stabmaster Posted February 6, 2012 Report Share Posted February 6, 2012 Hi all, I have an AE92 that 'squeels' from the front wheels when driving under 40 km/h. I've spent about $850 so far trying to fix this problem but it is still there... The squeeling sound started after a blown tyre, which blew about 200m from home, so I drove home on it and changed in the driveway (stupid I know, but could be part of the cause?). Took it in to get two new front tyres and a wheel alignment, and about a week later it started squeeling from the front left wheel when slowing down at lights, whether I was braking or not. It appeared to have a slight grinding sound that matched the rotation of the tires as I slowed. It has since gotten progressively worse, and squeels louder from both wheels after another two weeks or so. When I first start driving it in the morning, I can't hear anything - it seems to come on after about 5-10 minutes of driving, after it has warmed up a bit. I have also noticed that the accelerator seems 'loose' with slight pressure, so when i leave my foot on it just lightly, it squeels. I've taken it to a mechanic who said it was probably the brakes, which needed some attention anyway and spent about $850 sorting those, with a service and a few other bits, but the sound is as bad as ever. I was hoping to get some help from users to point me to the likely problem, as I am a poverty stricken student, and have borrowed $550 to try to solve the problem before it gets worse. What would be the most likely source of the sound? Mechanic has suggested replacing the front (and rear) struts? Thanks in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueKsev Posted February 6, 2012 Report Share Posted February 6, 2012 I don't think the struts would do that, first thing i would go for is a bearing somewhere i think? But the fact its coming from both sides is strange Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ke70dave Posted February 6, 2012 Report Share Posted February 6, 2012 not much can squeel in the front of an ae92. i assume you had the brake pads replaced? only thing else that can squeel is the backing/dust plate on the disc, if this has been bent at some stage, then it might be rubbing on your disc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stabmaster Posted February 7, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 7, 2012 Thanks guys. I have to correct myself - it was indeed only the left side, but was so loud people heard they were hearing it on the right... It looks like a bearing and not the struts as suggested, they wanted 1k+ to replace the struts so I'm glad i called that off...I'll repost if replacing the wheel bearing solves the problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cerby Posted February 7, 2012 Report Share Posted February 7, 2012 yeah do wheel bearings. Try putting some anti squeal goo all round the pads. Did you change the pads when you spent that ridiculous amount of money on the brakes? I found when I used bendix ultimate on my old ae92 they squealed all the time, so try changing the pads. to be honest if its not the pads type, or the pads moving or the rattle clips missing out of the caliper or a wheel bearing or maybe the caliper not releasing then its going to be something in the engine bay! What did the mechanic do for that $550? I would strongly suggest you talk to people on here before letting you mechanic spend more than the car is worth replacing shit that ain't broke :P In fact I would go so far as to suggest that you will probably find someone on here who is local to you and will help you out for a fraction of the price :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stabmaster Posted February 9, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 9, 2012 I just spoke to the latest (#3) mechanic who told me it is in fact the transmission bearing...He says it appears to be on the left only because the transmission is closer to the passenger side than driver's side. He quoted $1,600 for a reco'd transmission plus work. Is it normal for a transmission bearing to only be problematic under 40kmh? It is quiet when pacing along at 60-80, albeit a little rattly. Also when I drove in it with mechanic #2 as a passenger I could feel vibrations on the floor as a passenger, but very little towards the centre. I can't feel this in the driver's seet. This all started after a blown tire on the front hand passenger side btw, no issues before that. Apart from the noises it makes it drives well. I'm wondering, on cerby's advice whether someone here has a place I can take it and give me a realistic answer? I'm in Boronia VIC (3155). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cerby Posted February 9, 2012 Report Share Posted February 9, 2012 if its a bearing in the gearbox then it should be noisiest in overrun. This is when (for example) you are cruising along accelerating through a gear then just as you are about to change up some tard brakes in front of you and you get off the accelerator and let it engine brake. To behonest while I'm sure your bearings probably are noisy, but for one thing I doubt they would be noisy enough to hear them outside without you being all like holy shit theres a shreaking banshee in my engine bay from inside the cab. And secondly $1600.....ʞ©$ɟ that with bells on. Get a second hand gearbox. and if thats not right buy another. You should have 8 spares by the time you have spent $1600. (disclaimer: Paying for a mechanics labour is EXPENSIVE and $1600 for him to take the box out change the bearings and put it back in is actually pretty reasonable. EDIT: just noticed $1600 PLUS labour....on a car that is worth $2000/$3000 if your being charitable.....no I don't think so. Sell the car for like $1500 (it should sell easy at that price) then use that money and the $3000 your mechanic will want to buy something 15 years newer) Having said that there is a million things it could be and a noisy transmissin bearing would be my last guess. Maybe a clutch bearing? Mine gets a bit sticky sometimes and rattles and makes noises but it always comes right. Heres the check list: 1. check your brakes. pull the wheel off and make sure the pads are sitting in the right place, have some meat left on them (like 5mm) and that the rattle clips are in place. Check the brand of pads and if its bendix then try some other pads. Have a look at the disc (which should be brand spanking new if you just spent $550 on it) make sure it isn't lumpy on the contact surface. 