CV joint, wheel bearing or something else on its way out?

[helpme]

I have a wierd rubbing/grinding noise coming from the passenger side of my car (a Neon SRT-4).

• When decellerating from about 10 to 15 mph, the noise starts.
• It's a cyclic noise that is porportional to the speed of the car. It's not related to the engine speed or transmission speed (clutch can be in, or trans in neutral).
• When I am going faster than 15 mph, the noise does not happen.
• When power is applied, the sound goes away.
• The sound will happen regardless if the car is going in a straight line or turning

Another interesting fact is that the noise does not happen when the car is cold. You have to drive about 5-10 minutes for it to start.

It's a very wierd rubbing/grinding noise, almost rubber like, but somewhat metallic.

I checked the following things (after driving the car around for 5-10 minutes):

• CVs on both sides have minimal play (rotational and perpendicular directions). Some play in Axial direction (which is expected). Boots look fine.
• Wheel bearings have no play and feel smooth when rotated.
• Brake pads are Hawk HP+, near the end of life (noise does not change when brakes applied) Noise is different than the typical HP+ squeal.
• Quick steering input (tire scrub motion) when noise is present sometimes changes the pitch of the sound

The car is mostly a track duty car, so the wheel bearings see alot of heat and stress. I have not replaced them since I got the car (about 8k miles ago, car is almost at 130k now).

How else can I nail the problem down to the axle or the wheel bearing? If it's the axle I will replace the wheel bearing anyway since it's not that expensive. But if only the bearing needs replacing, I will leave the CV alone since it's much more $.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Check the brake pads first. A slightly sticking caliper or a binding pad can occasionally cause a sound like that, though it's usually more of a "squeak" than a clicking noise. Still, worth checking. Plus, they're at the end of their life anyway so this is something you already have to do. If it fixes it, great. If not, you have no net loss.

Otherwise, I'd say you're onto the usual suspects. Wheel bearing sounds more likely to me since CVs usually only click when turning if they are on their way out and wheel bearings make more of a rubbing/grinding noise while CVs tend to click more clearly.

ZV

 

[helpme]

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt
Check the brake pads first. A slightly sticking caliper or a binding pad can occasionally cause a sound like that, though it's usually more of a "squeak" than a clicking noise. Still, worth checking. Plus, they're at the end of their life anyway so this is something you already have to do. If it fixes it, great. If not, you have no net loss.

Otherwise, I'd say you're onto the usual suspects. Wheel bearing sounds more likely to me since CVs usually only click when turning if they are on their way out and wheel bearings make more of a rubbing/grinding noise while CVs tend to click more clearly.

ZV

I did check caliper and pads out when trying to feel for grittyness in the wheel bearing (removed the pads to be able to spin the wheel without any bit of drag). There isn't much drag at all when spinning the wheel, but the hp+ pads make a nice scratching sound which makes it hard to tell if it's the pads or the bearing making the noise.

I retracted the piston a bit, and cleaned the caliper and pads while I was at it. Didn't seem to change the noise once I hit the road again.

I will swap the pads with a spare street set I have to see if that changes the noise, but the grinding doesn't really sound like the sound the HP+ pads make.

Have you had any (good) experiences with any of the "hub tamer" tools? It's either I use one of those, or take the knuckle to have a shop press the old bearing out of the knuckle and hub.