wheel bearing going bad????

[Spykem4e]

Hi guys! Most of you knows the outside temp we hade this week! And this is when my problem just started!

Friday, the coldest day (-33c), I started the car, let it warm just a bit and then just take off very slowly to not harm the car. 2 stops from my house, the front passenger wheel started to make a kinda rubbing sound.

sound: like if the wheel was rubbing on the car

I checked if the tire was rubbing on the car, nope
I checked if there was any snow rubbing on the tire, nope
I checked any wheel component that holds the wheel straight, nope.

Alright, so I came back home since my girlfriend took her car out of the garage to go to work, I said i'll give it a try. Put the car in the garage, let it warmed for 4 hours and then, test drive. No more sound.. Yippi!!!! Problem fixed!!

Not so fast... Yesterday, I went to see my folks. Parked the car on their driveway. Its was -20c outside and the car didn't move or run for approx 8 hours. Took the car to go back at home and the sound came back. I drove approx 3-4km til the sound went away.

It is exactly the same sound as if the tire was rubbing on something but its not..

Since I use my car as an office (sales rep on the road), I'm really concerned about this for my safety first and to keep the car top notch!

By the way if its help, the car is:

2005 cadillac cts, 3.6l vvt v6, 98k miles, rwd.

Tks a lot for your help and expertise guys!

Marc.

 

[LargeCarManX2]

Brake Pad...

Debree or needs replacement.

If you want to check for wheel bearing issues....jack up that car on that side. Grab the tire and flex back and forth. It will wobble if the bearing is loose or bad. When the tire is up spin it also.

My bet is that the pad/s need replacement.

 

[jamas1]

LargeCarManX2 it sound like you are right about the noise.This kind of weather is hard on us and harder on our vehicles.

 

[Spykem4e]

LargeCarManX2, I forgot to mention that 500 miles ago, I did change front rotors and brake pads so could it just be the fact that they are almost new?

When frozen, rubbing noise
When warmed, no sound at all.

 

[demarpaint]

Have a look at the wheel bearings. I just had one fail after over 20 years of service. It made same noise you described then went away, and came back again. I pulled the cap off the front rotor and be bearings actually spilled out into my hand. The spindle was fine, so new races, and bearings and I was up and running.

Please note my outer bearing was bad! Replace both inner and outer if you have a bad bearing. An inner bearing will require pulling the rotor to inspect.

Your car is RWD, and that is the first place I'd look. Dangerous if it fails at highway speed.


HTH
Frank D

 

[pcoxe]

If the lines weren't bled good after the brake job, there could be moisture in the lines that freezes and prevents the calipers from retracting after release, or maybe it's just a sticky caliper piston. The rubber seals will be stiffer when cold. If the caliper hose got kinked during the brake job, that could be an issue too. The inner liner of the hose can get crimped and block the return of fluid, causing a caliper to drag.

 

[PT1]

When you replaced the pads & rotors did you:

1. clean the hub face well and lubricate with silicone brake lubricant?
2. Lubricate the backof the pads & contact points & caliper pins with silicone brake lubricant?
3. Retract the caliper piston fully with the bleeder open so as not to push crud up into the lines but out of the system?
4. Torque the caliper hardware to spec?
5. Flush the brake system?
6. bed in the new pads?

 

[demarpaint]

I'd like to add to the list: Clean, inspect, and repack wheel bearings. Then make sure they were properly seated and tightened down? Mine went shortly after a brake job, the bearing didn't sieze it actually fell apart. Very odd, and worth mentioning. At the time I checked and repacked them they were fine.

 

[PT1]

Originally Posted By: demarpaint
I'd like to add to the list: Clean, inspect, and repack wheel bearings. Then make sure they were properly seated and tightened down? Mine went shortly after a brake job, the bearing didn't sieze it actually fell apart. Very odd, and worth mentioning. At the time I checked and repacked them they were fine.


Does that car have a sealed wheel hub unit?

 

[Kestas]

If I remember correctly, the CTS wheel bearing is not serviceable. The inner forging is orbital roll formed over the inboard inner ring, meaning that it is essentially one big rivet holding the races together. If there are any issues with the bearing it must be replaced as a unit. They aren't cheap.

