Car, tapping noise from wheel area, no diagnosis

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1014 posts

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#2988525 27-Oct-2022 03:04

Bung: From the description the noise doesn't happen a 100 but at slow speed after some faster driving.

Some disc brakes can make a rattle after the caliper piston(s) get moved back. Does the noise stop if the brakes are used?

He said it starts after first driving at 100kmh.

Random side note, a few years ago I flew down to ChCh from AK to pick up a BMW 530i and drive it back.

By the time I got to Hamilton a nasty vibration had developed through the whole car. So I pulled into a Hamilton mechanic that I had dealt with for years, left it with them for the afternoon.

When I returned to collect the car I was slapped with a mechanics bill of over $900, they'd taken the car next door to a transmission specialists who had replaced the driveshaft after determining the driveshaft was "cracked". Well I paid the bill, jumped back on the Waikato Expressway - and yep - vibration was still there.

When I finally got home the next day took it to Firestone we put the car on the hoist and ran it up to speed.

It was immediately obvious what caused the vibration as the Goodyear Eagle F1's with 5,000km left were bouncing up and down like yo-yo's. The casings had collapsed on two.

Put new michelins on and never had a problem again. I was super pissed at the Hamilton Transmission shop though. I don't think they test drove the car after working on it.

Back OT, I'm actually looking for a legacy now. I took one for a test drive last month in Auckland, this one also had vibration.

Once we got up on the hoist we could see the left rear wheel was badly buckled. Hit something (curb?) very hard no doubt. so still looking (6cylinder if anyone has one to sell).

Oh, and @Batman I saw this on TradeMe a few weeks ago...;

geoffwnz

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#2988534 27-Oct-2022 07:50

More thinking and other possible things:

If the ticking matches the wheel rotation speed:

Something in (or out of) the tyre tapping on the ground.
Check clearance between tyre and shock shaft. There usually isn't much so a small bulge or deviation in the tyre could touch that. It'll likely be visible though.
Wheel balance weights touching the brake caliper.
Inner face of the rim touching the brake caliper if there's a slight buckle in the rim.
CV boot clamp. This is the metal strip that wraps round and folds over to clamp either end of the boot in place. I've had one come undone and rotate with the axle, tapping on the subframe (middle of a long tour on a rally).
Cracked brake rotor or maybe debris stick in the outer edge touching the caliper.
Previously mentioned wheel bearing.

On later model cars there often isn't much clearance between wheels and non moving parts around them, shocks, brakes etc so it doesn't take much to start touching.

MotorDrive Rallying

Batman

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#2988538 27-Oct-2022 07:57

thanks all

will see if there's a firestone in Dunedin, but there is no vibration it drives straight, brakes straight, noise not louder with speed. i had a bent wheel once and the steering wheel was twitching like crazy.

plenty of clearance everywhere - confirmed when i remounted the wheel (this is a subaru!)

i will see if i can put in neutral jacked up to rotate the wheel when the noise comes back loud

Batman

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#2988539 27-Oct-2022 08:03

more information - could be helpful

same noise about 2 years ago after driving up and down skifield, went away after dealer said nothing wrong

this year came back after skifield as well.

same wheel (R Front)

i made a mistake when i said the tapping was 1 / second it's a few times a second when it happens

the sound is like metal hitting hard plastic or metal clicking on hard plastic/ vice versa

anyway will keep posted

geoffwnz

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#2988541 27-Oct-2022 08:17

Batman:

more information - could be helpful

same noise about 2 years ago after driving up and down skifield, went away after dealer said nothing wrong

this year came back after skifield as well.

same wheel (R Front)

i made a mistake when i said the tapping was 1 / second it's a few times a second when it happens

the sound is like metal hitting hard plastic or metal clicking on hard plastic/ vice versa

anyway will keep posted

Unsealed skifield road?

Possibly a stone caught inside the stone guard on the inside of the brake assembly.

The speed of the sound to me indicates it's matching the wheel rotation.

As another side thought, check the other wheels just in case the noise is not actually front right, starting with right rear.

MotorDrive Rallying

Bung

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#2988569 27-Oct-2022 09:18

Batman:
more information - could be helpful

same noise about 2 years ago after driving up and down skifield, went away after dealer said nothing wrong

this year came back after skifield as well.

same wheel (R Front)

It's always best to start at the beginning.

Have you tried moving RF wheel to other corners?

Batman

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#2988614 27-Oct-2022 11:43

No but I've installed a different set of wheels.

The wheel that was on it was brand new with brand new tyre pilot sport 4.yes and I took it up unsealed ski field road.so looks brand new everything after a good wash by the dealer lol

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geoffwnz

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#2988616 27-Oct-2022 11:49

Batman: No but I've installed a different set of wheels.

The wheel that was on it was brand new with brand new tyre pilot sport 4.yes and I took it up unsealed ski field road.so looks brand new everything after a good wash by the dealer lol

Leaning towards a stone stuck in behind the brake stone guard which is the metal plate on the back (inboard side) of the hub which serves two purposes.

1. To stop stones getting stuck in there.

2. To trap stones that do get stuck in there.

The usual "reverse a bit to knock it out" doesn't tend to work in this case because it's just sitting in a space rather than wedged in the caliper.

A friends car had the same thing recently which needed the wheel off to get at where the stone was hiding.

MotorDrive Rallying

Bung

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#2988681 27-Oct-2022 13:00

Stones can have some tar on them that can stick them out of sight. If you are lucky the disc is not part of the hub.

I've posted this before but this is what I found once. Long past chirping noises.

K8Toledo

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#2988683 27-Oct-2022 13:06

Is that rust?

geoffwnz

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#2988734 27-Oct-2022 13:35

K8Toledo:

Is that rust?

It's a rust monster. Converts all metal to rust on contact.

But yes, that is rust on the rotor. Very normal in car brakes.

MotorDrive Rallying

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#2988736 27-Oct-2022 13:48

geoffwnz:

Batman: No but I've installed a different set of wheels.

The wheel that was on it was brand new with brand new tyre pilot sport 4.yes and I took it up unsealed ski field road.so looks brand new everything after a good wash by the dealer lol

Leaning towards a stone stuck in behind the brake stone guard which is the metal plate on the back (inboard side) of the hub which serves two purposes.

1. To stop stones getting stuck in there.

2. To trap stones that do get stuck in there.

The usual "reverse a bit to knock it out" doesn't tend to work in this case because it's just sitting in a space rather than wedged in the caliper.

A friends car had the same thing recently which needed the wheel off to get at where the stone was hiding.

thanks fingers crossed!

gbwelly

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#2988754 27-Oct-2022 14:25

I've had a major long shot happen... A stone inside a vented rotor

K8Toledo

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#2988763 27-Oct-2022 14:32

geoffwnz:

It's a rust monster. Converts all metal to rust on contact.

Lol

But yes, that is rust on the rotor. Very normal in car brakes.

yes true however I don't recall seeing near that amount when I last changed the pads. his looks like a layer cake made of rust. Obviously the rust monster is to blame

up here in Northland the roads are so badly potholed it's a wonder my car is still holding together.

Bung

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#2988823 27-Oct-2022 14:56

The original discs always tended to get scabby. They'd been cleaned up when they got turned ar 110k. At 180k the replacements seemed to be a better iron, rusting without flaking.

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