tomair

I have been trying to track down a metal grinding noise for a few weeks now. It is audible in the car at all speeds. While in gear or not. Clutch engaged or disengaged. It sounds like something is rubbing like a brake dust shield (metal on metal). It sounds like its coming from the passengers front. It can also be heard outside the car as well when driving next to a wall or in a tunnel.

A little back history. When i bought the car i was aware of the noise. I chalked it up to needing front pads as thats what it sounded like to me. So first thing i did was the front brakes. While in the process i discovered a stuck caliper on the passenger front. Pads and rotors looked pretty decent with no unusual wear marks. I went ahead and replaced the calipers, rotors and pads on both sides on the front with brand new parts. The noise still remained. I inspected everything several times to make sure nothing was loose or rubbing. Found nothing.

So my next step was to check the wheel bearings. I checked all 4 corners and there is not even the slightest amount of play in any of them. So what i'm thinking is maybe the heat from that stuck caliper roasted the wheel bearing. Maybe dried it out. I don't know if this would cause play in the wheel or not though. I'm at the point where i'm ready to replace the whole hub to see if thats the problem or not. Basically looking for some input, other things to try before i start blowing money on parts that don't need to be replaced. This is really irritating and making me not want to drive the car. Thanks in advance.

AZ-S2000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9WJA7p2anM

If its a noise similar to this than its definitely the wheel bearing. I was wondering the same thing. I thought it was the brake pad sticking a little but the noise should've went away or stayed continuous when I pulled the e-brake. Since the noise didn't change when I applied the e-brake I was very sure it was the wheel bearing. Some would recommend tightening the nut but I took my knuckle out and the hub just fell on the floor because the bearing fell in two pieces. Hub was bad. I ended up replacing both side bearings. I did have a lot of play in that one wheel that had play.

Pic of mine

tomair

Thanks for video. The noise i have is somewhat similar to yours. Inside the car it sounds more like a metal on metal grinding.

I found a local guy parting out a full s2k. So i'm just going to buy both front hubs and swap mine out. Hopefully this will solve my issue. I'm convinced that the heat from the stuck caliber roasted the bearing and dried it out, hopefully...

s2000maniac

You sure it's not a " poping/cracking " noise? Like something is loose? If it is, I have the same problem and I have been trying to find it for the past few months with no success...

tomair

No. Its definitely a continuous grinding noise. Sounds like a spent pad rubbing on a rotor. Front brakes are new and rears have plently of life. So i'm going to check all the pads and calibers one more time. Then i'm going to start replacing things like the bearings and hubs first. Anyone else have any ideas before i start wasting money on things that aren't broken?

tomair

So I was able to get the car on some jack stands the other day. I spun both front wheels by hand and you can deffenitly hear a rubbing sound during each rotation. Almost like the pad is touching the rotor. The rears didn't have this problem and spun freely without issue.

Now remember I replaced pads, rotors and calipers on both sidea of the front and the same noise remained. Could this be signs of hub failure? The wheels and brakes do not feel overly warm after driving. When I had a stuck caliper the wheel was to hot to even touch. The brake shield doesn't look to be touching. Any ideas? Am I right to think the hubs could be possibly failing? Any advice is welcomed. I'm starting to get really frustrated with this.

tomair

So I pulled the pads out today. Rotor and wheel spin freely with no noise or issue. Put the pads back in and same noise came back. Looks like the outside pad is in direct contact with the rotor while the inside pad has clearance. From what I can tell the rotor seems to spin straight. I did notice the shim glued to the pad seems to have shifted.

Looking for any thoughts. I was planning on replacing the hubs but I'm not sure if that's the whole problem now.

tomair

So i swapped my old pads in and the same noise remained. I took a few videos but they don't really capture the full sound. Either way i think its related to the hub or the brake system.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/oakx2zizj9...830_151917.mp4

https://www.dropbox.com/s/jbcfvz7suh...830_152248.mp4



In the first video the sound is more of a metal on metal. Any thoughts? Should i just go ahead and replace the front hubs?

leoxle

The sound you are describing seems to be really similar to the noise my car is making. I uploaded a video of me driving when it was happening, does it sound similar to mine? Trying to figure this out too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyKOdxze1Js

I actually posted my own thread about it but only got one reply. https://www.s2ki.com/s2000/topic/104...rubbing-noise/

tomair

The noise in your video sounds different then mine. Yours seems to be a higher pitched grinding sound and appears to come and go when your driving. Mine is a constent rubbing noise. I'm leaning toward a hub or bad bearing on my end.

From your video i would suggest checking your pads and wear indicators. Thats what it sounds like to me. Let me know what you find. Its very possible we could both be having the same issue.