Wheel thump worries - '96 SW2 wagon?

Hi all, great to find this group! I'm a total car idiot who got a real
nice sharp dark green SW2 a while ago, and love it. But I've now got a
noise coming from one of my wheels, or something associated with them. It
sounds like it's one of the front wheels, maybe the left front. At highway
speeds, it sounds like someone on a bongo drum (but not very loud), and as I
slow to a stop it slows also and the pitch goes down, and at the end, when
you can hear each one individually and slowly, I get the feeling that each
thump is made of a bunch of little bumps. (This is listening on new smooth
blacktop.) It's most pronounced between 25-45mph, and when braking. kinda
feels like it repeatedly tugs on the brakes a little.

I thought it was something like a tire blem or a bent rim till I noticed
they have that 'texture'. Now I'm having fantasies about stuff like mangled
wheel bearings, or perhaps some expensive "modern parts" I know nothing
about.

Anybody know what would do this..? Is it hopefully a maintenance issue
like horrible alignment or bad tire or something? I'm as clueless as a
little computer boy can be.

 

Wheel bearing, or possibly a CV (constant-velocity) joint. But most likely a
wheel bearing IMO. You should have this looked at ASAP -- like, tomorrow. Bad
wheel bearings have this nasty tendency to seize.

NO. Get it checked out right away. If it's a wheel bearing going bad, you're
running a strong risk of a serious accident if it seizes at highway speed.

 

First thing I would do is move the front tires to the rear and rear to
the front and see if noise changes. Eliminate the obvious first.

James

 

Thanks James - if the wheel bearing thing doesn't pan out (sounds more
pressing), I'll do that next. I'm not as mobile as I used to be, so it is
literally easier to pay the $50 for a diagnosis. =)

 

Sounds like you and my suspicions are on the same page. My old van that
developed super noisy CVs only made any noise during turns. One brake guy I
had listen to this one indicated that wheel bearings would usually be a
steady 'roar', which didn't sound necessarily so to me, but I'm an idiot.
He put it on his lift and spun the wheels by hand, but it was too noisy in
there to hear anything. Does the fact that it only happens in a short train
of pulses once each wheel rotation make any difference, I wonder?

I got the idea today that my alignment is also probably shot, maybe that's
why it's in short bursts.

I'm going to do exactly that, thanks much!

 

i had a similar problem i thaught it was a worped rotor .. that can be
caused by fast deceleration or breaking hard alot .. but it was a bubble
in a tire .. u can feel each tire outsides and tread all around or look to
see any deformed spots good luck

 

Try this:
In a quiet place with the car parked, bounce the bumpers a little with
your "posterior" and see if you hear the same sound.
I had "The Bongos" a while back and I think I know exactly what you are
talking about.
The problem turned out to be a "squeaky" rubber bushing in the rear
anti-sway bar assembly.
Before trying anything expensive - try this and see!

ON THE OTHER HAND. I also did have a wheel bearing go bad. At some
point I clobbered a curb during a poorly observed turn and within a
couple of weeks the front wheel started making a bit of noise. Over
time it got worse and even developed a high speed wobble. It was tough
trying to figure out which side it was on. As it turned out - my
clobbering managed not to break the bearing but that's probably when it
lost its integral grease seal.
I finally broke down and paid a mechanic $50 to press out the old and
press-in the new bearings - he showed me the old one and it was dusty
and dead. I think I paid $45 for the bearing assembly at Auto Zone.

However, this sound was a lot more like a "roaring" or mechanical white
noise.
The most indicative symptom was a difference in noise and sound level
depending on the direction of turns. On a long S-curve road at 45mph
this was particularly noticeable.
(It was worse as the car's weight leaned it to the left while the turn
was to the right - the bad bearing was the front left. Also, a very
difficult replacement for this amatuer.)
-WaV

 

Man, it's great this group is here. I lucked out, everyone, this problem
was a _tire_. I would have sworn no tire could make a noise like that - and
particularly, get somewhat worse over a 2 week period. The mechanic
switched the back and front tires to rule it out before attacking anything
else, and viola - the front sound is crisp and clean with no caffeine.

Tiny thumps and wobbles from the back, though. =) Mechanic said that may
smooth itself out over time, but I might decide to get a new tire if it
takes a while. All the same, I checked my jack and donut again, just in
case.

Thanks again, everyone, for all the help!