Well boys and girls, my 82 brat has quite some noise coming from the front end. I've tried watching some YouTube videos to find a similar sound but just can't find one. At any speed on a straight away, it Mike's a slight repetitive squeaking noise that increase with speed. While turning right especially hard rights it makes a very loud creaking/grinding noise like something is rubbing on the wheel. A very metallic sound. You can also feel the car kind of shake and shimmy...it reminds me of trying to turn with a vehicle in 4wd on pavement. Lastly while braking there is a really bad grinding and popping noise. My initial thoughts have been axle or wheel bearings. I replaced the axle and that didn't do much. I'm planning on replacing the bearings tomorrow. I did notice while replacing the axle, it was very difficult to get the shaft through the bearings. I had to use a slide hammer. Someone commented that a dropped bearing would make it hard to get the shaft through. Anyways, any thoughts?

Which axle did you replace? And was it a reman?

Hey justajester. 

 

Have you jacked up the front and spun the wheels a little by hand? Might also be able to "feel" if one side or other has some slop/free play in the bearings this way.

Replaced the passenger side, sounded the same before and after. The wheel has some play, doesn't feel like a lot...but then again , I'm not sure what a lot iis.

Hmm, well the remanufactured axles are known to clunk right out of the box, so that may be a contributing factor if you used a remanned. Another way to check bearing health is simply by touching the outer hub after driving. My front right bearing is going, and if I touch my left front hub compared to my right front hub, the right is much hotter.

 

The other thought I've got on the subject is that if it is making the most noise on right turns, you would want to inspect the left c/v as the vehicle's weight shifts to the left while turning right. If it's a bearing, the same concept goes, would most likely be driver's side.

Well, I replaced the wheel bearings, noise cleared up completely for a bit. Now I'm back with a squeaky wheel on the same side. But,, the squeak seems to subside when I hit the brakes or whenever the car is accelerating or under power. But as soon as I left off the gas or push the clutch in here here a repetitive squeaking over and over. I replaced the bearings with timken bearings by the way.

Re-torque the axle nut(s). Not a lot, but a few have reported loose axle nuts after driving around, self included.

Could be warped disc and disc brakes caliper not releasing when you take your foot off of the brakes.  Rubber boots can crack and rip and allow dirt into caliper slide area.

Well, tightened my axle nut as tight as it would go, squeak gone..thanks Tom! Wouldn't have thought of that.

Re-torque the axle nut(s). Not a lot, but a few have reported loose axle nuts after driving around, self included.

+1 Thanks, Tom! Same problem I was hunting, same solution!