yarikoptic Posted December 2, 2006 Share Posted December 2, 2006 Another "guess what" question. I've got a new(ish) LL Bean 2001 with 90k miles. Originally it had much more noise from front and a bit shaking stearing wheel -- obvious unballanced wheels. Ok, took a coupon, and went to dealership to work on recalls and do tire balancing/rotation. After it was done ride became much more pleasant but the part of noise remains. LL Bean seems to have good noise isoltation which makes it just harder to localize. For me it sounds like from front and may be from left but I am to ask someone to seat nearby to say (my 2year old daughter wasn't able to give me an advice) Tires quite crappy on their own - firestone affinity lh30, but since they got balanced and rotated (I hope dealership rotated them... I didn't check if rotation was actually done) there is no more pulsing in the steering wheel. And it also doesn't sound like a bearing since it doesn't scale up with speed. It is quite audible even on slow speeds (10-20 mph). Whenever I had bearing (on the back though) sound raised up with speed. What else it could be? worn CV boot may be (I don't remember if I checked left side one...). any other ideas? Thank you in advance!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmickelct Posted December 2, 2006 Share Posted December 2, 2006 Brakes, calipers? Have you checked the pads? (sticky piston?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yarikoptic Posted December 2, 2006 Author Share Posted December 2, 2006 Brakes, calipers? Have you checked the pads? (sticky piston?) nope -- I didn't. seller said that he replaced pads a hundred mile ago or so... I hoped that if smth around pads was wrong, mechanic would tell him... but that was a dealer so... Good call - I will check them first thing... For now it seems that rotor is not warped yet - no pusing - so I might be in time if it is indeed a sticky piston. Shouldn't sound change though whenever I brake - shouldn't it go away since I am braking and pads gets pressed on rotors (unless it is a really sticky piston and they don't move ;-/ ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yarikoptic Posted December 2, 2006 Author Share Posted December 2, 2006 Question: to check for a sticky piston the procedure should be * loose the bleeder, so I don't need to push all the brake fluid up to the master cylinder. I think I better wear a smaller rubber hose on it, apply some brakes to bleed it just a bit so no air has chance to get into * try to push the piston with hands and see if it moves and bleeder bleeds more. * I compare the ease with which all pistons move on both front brakes Any further recommendations? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yarikoptic Posted December 2, 2006 Author Share Posted December 2, 2006 Question2: if that is indeed a dead piston, I bet there would be little sense trying to bring it back to life, but rather replace whole caliper. The question is really -- any advice on aftermarket rebuilts - any success stories? :-) since new OEM from 1stsubaru runs ~236$ shipped Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OB99W Posted December 2, 2006 Share Posted December 2, 2006 I've got a new(ish) LL Bean 2001 with 90k miles. Originally it had much more noise from front and a bit shaking stearing wheel -- obvious unballanced wheels. Ok, took a coupon, and went to dealership to work on recalls and do tire balancing/rotation. After it was done ride became much more pleasant but the part of noise remains.[...] Tires quite crappy on their own - firestone affinity lh30, but since they got balanced and rotated (I hope dealership rotated them... I didn't check if rotation was actually done) there is no more pulsing in the steering wheel. And it also doesn't sound like a bearing since it doesn't scale up with speed. It is quite audible even on slow speeds (10-20 mph). Whenever I had bearing (on the back though) sound raised up with speed. What else it could be? worn CV boot may be (I don't remember if I checked left side one...). any other ideas? You might want to have your tires checked for defects; a shifted or separated belt can cause pulsing/wobbling in the steering and rhythmic noises. If such a tire was originally on the front but then rotated to the rear, the symptoms would change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard1296 Posted December 2, 2006 Share Posted December 2, 2006 Worn tires can be quite noisey. Once they have a wear pattern from being misaligned and out of balance they may never feel right or sound right. Having had this problem the only cure was new tires. I'n not saying it absolutely is the tires, but if the alignment is right and you eliminate mechanical defects in the car...the only thing left is tires. Richard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yarikoptic Posted December 5, 2006 Author Share Posted December 5, 2006 Worn tires can be quite noisey. Once they have a wear pattern frombeing misaligned and out of balance they may never feel right or sound right. Having had this problem the only cure was new tires. I'n not saying it absolutely is the tires, but if the alignment is right and you eliminate mechanical defects in the car...the only thing left is tires. Brakes seemed to be fine as to me - I opened bleeders, pressed pistons and fluid rushed out. It seems to be the same resistance from all pistons. What I have mentioned though is that on the right (I didn't look at the left and then placed a wheel back on) - pads have slightly more than a 1mm difference in thickness: beginning of the pad (side which meets rotating rotor first) is worn slightly more than 1mm more than the "ending" of the pad. I am not sure if that normal, but I guess that it is. If it is not, it would mean that 1 piston (closer to the end of the pad) is worse, and doesn't press the pad as good as the other one For now I just think that it is tires issue (although they were rotated/balanced and do not have any weird worn pattern), turn a bit of music to not hear any sounds ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted December 5, 2006 Share Posted December 5, 2006 Another "guess what" question. I've got a new(ish) LL Bean 2001 with 90k miles. Originally it had much more noise from front and a bit shaking stearing wheel -- obvious unballanced wheels. Ok, took a coupon, and went to dealership to work on recalls and do tire balancing/rotation. After it was done ride became much more pleasant but the part of noise remains. LL Bean seems to have good noise isoltation which makes it just harder to localize. For me it sounds like from front and may be from left but I am to ask someone to seat nearby to say (my 2year old daughter wasn't able to give me an advice) Tires quite crappy on their own - firestone affinity lh30, but since they got balanced and rotated (I hope dealership rotated them... I didn't check if rotation was actually done) there is no more pulsing in the steering wheel. And it also doesn't sound like a bearing since it doesn't scale up with speed. It is quite audible even on slow speeds (10-20 mph). Whenever I had bearing (on the back though) sound raised up with speed. What else it could be? worn CV boot may be (I don't remember if I checked left side one...). any other ideas? Thank you in advance!!! if it was anything mechanical, the subaru dealership would have told you. Thats the purpose of the cupons, to get you in and find things wrong. Since they didnt im betting tires. nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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