Hello, my name is jeff, and I have squeaky bearings. My wheel bearings are squeaking, and I can't make'em stop. I can't tell which bearings are making noise either. Here's the scoop: Two squeaks on top of eachother Always there when moving, but changes when cornering(one squeak goes away, another gets louder Does NOT make noise unless weight is on the tires(won't do it with the wheels up, so I know it's not the driveshaft) I've replaced two of the front bearings, and that didnt help Repacked the front bearings 3 times in 2 years Replaced all brake shoes Does NOT change when braking Replaced rear wheel bearings 2 years ago Diff leaks, so it's checked frequently and always full Swapped trannys(added an Overdrive ) Any suggestions? Thanks.
Could it be the seals rubbing and making that sound? Explorers are notorious for this and sounds just like brakes.
Did you use good quality bearings??? Timken bearings are great, all the chinese stuff does not seem to hold up. You are doing everything right, it seems, it's the quality of the bearings.
This sounds crazy - but I thought I had a front wheel bearing issue once - ended up being a wheel cover that was squeaking on the rim. Just a thought. Mike
Thanks for the replys. The sound was there before, and after, the bearing change. The ones I took out were the originals. I replaced them because they were VERY slightly pitted from being worn, and thinking that they were causing the squeak. It's a very metal on metal sounding squeak. Wouldn't the seals continue to squeak even with weight off the wheel? The sound is still there when the hubcaps are off.
I had the same thing.... went through everything and found the hubcap was sqeaking on the rim....try taking off the cap and driving it around.... worked for me
Check your backing plates.It sounds like the drum (or rotor) is scraping. If the backers have a little bend in them, you will have this problem. I would think if it was a bearing problem from, say, a mismatched combo, or whatever, they would be burned, or spinning the races. that would show as a blue color or black, but your wheel would most likely lock up at that point.
What kind of rims? If they are old style riveted together, the center could be loose just enough for the weight to make it flex and squeak. Brian
I've only had this problem once. An old timer told me that the bearings needed to be cleaned and repacked with grease. It worked. Be sure the inside of the bearing is PACKED with grease.
It's a '55 Plymouth, so no ball joints(its a king pin front end) The rims are the original rivited rims, I'll see if I can dig up some other wheels to try The bearings are thouroughly packed, currently with synthetic grease and have no discoloration It changes when cornering and dissapears when the car is on stands so it's not a u-joint No shiney spots on the backing plates, and wouldn't they still rub when the car is on stands? It's also growing steadly louder the more I drive the car. I imagine I'll find it eventually when whetever is making the noise fails
Have you checked the bearings at the bottom of the king pins? These bearings spend the majority of their time in the same place with load on them. Might be worn flat and sliding... Flatman
If I was a bettin' man I'd put my money on this suggestion. Before you go to the trouble of trying to find some different wheels, try swapping them front to rear and see if it makes any difference. Or try to get some grease or oil into the area between the rim and the wheel center where they rivet together. Some WD40 or penetrating oil might be enough to do the trick. But now I'm curious if this might be an indication that the wheels are maybe getting to the point where they might be unsafe? Just lubing things up to quiet them down might be covering up a bigger problem down the road.
I have heard noises like that coming from hubcaps squirming on the rim, from tire belts as the tire flexes when it rotates, and from brake pad wear indicators. Check if a clip or something is rubbing the drum or rotor. Even a dry u-joint has been known to imitate the sounds of a bad bearing. That's the way my Jeep used to tell me it was time for u-joints. You might also want to check the lug nuts. I have seen some lug nuts that could be tightened nice and tight, and feel tight against the wheel, and still let the wheel squeak where it mounts to the hub. What I refer to is a wheel with a fairly large tapered hole for the lug nut to seat against, and a lug nut that is a bit small diam in that important tapered "seating" area. I have seen a few Studes with small lug nuts, matched to Brand X wheels with large holes, eventually develop a bit of looseness that was sometimes undetectable until the not-very-tight-fit wore its way into an actual loose fit on the studs. The lug nuts felt tight when they ran to the end of the threads, but didn't clamp the wheels hard enough. Use the proper size lug nuts. Make sure the lug nuts are not small diam matched to a wheel that needs larger diam nuts. You can get at least a few different sizes (O.D.) of lug nuts that fit the usual 1/2-20 wheel studs.
I would have to guess something with the wheels also. You could take them off and on the backside clean 3 or 4 spots along the riveted sections and run a bead of weld along the joint. Just 3-4 1" long welds would do it to check . If this cures it, you could either get different wheels or weld them solid if you like the rims you have. also, make sure your wheels are tight. A loose wheel/s can make some strange noises when you are going down the road.
Had a 240Z one time that I thought had a rear wheel bearing problem. After changing them out, the problem/sound was still there..........turned out to be a steel belted tire with a tread separation and the steel belts were rubbing together to make the sound. That one drove me nuts for a while......jb EXSEDAN
Old thread but timely! im having freakin sqeak noise from the front wheel, maybe wheels, specially on corners. I swapped the bearings last summer so its kinda weird. i'll check everything mentioned here.
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