S2000 Under The Hood S2000 Technical and Mechanical discussions.

pulsating noise - bad wheel bearings?

Old 01-10-2012, 10:35 AM
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Originally Posted by SDgoods
Originally Posted by shinigamiz' timestamp='1326221796' post='21303551
[quote name='SDgoods' timestamp='1326220999' post='21303505']
even if the tires have no 'visible' damage, feel the edges with your hand, a cupped tired can make a lot of noise. I have the same kind of sound right now as well and went to torque the axle nuts to find they had already been replaced and were extremely tight. I had an 30 year experienced tech drive with me and hes convinced its tire noise. Im in the same boat, i dont want it to be too late and the wheel bearing take out the whole hub.
thanks for the tip. i'll keep that in mind when i swap wheels around tomorrow. were you able to confirm that was the cause for your noises yet?

it would be strange if the one tire was cupped though - air pressure is exactly the same on all 4 tires, and the rears are pretty much new. i've checked them every couple weeks since late november (just needed an excuse to test a new tire pressure gauge). but i won't rule this idea out just yet.
alignment specs can wear tires differently, but if yours are close to new/alignment correct it might not be the cause. Im also running about 3 degrees camber in the rear which is cupping the inside edge really bad. I haven't confirmed the noise, just took what I thought and my experienced tech friends input and made an educated assumption ( ) I might swap tires around and see if it goes away. Id also like to see what u come up with
[/quote]

my alignment looks good, also done within the last month. before and after were both even left to right. the only significant changes are rear camber went from about -2* (i can't remember exactly) to -2.2*, and toe in went to 1/16" or 1/8" total (i have the sheet at home).

hopefully i have enough time tomorrow morning to check this out, but i will report back with what i find.
Old 01-10-2012, 11:14 AM
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I think drkphnx has your answer.
Old 01-10-2012, 11:26 AM
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I drove on it for about 3 months lol, It progressively got worse. I know I know, stupid me. So I was doing 60 on the highway and thats when the axle broke and it started wobbling really bad. I pulled off the highway as soon as I could and when I I looked, my rear left wheel was really canted and my brake disc was super bright red. Then next day my buddy pulled everything off and the wheel bearing was bad, axle broke at the nut. and yes it was just an intermittent grind, no other symptoms.
Old 01-10-2012, 11:32 AM
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Originally Posted by drkphnx
I drove on it for about 3 months lol, It progressively got worse. I know I know, stupid me. So I was doing 60 on the highway and thats when the axle broke and it started wobbling really bad. I pulled off the highway as soon as I could and when I I looked, my rear left wheel was really canted and my brake disc was super bright red. Then next day my buddy pulled everything off and the wheel bearing was bad, axle broke at the nut. and yes it was just an intermittent grind, no other symptoms.
the noise i'm currently getting is not a grinding sound, just a rotating/pulsing/wobble noise (not exactly sure what to call it). i did have a slight grinding sound that went away, probably whatever scored my brake rotor, but that has disappeared for several days now. i will definitely be on the lookout in case a grinding noise returns.
Old 01-10-2012, 11:44 AM
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Originally Posted by shinigamiz
Originally Posted by drkphnx' timestamp='1326227198' post='21303881
I drove on it for about 3 months lol, It progressively got worse. I know I know, stupid me. So I was doing 60 on the highway and thats when the axle broke and it started wobbling really bad. I pulled off the highway as soon as I could and when I I looked, my rear left wheel was really canted and my brake disc was super bright red. Then next day my buddy pulled everything off and the wheel bearing was bad, axle broke at the nut. and yes it was just an intermittent grind, no other symptoms.
the noise i'm currently getting is not a grinding sound, just a rotating/pulsing/wobble noise (not exactly sure what to call it). i did have a slight grinding sound that went away, probably whatever scored my brake rotor, but that has disappeared for several days now. i will definitely be on the lookout in case a grinding noise returns.
It's like a squeak rather then a grind. Like when you bounce on a squeaky bed. Or if u've ever done it in a car, kinda like that.
Old 01-11-2012, 07:31 PM
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well, it's definitely not the tires. tried swapping left and right and the noise did not move. then just to really be sure i tried a different set of wheels, and the noise is still there.

tried spinning the wheels while i had it up again, but there is no obvious noise difference between all 4 wheels.

most likely bearings on the right, but still can't determine if it's front or rear. my ears might just not be trained well enough.

