Front wheel bearing broken?

[Oliver S.]

After driving some miles all of a sudden a rhythmical - speed depending, knocking noise from the front suspension was audible when I steered slightly to the left - I could even feel it in the steering wheel. As far as I could say the noise came from the left side so I would attribute it to a brocken left wheel bearing -or is there another possible cause?

Oliver

[Michael G.]

Re: Front wheel bearing broken?

After driving some miles all of a sudden a rhythmical - speed depending, knocking noise from the front suspension was audible when I steered slightly to the left - I could even feel it in the steering wheel. As far as I could say the noise came from the left side so I would attribute it to a brocken left wheel bearing -or is there another possible cause?

Oliver

Best guess which side could be affected. Might be other possibilities however have you pull the caliper and rotor and checked that area?

[Oliver S.]

Re: Front wheel bearing broken?

Nope, just came back from the trip. I thought that if the noise is load-dependant this points to a bearing - the one not under load when cornering.
The rhytmical noise is 1:1 to a wheel rev.

Oliver

[Paul J.]

Re: Front wheel bearing broken?

Oliver, this could be a wheel bearing, a tie rod end, or something else in the steering like the drag link or idler arm.

Jack the front of the car up and check the wheels for excessive wobble. If that's not it then grab the ties rods and jerk them, working your way through all of the steering components. Check these both on the ground and jacked up.

There is also some other things it could be, but my guess is the tie rods. How many miles are on them?

Paul

[Oliver S.]

Re: Front wheel bearing broken?

The 1:1 wheel rev noise and a previous reply caused me to check what happens when braking while the noise occurs so I drove some meters to check and while bracking the noise is gone in this moment but occurs again after releasing the brake pedal.
I have got no information about the mileage of the suspension parts.

Oliver

[Paul J.]

Re: Front wheel bearing broken?

You could also have a loose caliper. All of these things are very easy to check.

[Michael W.]

Re: Front wheel bearing broken?

Are you sure it's not connected to the previous episodes or rear end noise and vibration?

[Oliver S.]

Re: Front wheel bearing broken?

I'm not that experienced to rule out the rear end. The diff. oil will be changed on Tuesday - but during the last year since having the rear end noise today's issue never materialized. Already slightly turning the steering wheel to left provokes the noise, whereupon it is in sync with a wheel rev - one rev - one knock and pressing the brake pedal causes it to vanish for that moment. And I would almost bet that the noise originates from the left front suspension.

Oliver

[Joe L.]

Re: Front wheel bearing broken?

I'm not that experienced to rule out the rear end. The diff. oil will be changed on Tuesday - but during the last year since having the rear end noise today's issue never materialized. Already slightly turning the steering wheel to left provokes the noise, whereupon it is in sync with a wheel rev - one rev - one knock and pressing the brake pedal causes it to vanish for that moment. And I would almost bet that the noise originates from the left front suspension.

Oliver

Oliver------


The only way to get to the bottom of this is going to be disassembling the left front hub, rotor and brake assembly. This is really not a very big job, at all. It also will give you a chance to inspect the brake pads, caliper, and rotor as well as re-packing the front wheel bearings. All of this is part of normal maintenance. In fact, I would recommend doing both sides even if you find the problem on the left side.

I expect that when you disassemble the above-referenced, you will find the problem pretty easily.

[Ray K.]

Re: Front wheel bearing broken?

Oliver

Dis-assembly will reveal the true problem as to whether it is a bearing / brake related issue in short order. However, jacking it up and rotating the tire & wheel assembly, even without weight on it, may give you a real clue as to the nature of the problem.

Ray

[Jim L.]

Re: Front wheel bearing broken?

speed depending, knocking noise from the front suspension was audible when I steered slightly to the left - I could even feel it in the steering wheel.

If you feel/hear this when steering left, check the right front wheel bearings.

Jim

[Michael G.]

Re: Front wheel bearing broken?

Oliver

Dis-assembly will reveal the true problem as to whether it is a bearing / brake related issue in short order. However, jacking it up and rotating the tire & wheel assembly, even without weight on it, may give you a real clue as to the nature of the problem.

Ray

Your on the right track Ray.

[Edward J.]

Re: Front wheel bearing broken?

Oliver, just about everything seems to be covered, but would also check for a wheel that may have loose lug nuts. having a wheel fall off would not be a experience no one would want.

[Oliver S.]

Re: Front wheel bearing broken?

Preliminary result

Since my car was due for the bi-yearly street approval I brought my Corvette to my repair shop (during this drive my turn signal switch stopped working for the left side - the hand has to stay on the lever).
The shop owner said that the sound appears after driving a while, gets gradually louder and is then not restricted to steering to the left. He also thinks that is it from somewhere in the left front suspension.
The left wheel bearing is faulty(visibly) and will be replaced. Thus the right one as well - it is in better shape. The left brake pad has a ridge. The retainer bolt of the brake pad had a little play - not the pad itself. But if one of these is the culprit remains to be seen.


Oliver

[Joe L.]

Re: Front wheel bearing broken?

Preliminary result

Since my car was due for the bi-yearly street approval I brought my Corvette to my repair shop (during this drive my turn signal switch stopped working for the left side - the hand has to stay on the lever).
The shop owner said that the sound appears after driving a while, gets gradually louder and is then not restricted to steering to the left. He also thinks that is it from somewhere in the left front suspension.
The left wheel bearing is faulty(visibly) and will be replaced. Thus the right one as well - it is in better shape. The left brake pad has a ridge. The retainer bolt of the brake pad had a little play - not the pad itself. But if one of these is the culprit remains to be seen.


Oliver

Oliver-----

The front wheels use two bearings each, an inner and an outer. I would replace both bearings on both sides.

Here are the ones you need (or, you can cross-reference from these number)

outer----GM #7450627 (discontinued but you can cross-reference from this number)

inner----GM #457196

grease seal ----GM #3876192

If you are talking about the brake pad retaining PIN (no bolt is used to retain the brake pads), it will often be a little loose, especially because the disc brake pad orifice through which it passes is elongated and not a round hole.