Strange noise Help needed please.

[Olazz]

Three weeks ago truck had MOT and was told wheel bearings loose.

After seeking advice on this forum, I tightened the bearings, being careful to set pre load to about 10lbs.

Had no problems so far, until today on motorway whilst driving to pick up new fridge.

A " graunching sound" like the wheel is rubbing under the arch..

It is not constant and happens at irregular intervals for a fraction of second, but strong enough to feel through floor and loud enough to hear. There are no particular set of circumstances where it occurs. Its comming from what feels like under the passanger side..

Got to destination and felt the hubs. The near side hub is a little warm and def warmer than the right, ( but not hot) whilst the rears are cold

Question?
is this a wheel bearing about to fail?

Can I safely drive back to Herts, or should I not take the chance of failure on route?

Can anyone offer help?

Thanks.
Ive got to drive back to Herts and currently in Leamington Spa.

 

[Dave Docwra]

Olazz, you must jack up the vehicle & check the bearings, if it is a bearing you do not want to drive it as this could lead to a major accident.

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

Are you finding the brake pedal sometimes has extra travel, especially after going round bends? That's another wheel bearing indicator because the hub moves and pushes the pads back in a bit meaning more pedal travel next time they're applied. Bad bearings are not always hot once they've got quite bad, sounds daft I know but they get really hot turn into blocks and then often run quite cool till they disintigrate completely and your wheel falls off

Best bet is to pop a jack under and give the wheel a wobble, bad bearings just about always show play.

 

[Chris]

Wheel bearing noises tend to be more constant. They usually disappear under braking and can increase / decrease on cornering.I take it that you didn't actually take the hub off and look at the bearings then when you tightened them up? Did you grease them at all?

Diagnosing noises in writing is notoriously difficult. But I would say that you'd be unlikely to feel a bearing coming up through the car as you are sitting in the cabin which is isolated from the chassis with rubber blocks. It might come through the steering wheel though.

I can't say what it IS for sure, but it doesn't sound particularly like a wheel bearing. Not first impression anyway. Sound a bit more like a CV. Could be a broken exhaust mount making the silencer hit the chassis. Jacking up as the lads have said is the best way to see if there is play in the wheels and steering.

Chris

 

[Chas]

Definitely don't drive until it's been checked out, as well as the noises you've heard, does it feel as though you may have a puncture, because that's what mine felt like just before the wheel fell off. I'm not trying to frighten you but it has happened to me three times now, I pretty sure it was using wheel spacers that caused it.

 

[James Rothwell]

My wheel bearing also totally destroyed itself and melted itself to the half-shaft god knows how it kept going until I got it to the garage.

 

[adrianr]

My wheel bearing also totally destroyed itself and melted itself to the half-shaft god knows how it kept going until I got it to the garage


...

cos its a cruiser and thats where they like to breakdown, if at all?

 

[joinerman]

I had this once on another car,turned out to be a stone / flint jambed in the disc/caliper.

 

[Olazz]

Re: Strange noise - update.

Ok jacked truck and checked.

No loose wheels.
Nothing obviously loose on suspension.
No loose props.
Nothing immediately obvious to cause noise.

I assume if it was a bearing then wheel would have some play?

Truck doesnt drive as if flat tyre.
No extra brake pedal travel.
No noise on full lock.

I'm stumped.

Will try driving home an hope nothing falls off or breaks.

One thought.. Had the CV's rebuilt this year and all wheel bearings done. Aalso had ARB lockers front and rear.

Could it be a diff problem? Gearbox? ( its a manaual)

 

[Chas]

When I said "does it feel as though you may have a puncture" I should have been more specific, it's more like a tyre with low pressure and the car 'weaves' very slightly but not really enough to have to make constant corrections to the steering, that's what mine felt like although I didn't know at the time that the cause was the wheel bearings breaking up. But if you have no play at the wheels it's probably not that, I hope you find your problem soon, good luck.

 

[Keith Shuttleworth]

Wheel bearings and indeed prop U/J's if badly worn can tighten up as the bearings move around inside and can mask any play there till they move round again.
Have you spun each wheel when on the jack? should hear a noise if they are breaking up. You should be able to force the noise to appear if it is a wheel bearing by steering left and right putting a load on each wheel bearing.
Put a scredriver between the prop and U/J and pull and push to see if there any play. Do you get a clunk if you drive forward and then back?

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

having done those checks I'd drive home but with my fingers crossed Bit of a long shot but does it make any funny noises if you reverse up a steep slope in high box? The passenger side engine mount can make some interesting noises when the rubber has become unstruck from the metal.

 

[Chris]

Just had an intermittent problem on mine today, sounding just like yours. Turned out to be my new exhaust set up. On some manoeuvrings the UJ on the prop was catching the front edge of the middle exhaust box. It really could be something that daft.

Chris

 

[Olazz]

Re: Strange noise - Update 2.

Thanks for all the help guys.

Spun wheels when off ground, no noises from bearings. Used pry bar to check various parts of suspension; Couldn't find any problems.

Decided to engage low range and drove around car park as best I could.
Engaged and disengaged lockers and reversed and drove forward, engaging and disengaging.

Drove home the 90 odd miles on back roads@ 60kms and nothing! No recurrence of the noise, wheels still intact and hubs not warm.
Having got home, drove it normally, then quite hard round local lanes, and nothing untoward!

I can now only assume that it was either the low range lever not fully disengaged (although haven't used it lately), or perhaps the lockers were playing up and teeth meshing.

Not comfortable with "not knowing" what the noise was but with the sound and vibration through the truck for the split second it was occurring , it could be gear/diff related.

If it was the low range or diff I guess there may have been some damage to the gears. No Toyota spares available until after 5th so unless anyone knows where I can get Bearings and stuff over weekend, it will have to wait till next weekend to sort!

Thanks again for all the suggestions guys, much appreciated.

Lazz

 

[joinerman]

My money's still on a stone perhaps stuck temporarily between the wheel rim & caliper or as my earlier post.

 

[tomrichardson]

my o/s/f bearing went on me one day. i'd been driving around for a few days with an intermittant squealing come grating noise. keep jacking it up and checking but nothing. in the end it tightened up so much it locked the wheel momentarily. i nearly sh£t myself.
turns out the tab on the lock washer had sheared off allowing the locknuts to tighten. bearing was as black as your hat.
i now check mine weekly by grabbing the top of the tyre and shaking the truck side to side. quick and easy to do. that shows up even the slightest play.

 

[Paul]

I too had the "grinding noise" that even went away when reversing for a bit as the concensus of opinion was stones in the discs. When doing the front axle rebuild every bearing was found in very poor condition and ready to fail. The only physical symptoms was a little (but aceptable) play in the front wheels when doing bearing check.