread is why I asked about the axle nut: http://forums.maxima.org/4th-generat...l?ref=esp-link

Check out the video that the poster links--it turns out the axle nut was the problem (see final few threads).

03VQMAX

iTrader: (46)

You have to do it with the wheels on, there is no pressure on the rotors when you take the wheels off, therefore it will always look like it's not touching, I had that same problem and I thought it was my axle at first, but it was the brake shield...

orchard

Of course--that makes complete sense.

I'll check the shield, and for good measure, probably try to clean some of the rust off and bend it back. I guess I am still wondering why--if it is the shield--the grinding would not be constant. I suppose it could be that my rotor is warped? I think I am leaning toward changing my brakes and rotors out this weekend to see where that gets me.

I am still interested in other diagnoses--it seems to me that the video that was posted as part of the thread that I linked above pretty closely mirrors the sound my car is making.

03VQMAX

iTrader: (46)

If you can get a hold of a digital micrometer, you can take measurements of the rotor, how old/how many mile on them? Do you know.

orchard

I don't know for sure, but I must have 40,000 plus miles on them. Last time I changed my brakes I put Duralast Gold pads and Duralast rotors.

How often do you change your brakes? I'm not sure that my current setup is causing my problems, but I figure I'll have to change my brakes relatively soon anyway. While the whirring sounds like it could be a bearing, there is no give in the wheel. Maybe it's worth it to take a gamble by fixing the brakes first?

03VQMAX

iTrader: (46)

Probably, if your pads a low on friction material, do the rotors at the same time, what the heck, if you hear whirring sound now could be the bearing.

orchard

I'll report back this weekend. Thanks for your help!

orchard

UPDATE:

So I changed out brake pads and rotors this weekend. The shield was causing the grinding sound. It was not a constant grinding because rust had built up unevenly on the rotor. Changing the brakes did not, however, solve the whirring/humming in my front right tire (see video #2 in my original post).

So....I had my mechanic change out the front right hub and bearing. The wheel is still making a whirring/humming sound. He is stumped as to alternative causes--I'm most certainly stumped. Any other suggestions?

shortymust23

Maybe it's your tires