'07 Charger Possible Wheel Bearing Failure

[RamFan]

In late October I backed into a concrete pillar holding a lamp post. Was only going maybe 5mph if that. I went through USAA for the repair and went with their approved repair shop. Ended up being the local GMC/Cadillac repair shop. The perk of choosing the USAA approved place is a lifetime warranty on all repairs/paint. The day after I got the car back (Also the day that the temp dropped from Fall to Winter weather) I noticed a groan coming from the rear end, more specifically the side with the previous damage. It does it when the car is cold when I reverse it'll make the noise for a few seconds, then when I turn it makes it again while I turn, lastly it does it when I'm starting to move from a dead stop but only for 2 or 3 seconds. Once the car is nice and warm it doesn't make the noise anymore. I noticed that some of the heatshield seems out of place so I'm not sure if maybe there is just something rubbing from shabby re-assembly or if possibly my wheel bearing is starting to fail. The only time I car hear the noise in the video is at around 1:50, sorry for the distortion in the video, not sure where that is coming from.

 

[Michael_P]

The wheel bearing failure will come from a bent rim over time.

 

[mopar_monkey]

looks like your tire hit, it could have bent some suspension pieces or even damaged the bearing, you would be amazed how much energy is transfer in a wreck even at 5 mph's. what about the brake pads, sounds almost like a pad worn down to the squeal indicator. i couldn't really hear anything in the video, to much back ground noise.

 

[RamFan]

Yeah the tire hit but I inspected the rim and not even a ding that I could see, however that isn't to say that the tire being hit/pushed on wasn't enough to bend the rim. The control arm snapped in half as can be seen from the picture, and once the shop but it on the lift they said one of the tension rods was bent also so they replaced it as well. I have to have them fix some of the paint anyway but I wanted to wait for after winter since there is going to be salt on the ground off and on until about March but I think I might have to go ahead and just bring it in sooner than I was hoping.

 

[Michael_P]

The rim could still be out of true. If there is that much suspension damage, I would be surprised the wheel is in true. The tire at the 2 o clock position looks like a hard hit. The main reason I say this is because I did almost the same exact damage to an old Omni GLH I had. The wheel bearing went out, I never thought the rim was bad. I changed the wheel bearing; that one went bad after 5000 miles, then I found out the wheel had over 3/4" runout. I changed the wheel and problem solved. You can buy takeoffs through discount tire at a good price. The rim never touched the post only the tire.

 

[RamFan]

Originally Posted By: Michael_P

The rim could still be out of true. If there is that much suspension damage, I would be surprised the wheel is in true. The tire at the 2 o clock position looks like a hard hit. The main reason I say this is because I did almost the same exact damage to an old Omni GLH I had. The wheel bearing went out, I never thought the rim was bad. I changed the wheel bearing; that one went bad after 5000 miles, then I found out the wheel had over 3/4" runout. I changed the wheel and problem solved. You can buy takeoffs through discount tire at a good price. The rim never touched the post only the tire.

I'll bring this up at the shop for sure. Thanks for the tip!

 

[Kestas]

I've seen wheel bearings come back from the field that show an obvious "curb impact" -type of damage. This damage typically brinells half the raceway. The bearing then starts making noise (like a moaning or groaning noise), most noticable at 30-50 mph. The noise you describe doesn't fit this pattern, but the damage you show does.

 

[RamFan]

That's my hold up. It groans at low speed and only momentarily and only when it hasn't been driven for a while. Very odd.

 

[Kestas]

Then it's not the bearing - yet.

 

[mechtech2]

Legal 5MPH bumpers work OK at those speeds or lower, but more speed and they cause much more damage. Thank you, Gov't.

 

[RamFan]

So I've got an update. Tonight my car registered 54* on the way home from work about 9:30 pm. I start the car, turn the radio off so I can hear all vehicle noises uninterrupted. I put car in reverse, nothing, no groan what so ever. I reverse like I always do out of the parking spot, nothing, no groan no noise that isn't supposed to be there at all. I make a right turn at the stop sign about 100 feet away, again no noise. Is it possible that this noise truly is temperature induced and it has nothing to do with the suspension or wheel bearing? I'm due for a diff. fluid change at 48k miles, currently at 42k, is it possible that the fluid has fallen out of spec and is starting to thicken up more during cold weather. I'm kind of lost at the moment.

 

[RamFan]

Bumping during a more active part of day.