2. check your bearings. do this while you have the wheel off to check the brakes. Do this by grabbing the disc and wiggling it. If the disc moves around without the steering arms moving then your bearings are stuffed. Keep an eye out for seaping or spraying grease or oily shite coming out of the hole in middle of the disc this shite equals not so good. 3. check your cv boots. Just on the engine bay side of the discs there should be a rubber boot with ribs on it. If its split and leaking grease this equals bad. 4. have a look at your steering ball joint if theres crap oozing out of it not good. if you can wiggle it around really easily thats less than great. (I'd bet important stuff that this has absolutely nothing to do with your problem though) 5. stick your head in the wheel arch and have a look round the whole area. Look for rub marks. on the engine bay wall, the top of the arch, round the spring seat, and the back of the arch near your door. It sounds like a lot of effort but the hardest thing is jacking it up and getting the wheel off. Try not to get under the car while its on the jack (read this as DON"T GET UNDER THE CAR WHEN ITS ONLY ON THE JACK!!) at least chuck the wheel under the door sill once its off so if the car does come off the jack it will sit on that. The reality is learning this sort of stuff will save you THOUSANDS and is a life skill. Once you are confident to do simple things like this to your car you have the confidence to have a go at something a bit harder. I started off doing an oil change on my ae82 and now I've built an ae71 from the ground up. And the fact is you have one of the best cars to learn on. Parts are cheap, the car is well designed and easy to work on, its a simple car. And its reached the age where it needs some TLC. Its going to cost too much to pay someone else to do it when you think of what the car is worth. If your going to spend a heap of money getting work done on it, then spend it on some basic tools, a repair manual and if your extremely new to cars, a short course on car maintenance at TAFE. That stuff will pay itself off really quick (especially with what these mechanics want to charge you). Anyway rant over. If you eventually decide to pay to get the work done, at least make sure you go in and say I want you to change the wheel bearings, try another brand of pad, machine the disc surface (if its not brand new), and then see how it goes. Maybe also get them to change or retension your alternator/ac belt and check for any vaccuum leaks. This is cheap stuff to do ($100 bearings maybe, $60 or $70 pads, $100 machining). These are the things I would think are the cause and they are a hell of a lot cheaper and easier than taking out the engine to replace a bearing which may or may not be stuffed. Oh and one more thing if you are cruising at 40 and the wheel is squeaking how does the clutch effect it? Like does it only squeak with the clutch to the floor or in gear or both? Does the timing of the squeaking follow your engine revs or your road speed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stabmaster Posted February 10, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2012 Thanks for the advice cerby, I'm going to have to look over these things with some help on the weekend. If it really does require a new transmission I think a quick sale is in order and a new car. It's an auto, so I can't experiment with the clutch. In fact I will play around on the weekend, mechanic #2 was trying to reproduce the sound in reverse at one stage, and said it went away? Thanks all. I'll update again if there is a happy ending. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stabmaster Posted February 14, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2012 So for completeness here...I ended up finding the issue, and it cost a grand total of $0. I had been jacking up my car using the toyota supplied jack under the left door, checking things - no obvious problem I could see as I was unable to run the car while looking... Took it to mechanic #4 - heard problem, jacked it up with a proper jack under the front and ran it - no noise? Ran it round the block a few times - still no noise. Turns out after the tyre blew, when mechanic #1 changed the front tyres and put put the wheel back on they managed to loosen the wheel bearing connection somehow? The mechanic mentioned looseness between the drive shaft and something or other...but he said when he jacked it up from a point at the front it fixed it inadvertently. Thanks for your help everyone, I hope your days are free of sudden ninja attack. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MYSTIK[RL] Posted February 14, 2012 Report Share Posted February 14, 2012 (edited) if the drive shaft nut was loose it should have been missing its split pin as well and you should have been able to grab the wheel and move it when it was on the ground ie a side to side movement. and you should have been able to feel it through the steering wheel while driving. :hmm: :blinks: my experiences with loose drive shafts also caused scoring on the rotors as well. :hmm: but it is still good that you found the problem and were able to fix it. Edited February 14, 2012 by MYSTIK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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