so, anyone know a good mechanic around maryland that stocks parts to repair this? all dealerships around here seem to special order anything related to the s2000 (even the brake bleeder dust caps), so i'm trying to avoid them.
Old 01-12-2012, 07:12 AM
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Originally Posted by shinigamiz
well, it's definitely not the tires. tried swapping left and right and the noise did not move. then just to really be sure i tried a different set of wheels, and the noise is still there.

tried spinning the wheels while i had it up again, but there is no obvious noise difference between all 4 wheels.

most likely bearings on the right, but still can't determine if it's front or rear. my ears might just not be trained well enough.

so, anyone know a good mechanic around maryland that stocks parts to repair this? all dealerships around here seem to special order anything related to the s2000 (even the brake bleeder dust caps), so i'm trying to avoid them.
We tried the same thing on mine, different wheels, hand spinning them off the ground with same results as you. I'm willing to bet its one of the rears. if you drive with the top down or window down next to a building, that may help bounce the noise off the wall to determine which side it is. just make sure you don't have walls on both sides lol

your local Napa or Autozone should carry wheel bearings and some have their own machine shop to press. Napa charged me $20 to have one pressed. My buddy works at napa and got me both the axle and the wheel bearing for $114 no taxes. I think normally it would be about $150 for both. The wheel bearing I think was about $25. Im sure you can get one for around $30-35 and have it pressed for the $20, so you're looking about about a $50 fix, Assuming you do the removal and reassembly of the parts yourself.
Old 01-12-2012, 08:20 AM
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Originally Posted by drkphnx
Originally Posted by shinigamiz' timestamp='1326342704' post='21308945
well, it's definitely not the tires. tried swapping left and right and the noise did not move. then just to really be sure i tried a different set of wheels, and the noise is still there.

tried spinning the wheels while i had it up again, but there is no obvious noise difference between all 4 wheels.

most likely bearings on the right, but still can't determine if it's front or rear. my ears might just not be trained well enough.

so, anyone know a good mechanic around maryland that stocks parts to repair this? all dealerships around here seem to special order anything related to the s2000 (even the brake bleeder dust caps), so i'm trying to avoid them.
We tried the same thing on mine, different wheels, hand spinning them off the ground with same results as you. I'm willing to bet its one of the rears. if you drive with the top down or window down next to a building, that may help bounce the noise off the wall to determine which side it is. just make sure you don't have walls on both sides lol

your local Napa or Autozone should carry wheel bearings and some have their own machine shop to press. Napa charged me $20 to have one pressed. My buddy works at napa and got me both the axle and the wheel bearing for $114 no taxes. I think normally it would be about $150 for both. The wheel bearing I think was about $25. Im sure you can get one for around $30-35 and have it pressed for the $20, so you're looking about about a $50 fix, Assuming you do the removal and reassembly of the parts yourself.
i'm assuming you only needed to replace the axle because your bearings completely gave out.

the bearings would need to be replaced, but how likely is it that the hub is damaged and needs replacement? i know the issue is on the right, and i'm thinking more and more that it's the rear, but i'd rather not buy both front and rear hubs to throw at the car to fix it.

new question: if it is the right rear bearings giving out, do i need to be worried about the left rear bearings? the reason i ask this is, would the damage be from not tightening the axle nut early enough, or can it be considered as normal wear? (there are over 65,000 miles on the car by now, axle nut tightened around 30,000)
Old 01-12-2012, 09:43 AM
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Yes, I only had to replace the axle because it broke close to the nut. If you have a broken axle you would definitely know. As of now I would think it's just your bearing.

As long as you tightened the nut before it had any effect on the bearing you should be ok, they are independent from each other so one wouldn't affect the other.

I never tightened any of the nuts before, I have owned the car since 6k miles, so I doubt the previous owner did either. Did you tighten all the nuts at 30k miles? I would say normal wear and tear if it was only the one.

For what it's worth I had 100k miles on mine when I got the symptoms. You will have to see what damage there is when u pull the hub. If the bearing damaged it to the point that the new bearing isn't sitting tight, you may need a new hub. When I got my new one pressed it fit in well but any less I would have needed to get a new hub too. I may get a new hub in the spring just to be on the safe side.
Old 01-12-2012, 06:34 PM
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noise seems to be getting slightly louder, but still not grinding. had another friend more familiar with the extra noise of driving a roadster ride along, and he said it was definitely the right rear. time to buy some parts.

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