So, some of you may have read my post a few weeks ago. I got some new michelin pilot super sports, and got a little too rambunctious before breaking them in. I snapped a like 270 and slapped my left rear wheel on the curb. The wheel itself was misaligned after that. I checked the suspension when I got home, nothing looked bent. I took it to Firestone, as I have a lifetime alignment warranty there. Luckily, the lower control arm pivots, which allows the wheel to face in, so that got realigned. They said I needed a new wheel. After the alignment, the car started making vibrations at about 25 and up. The noise and vibration got linearly worse as I got up to highway speeds. At 60, it makes two longish vibrations with the noise per second. I can feel it in the steering wheel, my seat, floor, and shifter. So, I ordered a new wheel. It balanced very easily, only needing .25 ounces to balance (pretty amazing.) I took it out, and it was still doing the exact same thing! I brought it back, thinking maybe it needed a balance on the right rear wheel, maybe some of the weights came off? They said it would be a waste of time, and that it should get inspected for a bad bearing. Have any of you experienced this before? Should I just get the right rear balanced before doing any additional inspections? Is there a way I can test the bearings myself? Thanks for all of your insight in advance =)

 

try swerving from side to side and see if the noise/vibrations lessens or gets worse. if you have access to a stethoscope you can listen to the bearing while you spin the wheel but that may be tough since it happens at speed, but you may not hear it well unless it is really bad.

good luck

 

Swerving side to side doesn't affect the noise/vibration. Is there something else I should be looking at? Or is it just the right rear wheel needs balancing again, and the Firestone guys are retarded?

 

noise is one thing, vibration is another. you have to narrow it down. are you sure the noise is not affected by where the weight is carried ? could you have flat spotted the tire? that should be a thump noise. bearings tend to roar or hum. you also said you felt it in the steering, that tells me the front. can you jack up the car, spin the wheels and feel for a rough rotation vibration? I would concentrate on the side that took the impact. my guess it is one or both bearings on the same side. let me know anytime if you need help.

 

I don't really know how better to describe it. I can specifically hear the vibration, the noise is from the vibration itself. It's definitely something from one of the wheels. I didn't flat spot the tire, I only left a few feet of skid marks on the road. I don't think it has anything to do with how the weight is sitting personally. I think it's an imbalance in one of the wheels in the rear. Firestone says that an imbalanced wheel wouldn't make such a drastic vibration though. I was kind of afraid that the replacement wheel I bought was bent too. I asked them to check it first, he said he did, but who knows. It's not really a roar or a hum as you'd expect from a hub bearing.

 

If car feels the same before and after the alignment and new wheel, you damaged something man. You just need to find out what. Did the shop perform a FULL alingment? What was the thrust angle? You need to check all bushings on that side, wheel bearing, drive shaft, etc. Hire a competent dealer or shop to find out. Good luck.

 

Willing to bet it's the wheel bearing. I had those same symptoms start at 40mph, replaced with new tires and new wheels, same thing. Several dealers and independent shops said the wheel bearings were good. After numerous searches on this forum I knew it had to be the wheel bearing.

Back the dealership, demanded they have their best mechanic take it for a spin. He finally heard/felt the noises I was hearing/feeling. The best way to replicate the problem to make sure if its the wheel bearing or not is to go somewhere you can drive that has long sweeping turns. On the interstate when i turned the wheel towards the right, the noise was silent, turned to the left, the noise got worse. Replaced passenger side front wheel bearing and car glides along smoothly.

 

It doesn't change at all if I'm turning or not though. Can a wheel bearing make those noises and not be affected by which way you're turning?

 

Well, some of you may get a laugh out of this. I was wrong. It does, in fact, silence itself when I go into high speed left hand sweepers. I can't say that I notice much of a difference when I turn to the right though. Okay, so, I hit my left rear wheel inward. I'm pretty sure that it would be the left hub, then, right? There isn't a chance that it could have damaged the rear hub, right? If the noise silences when I turn to the left, is that indicative of a specific hub that is damaged? Would it be easier to try to replace the bearings, or just replace the whole hub? Does anyone know of any good write ups on how to replace it? Thanks guys, I love you all =)

 

Should have started there . That's your answer. Get it checked by a suspension specialist or two. Good luck.

 

Ttt