Early in the CTS bearing development there were issues of cracking at the inner flange, resulting in wheel-offs.

On the plus side, this bearing is one of the stiffest in the industry, which results in less deflection of the rotor during cornering and thus, less kickback of the brake pads and better brake response (quicker application) in spirited driving.

 

[Spykem4e]

PT1, yes, I did exactly what you mentionned! I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one who doing all those steps for rotors and pads change.

I jacked the car both front wheel, one at a time. I checked any play in them and nothing.

Could it just be the fact that at -20 and lower it makes noise for approx 4 miles because it is frozen?

Like Kestas said, unfortunately, my wheel bearing looks like not serviceable. It looks like to be a hub assembly unit only. I guess I'll go to the dealer ship tomorrow just to make sure!

 

[mechtech2]

If you can feel a bad pressed in wheel bearing, it is long gone and in very sour shape.
They make noise for a while, first.
I would suspect the brakes first.

 

[Kestas]

mechtech2 is correct. A bad bearing will make noise long before any play is felt.
I also suspect the brake pads. I've almost been fooled a couple times thinking I had bad bearings when it was the pads.
Also, noise from a bad bearing will be constant and continuous, not intermittent.

 

[demarpaint]

It's a different design than my Ford van is, which I was not aware of. But the wheel bearing noise I had came and then went away. Then when I pulled the cap off, and the bearings spilled out finding the problem was pretty easy.

Good luck with it, working in the cold really stinks!

Frank D

 

[Spykem4e]

alright, I hear you! Now, just for my knowledge, how come, new brakes and rotors would do that kinda noise only when the car sits outside for a long period of time without moving? I mean, if the car sits in a warm place, like my garage, it doesn't make any noise at all. If it sits outside at around -19c and below, for the first 3-4 miles, it makes a grinding noise just like if the tire was rubbing on the car.

If it was the brakes or rotors, would it suppose to always make that sound?

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: Spykem4e
alright, I hear you! Now, just for my knowledge, how come, new brakes and rotors would do that kinda noise only when the car sits outside for a long period of time without moving? I mean, if the car sits in a warm place, like my garage, it doesn't make any noise at all. If it sits outside at around -19c and below, for the first 3-4 miles, it makes a grinding noise just like if the tire was rubbing on the car.

If it was the brakes or rotors, would it suppose to always make that sound?


Assuming it's not a bearing. It could be that something is hanging up just enough to drag slightly when the car is shut down and cold. Then when things heat up a bit it frees up and stops. Making a diagnosis without actually hearing the noise, or driving the car etc, makes it tough.

 

[Kestas]

Rotors corrode very quickly. If you leave the car sitting for one week outside they'll make noise the next time you drive. Not so if they sit inside a garage.

I store cars - some outdoors, some in a garage. The ones that sit outside take a real beating on the brakes. Sometimes it's so bad that they need new rotors after the storage season.

 

[demarpaint]

Good point, they can flash rust quickly depending on where you live. Here on the south shore of L.I. the closer you live to the ocean the faster they flash up. Working at car dealerships you'd see them start to flash rust within a day or so of parking them. If it rained they'd rust even faster, some would make noise until the rust layer was worn off from driving them. It didn't take to much driving to accomplish that.

 

[Spykem4e]

Update guys:

Its not the wheel bearing! It was in fact my new rotor (only the right one). At colder temperature, there's a heat shield protecting the abs sensor wire and some other stuff.

Its not an OEM rotors so it is a little bit larger (1mm) than the OEM. When the car is cold, the dust and heat protector rubs a little on the rotor but once hot, it does not touch the rotor, simple as that!

I'm gonna go to bed tonight more intelligent! I didn't know what the shield was for and I wanted to throw it away 'cause it was in my path when changing the rotor hehehe!

Thanks a lot for your help guys!

Another happy customer!

 

[mechtech2]

There was a guy who healed 10 lepers, and only one came back to thank him.

So you're very welcome!