Occasional terrible noise from wheel

[greenjp]

I have a 2006 Accord with about 155k miles on it. Sometime last summer I noticed an occasional metallic squeaking or rubbing sound coming from the front driver's side wheel. Definitely on account of rotation, sometimes would change in tone or intensity when turning the steering wheel, and did not change when braking. It would come and go. Twice had the car in shops for other things and asked them to check it out but it didn't happen while either of them had it.

Lately the sound has gotten much louder, like embarrassingly loud when leaving my neighborhood at 6 AM, but is still intermittent. For instance yesterday I left for work, it sounded God awful for about the first 1/4 mile, then quieted down but was still present for the 18 mile drive to the office. A few hours later I get in the car to drive to a meeting and it was gone. Hasn't recurred since.

Any guesses as to what I'm looking at here? Wheel bearing or something screwy with the rotor dust shield maybe? There's nothing obviously amiss visually.

jeff

 

[PimTac]

Take it to a shop. It could be a number of things that cannot be diagnosed on the Internet.

 

[HangFire]

If both sides of the rotor are not grooved, then it's most likely the wheel bearing.

 

[Gimpy1]

Check your CV joints and boots. Especially check the boots for tears and sings that the grease has leaked out. Also check your dust shields. My wife's New beetle was making a loud grinding sound that was intermittent, I took off both front tires and discovered that the passenger side dust shield was bent and showed signs of hitting the rotor. All I had to do is bend the dust shield back.

 

[MrMoody]

Could be a lot of things, but I've had brake "squealers" (the metal tab on the brake pad that warns you when the pad is getting thin by scraping on the rotor) behave similarly. It makes a distinctive sound you would recognize once you know what it is. Depending on how the tab is bent, they can sometimes do it long before the pad is worn out.

 

[JohnnyJohnson]

Sometime last summer LOL great car care!

 

[HangFire]

Originally Posted by JohnnyJohnson
Sometime last summer LOL great car care!
Originally Posted by greenjp
Twice had the car in shops for other things and asked them to check it out but it didn't happen while either of them had it.

 

[Oro_O]

If you can jack the car and set it on a stand, you can do a lot of diagnoses really quickly.

With the car up safely, grab the tire at 3 and 9 o'clock, try to rock it. Does it have play at all?

Repeat at 6 and 12.

Grasp the coils of the strut and spin the wheel steadily. Do you feel vibration transmitting through it? Bearings.

3-9 rock/play only - tie rods. 6-12 only, Ball joint. Both - possibly both of those, also bearings.

At 155k, you are in the zone of failing bearings, tie rods, ball joints. Are your MPGs off a bit w/no explanation? Another strong indicator of bearings.

 

[oldoak2000]

Originally Posted by JohnnyJohnson
Sometime last summer LOL great car care!


yup - Brake pad and backer are probably LONG GONE!
Sound = Caliper Drum rubbing directly on the disc!!!

 

[CharBaby]

Could be the bavking plate is slightly bent, causing the occasional noise.

 

[HangFire]

Originally Posted by greenjp
Twice had the car in shops for other things and asked them to check it out but it didn't happen while either of them had it.

Originally Posted by oldoak2000
Originally Posted by JohnnyJohnson
Sometime last summer LOL great car care!

yup - Brake pad and backer are probably LONG GONE!
Sound = Caliper Drum rubbing directly on the disc!!!

 

[zorobabel]

Another thing that could be causing it are little wings/shaving that somehow build up at the edge of the pads, where they contact the rotor. A brake inspection is warranted anyway, if you see the "wings" on brake pads, just remove them.
I had a similar intermittent metallic rub last year, took the brakes apart, removed said "wings" and problem solved.

 

[greenjp]

Thanks for the helpful suggestions folks. The rest of you

The brakes were done about 50k miles ago, Akebono Proact pads and new rotors so I'd be surprised if they were worn off (the originals lasted 100k). The intermittent nature of the sound and the fact that it doesn't change at all when pressing the brakes seems like a clue that they're not the culprit but I'll keep that on the list

Duly noted to get the thing up on stands and give it a good look. My garage has been cluttered due to some remodeling work so you could say I've been deferring maintenance a bit

hence the trips to the shops vs. DIY.

jeff