Wheel Bearing Noise?

[chromic]

There is a chirping/squeaking noise coming from my RH front tyre when I drive.

Thinking it is the wheel bearings I jacked the car up and spun the front tyre to see whats going on.

When I turn the tyre it makes a rubbing noise and doesn't spin much. When I turn the wheel on the other (Passenger) side it spins freely so something is wrong with the RH front.

There is no play in the wheel when I jacked it up and checked. When I test drive it it still squeaks when I turn the wheel to the right. (even after I swapped it with the spare as I thought maybe something is wrong with the rim)

I'm not really convinced it is the wheel bearing due to the lack of play in the tyre. I am happy to stand corrected though. Any suggestions as to what it could be? Could it be the brake rotor or pads?

 

[hako]

I just replaced 2 front wheel bearings (at $300 ea) plus new discs and Bendix pads...all to get rid of what was diagnosed as wheel bearing noise.
As it turned out all that expense was wasted as the culprit turned out to be tread separation on my el-cheapo Westlake tyres which causes the tread to develop "waves" or "ripples" which sound exactly like bearing noise under 10 kph. Tracked it down by using an infra-red thermometer which measures the tyre temperature - front tyres were about 30 deg C hotter than the rears which are a different brand.
So that would be my first guess and my second guess is that the sides of the brake pads are rubbing on the rough unused portion of the disc surface and rubbing/squealing when sideways pressure flexes the hub and causes the pad to rub. This shouldn't really be able to happen but apparently the pad material can shift slightly on the backing plate or the complete pad can shift position slightly in the caliper.
Good Luck.

 

[AttaBoy]

Are you sure the calipers aren't seized?? Sounds could be from the brake pad.

 

[jNINE]

^^ I agree, sounds like brakes are grabbing and the caliper needs a refurbishment

 

[Chirpstr]

Piston may be sticking I know with mine it was and I gave everything a clean and a file if needed...

 

[hako]

With an infra-red thermometer (~$50) you can measure the actual caliper temperatures after a drive - if they are within a degree or two of each other they are not sticking but if one is a lot hotter then that would indicate a sticking caliper. Another indication of a sticking caliper is a pull in the steering to one side or the other due to the stuck one not applying the same pressure as the good one.
These thermometers are a great toy - dead accurate and good for checking the cooling system, tyres for tread separation or misalignment etc etc.

 

[chromic]

Thanks for the replies. That infa red thermometer sounds good. In the future I might look into getting one. I have a thermometer, I should take the car for a drive and measure the temps on both callipers and see what I come up with.

I'm going to go towards the calliper sticking/seized for now, I will pull it off and check it out.

 

[r_i_d_a_h]

i think i the brake piston on my VS is sticking or not retracting properly because ive been having this squeaking noise for 2 months now and i cleaned up and re-greased the slides with anti-seize but the squeak is stil there...how difficult should it be to run a kit for the brake piston and whats involve?

 

[hako]

If your brakes don't squeak when you apply them why should they squeak if they drag? If they drag they must get hot and pull to one side. The piston does not retract as there is no spring or whatever in the caliper to pull the pad from the disc and the pad is designed to sit against the disc....push the brake pedal and fluid forces the pad hard against the disc...take the foot off the brake pedal and fluid pressure is relieved but the pad is still in contact with the disc but only brushing it. Thats the way I see it.

 

[r_i_d_a_h]

so what would you say the soultion would be?..could it be a warped rotor? because with my noise its a squeak-squeak in intervals, the faster i go the quicker the interval of squeaks are. does it look like new rotors for me?