Vehicle Problems.

[Spike88]

Okay Gents(and ladies that know Cars) I have a 2002 Mazda MPV, that was bought new in 04ish. It hasn't had any major problems besides a fan motor dying out in 08.


Today the driver side tire area started making an odd noise. The noise sounds kinda like if there was a pebble or rock on the tire, which is a thunk thunk thunk sound. The pitch changes depending on the vehicles speed.
The noises only seems to appear when the car is coasting, if I apply the brakes or the gas the sound goes away.The noise also isn't there if the vehicle is going under 10 miles per hour. When its happening the floor vibrates.

The tires are fairly new 5+ months or so, rotated about late December, there doesn't appear to be anything visibly wrong with them such as balding. They also have the correct PSI.

As a side note, the Vehicle is front wheel drive.

I would take it to mechanic but currently do not have the funds to have someone charge me just to figure out what's wrong.

So any help would be highly appreciated.

[August]

It sounds like a wheel bearing.

[Bubblehead Nuke]

Based on your description I would say a bearing as well. I would jack up the drivers corner and see if the wheel bearing has any freeplay in it.

[GoldenRivet]

Originally Posted by August

It sounds like a wheel bearing.

yup that would be my guess

[Spike88]

Thanks guys.

Is this something easily replaced or replaced for cheap?
Also is it something that needs to be replaced ASAP for safety reasons, or can I let it be for a while.

[August]

Originally Posted by Spike88

Thanks guys.

Is this something easily replaced or replaced for cheap?
Also is it something that needs to be replaced ASAP for safety reasons, or can I let it be for a while.

It is a lot cheaper if you fix it before it breaks and yes it should be done right away.

[Spike88]

Should I leave it up to a professional or is it something I can do myself? I'm pretty good when it comes to hands on stuff.

[August]

Originally Posted by Spike88

Should I leave it up to a professional or is it something I can do myself? I'm pretty good when it comes to hands on stuff.

It's a fairly difficult job possibly requiring specialized tools.

Check out this Popular Mechanics article to give you an idea of what all is involved:

http://www.popularmechanics.com/auto...o/3571667.html

[FIREWALL]

Originally Posted by Spike88

Should I leave it up to a professional or is it something I can do myself? I'm pretty good when it comes to hands on stuff.

It's a CV Joint. If you don't have a good set of tools don't even consider doing it yourself.

[August]

If you're short on funds you might check around and find a school with an automotive service tech program. They usually do it for free if you supply the parts.

[TarJak]

It's a big job if you don;t know what you are about. Check out this vid on how to do a replacement on a front wheel drive:

The guy that does the vidoe has his own website where he answers questions on car care fore free as well.

[Spike88]

Okay. Thanks everyone.

I'll see what I end up doing.

[badhat17]

Try driving in an empty car park with the steering at full lock, a failing CV joint will often make itself known under that condition. I am assuming this noise is from the front wheel as I only saw the side mentioned in the OP. It is usualy the outer CV joint that fails as they do most of the work. At full lock you may hear a clicking noise from the CV and even possibly feel something through the steering wheel. I would say it is an easy job to replace a CV as long as you have the right tools, a ball joint splitter and a set of circlip pliers are the specialist tools most folk wouldn't ordinarily have.

[AVGWarhawk]

Originally Posted by badhat17

Try driving in an empty car park with the steering at full lock, a failing CV joint will often make itself known under that condition. I am assuming this noise is from the front wheel as I only saw the side mentioned in the OP. It is usualy the outer CV joint that fails as they do most of the work. At full lock you may hear a clicking noise from the CV and even possibly feel something through the steering wheel. I would say it is an easy job to replace a CV as long as you have the right tools, a ball joint splitter and a set of circlip pliers are the specialist tools most folk wouldn't ordinarily have.

I tend to say it is not the bearing as the noise goes away during some operation of the vehicle. Bad bearings will make noise all the time. It is a nice grinding ugly noise. As badhat stated. Go to a parking lot and turn you wheel left or right all the way to lock. Start driving. If it is the outer CV joint it will click click click. Very audible. When it does this it means the cage that holds the bearing inside the CV joint is cracked. Everytime your CV spins to the stress point as it rotates the cage crack opens and slams shut thus making the click noise.

So, test that CV joint. Switch the rear tire with the front tire the noise is occuring and see if the noise stops. If so, suspect the tire as having possible cupping causing the noise. If the noise is still there you can rule out the tire as the cause. Also, check the brake pad when the tire is off. It could possibly be a loose brake pad slapping the rotor when the brakes are not being applied.