Hello everyone, I took a ten minute ride to the train station the other day, everything was normal then half way back and all of a sudden the right front wheel started making a light thumping kinda sound, thump,thump,thump......goes with the speed of the wheel.

I figure ok wheel bearing, so off I go and rip it all down. Right away I see that the outer one showed signs of heat so I cleaned everything up and replace both bearings. The spindle itself has a little damage to it but very little. There was play on the rotor before I did all this and now there is'nt anymore. I take it for a drive around the block and that thumping sound is still there. Don't know what to do next.

Does anyone of you guys have any other Ideas? I'm drawing a blank as to what else to look for. Any thoughts on this would surely be apreciated

 

does the noise go away or change when you hit the brakes? Have someone stick their head out the window to be SURE its the RF. You could jack it up and spin the wheel to see if you hear anything. Also watch the tire while you spin it to see if it's separated.

 

Spun the wheel while jacked up and shook the rotor back and forth and it does'nt jiggle anymore, there was movement before I changed the bearings.

The tire was something else I also thought of but did'nt get around to checking 'cause I was so sure it was the bearings. I'm going to look at that tomorrow, maybe throw the spare on and see if it's the tire or not, for sure, thanks

 

Do what he said and lightly touch the brake with your left foot while still going down the road with your right foot on the gas. If the thumping goes away when you lightly press the brakes, your caliper or your brake pads are probably loose in the bracket.

 

i would do as mentioned above.do you feel it in the steering wheel,if yes it could be the tire. the belts break in the tire with worn shocks cause a thump in the front end.
also check your suspension bushings,you could have a rubber bushing that decided to take a permanent vacation.let us know what you find.

 

Thanks for all the replies guys

It does seem to stop with the brakes applied but I took all that apart and put it back together again. The shocks are new. I'm going to give tire a closer look and get the bar out to check the steering components.

I'll let you know what else I find, again thanks very much.

 

Well, Bashby you were right about rechecking which side it was on, turns out it was my left wheel loose on the studs, looks like my tire shop, when I had them swap my winters for summers, skipped that wheel with the torque wrench, was probably just snugged up. Good lesson learnt about tracking down a noise.

Anyways, very much appreciate all your suggestions, they made me look at the whole front end so now I know everything is nice and tight. thanks again guys