I've got a strange noise that originating from the drivers side front wheel.

 

When I apply the brakes, I hear a cracking and popping sound that comes from that wheel, and can also feel it pulse back up the brake pedal. Sounds a bit like ball bearings rolling and crushing through grains of sand.

 

At first, I thought it was wheel bearings, but the usual checks (raising the wheel, and checking for play) have come up as no. No play whatsoever, either horizontal, vertical, or in/out along the hub axis.

 

I've done a visual on the brakes, everything looks hunkey dorey. Pads and rotor are good, all bolts in place.

 

I'm not sure what it could be.. could the rotor have come loose from the hub and be making noises moving back and forth? Could the wheel bearings still be bad but not exhibit and of the usual signs of failure? I could think worn outer CV joint as I havent changed out that side.. but I'm not sure I'd feel the pops back up into the brake pedal. I dunno.. I'm grabbing at thin air here.

 

With Christmas around the corner, funds are tight, and I cant afford to start replacing the entire front end just yet. If I can find the defective part, I'll replace it. As of now, I just dont know what it is.

 

Any thoughts?

did you actually pull the wheel off? i'd check the caliper, pads, shims and rotors and make sure everything looks good. maybe a brake pad is falling a part or something? best to have a look at it all. did you already go that far?

 

before touching the caliper/pads, try rotating the rotor by hand. if it's warped you *might* be able to feel it grabbing as you spin it. turns fine, turns fine, gets just a little tighter. my brakes were vibrating terribly (brand new rotors???) and i jacked up the front of the car and tried this. i could *barely* tell which side it was eventhough the vibration was horrible. the passenger side felt like "i think it's sticking right there...or maybe it's there...keep turning...i don't know is it really sticking???" you get the point, eventhough it was obviously bad, it was very difficult to tell.

 

dang this is like my 4th edit......have someone apply the brake while you turn the rotor by hand and see if you can duplicate the grinding while you're sitting right there.

If nothing is wrong with the breaks, the wheel bearings could be at fault. Play can only be felt if the bearings are very worn, you could still have a shattered ball in there. I have had this prob before, not sure what caused it, but it was making very disturbing cracking sounds.

 

If you do find that the bearings are at fault, check the dimensions of the knuckle and spacer against a known good one. The bearing may be locking up sometimes, wearing the spacers. I ended up having to shim the outer race spacer after this happened.

Also, when you have the hub off, check the splines on it. They should have a uniform flat top on all of them. If they are sharp at all, that could be the source of some noises.

 

I just had to fix that on mine....

 

good luck

the hub may be the source of that noise i have had to replace mine several times on my loyal it starts exactly like that snap crackle pop unsure where its coming from sounds like bad bearings but then one day one last pop and your immobile. i can not figure out the source of this problem and I have had it with this car it is down right now for the same reason.

 

if anyone has similar prob and know what the deal is please let me know

This morning I decided to pull the hub and just replace the wheel bearings since its a cheap enough fix.

 

I got the Brat up in the air, and went to remove the cotter pin from the axle nut. I noticed that the nut had turned ever so slightly putting pressure on the pin making it impossible to remove. So I broke out the socket, and went to put a bit of pressure on the nut to turn it so I could remove the cotter pin. I then noticed that the nut moved very easily. I removed the cotter pin, and fiured I'd try to see how much more it would tighten up. I was able to tighten the nut about 90% over to the next hole before I felt resistance. So I took out the breaker bar, and tightened it the rest of the way, reinstalled the cotter pin, and drove it round the driveway a couple times. No noise, no pops, no nothing. Since I'm a lazy rump roast, I'm just going to continue to drive and see if the noises return.. theres still no play in the bearings.. so I'm just gonna let it ride.

 

So the solution ended up being to tighten up the castle nut.

 

I remember reading (I think it was edrach who posted it) about how the castle nut can move and loosen up even with the cotter pin installed. Whoever has that story, please explain how the heck this can happen?

I've had spindle nut get loose on me several times, typically shortly after having the assembly apart, now I recheck them a few days after.

 

Gary

I would suspect something else is changing and causing a gap, rather than the nut moving.

Also, when you have the hub off, check the splines on it. They should have a uniform flat top on all of them. If they are sharp at all, that could be the source of some noises.

 

I just had to fix that on mine....

 

good luck

IIRC, isn't the rotor the part that's actually splined? AFAIK, the bearings are sandwiched between the shaft and the hub, all smooth.

 

Maybe changing just the rotor would do the trick.

 

I've had the same symptoms for quite some time, changing the shafts and bearings didn't help.

I had the same snapping sound on my front end. It would snap and grind a little. more so with a passenger in the seat.

 

My problem was the castle nut. Make sure you have lots of pressure. I took a breaker bar and stood on it to get it to cinch down.

 

There is now no noise from the front end.

 

Give us an update w/your next fuel up.

 

BW

One thing that can cause the nut to lossen:

"under" the nut there are two washers: the cone washer, and another that goes between the cone washer and the nut. This washer looks like your ordinary washer, but is not! It is actually slightly tapered, and if installed the wrong way will cause the nut to lossen. You should be able to see the correct way to install it by looking at how it sits on the cone washer.

Ross is spot on about the spring washer

 

the FSM says "paint toward nut"??

 

By the way the torque is listed at 145+ ft-lb

Amusing.. so the spring washer can cause the castle nut to loosen.. but loosen a whole hole over even with the cotter pin in place?

 

Strangely enough, I dont recall seeing a spring washer on any of the four corners. Just the nut, and cone washer. :-\

 

Anywho.. since I snugged up the castle nut one hole over and replaced the cotter pin, its been fine ever since.