Odd front-end noise: expert input needed
 

I’m chasing an odd front end noise and am hoping for some good input from the experts.

The problem: Here's what I've done:
I'm now thinking of doing pads and rotors, but don't just want to throw parts/money at it. Does anyone have an explanation of what this might be caused by?

Thanks a bunch.
Scott

"hoping for some good input from the experts"

And I sure hope you get some good info from experts, but until then here's my $0.02 worth. It sounds like you might have a single piston on the caliper that's not retracting quite like it should.

I believe you have a worn out wheel bearing. Hitting the brakes puts more weight on the front of the car aligning the bearing. Turning the wheel also may pop it back in place. Jack the car up so the wheel is off the ground and hold the top of the tire with one hand and the bottom with the other push and pull on the tire and see if it moves in and out any. Do that to both front tires. They're not supposed to move at all.

Thanks, since I've replaced the hub/wheel bearings this is exactly the type of feedback I'm after.

On the sticky caliper piston, the odd thing is it only seems to happen when brakes are hot. Are these calipers rebuildable? Am I naive to think that inspecting the caliper boots and lubing the pistons could fix it?

So folks, what else should I look at when I take the wheels back off?

Thanks for the thoughts-- keep em coming.

:lurk: ;)

Yes, the calipers are rebuildable. POSSIBLY, just dissassembling and lubing might help, but if you've gone that far you might as well rebuild them. While you're there throw in a set of Doug Rippie stainless pistons. ;) Good luck with tracking down the noise. :thumbs:

Thanks to all for the input. I'm going to look at:

1. Calipers for sticking/corrosion
2. Double check rotors against specs

I'm still puzzled about why it only happens when brakes / wheel assembly is hot. I'd think heat would make calipers less likely to stick.

Other thoughts? Could this just be a funky pad?

Scott