brakes or bearings??

[jmv]

So, my car has been making this noise.... its been around in some capacity for quite a while, but has gotten noticeably worse recently. As i brake, i get a cyclic clicking kind of sound. Its obviously related to speed, as i slow down it gets slower, etc. It seems to happen regardless of direction when i'm on the brakes, although it doesn't always happen with light or extremely heavy brake application.

Does this sound like a brakes problem, or possibly a wheel bearing/hub issue?? Do our cars have bearings that you can repack, or is a "it works or it doesn't" kind of thing??

Thanks,
Jason

 

[livelyjay]

I have no idea about repacking wheel bearings. The way to check the wheel bearings is to get each wheel up in the air, grab the top and bottom with your hands, and try to rock the wheel back and forth. If it moves at all you have a wheel bearing problem. With these cars, I have not heard of any wheel bearing problems. While your car is up in the air check your brake pads to see if they are running low on material, and check your rotors for strange wear patterns.

 

[jmv]

alright. I should be able to get the car on a jack this weekend.

I don't think its brake pads wearing out, at least not in the front, me and my dad replaced the pads recently. I'll have to check the back.

It seems as though the sound comes from the front end, but honestly with stuff like this it can be very hard to tell.

 

[fr0st]

a wheel bearing will usually "hum" when you shift the weight OFF it... like your on the highway and you swerve from a lane to another.. when the wieght if LESS on the faulty bearing, it will hum louder... no clicking.

it has to be brake related dude..

 

[Aricjm15]

warped rotors

 

[jmv]

warped rotors

i had thought of that as well, but i don't feel it in the wheel. I can feel it slightly in the brake pedal itself though....

 

[fr0st]

i had thought of that as well, but i don't feel it in the wheel. I can feel it slightly in the brake pedal itself though....

rear brake will pulsate in the pedal but not the steering wheel

 

[Mazda_Tech]

You can still have a pulsation in the pedal if its the front brakes...

but a great way to tell if its the front or rear brakes is to drive and pull the e-brake up holding in the button(do not release it or the brakes will lock up). And if you feel a pulsation its the rear brakes, if no pulsation its the fronts

 

[jmv]

alright so i had my mom drive the car past me, its definitely coming from the front passenger side wheel. I put it up on the jack and couldn't notice any play that would indicate the bearings....

I pulled the wheel off, and theres more than plenty of pad material, and everything seems to look okay except for the fact that it seems like theres a few very slight grooves in the rotor.... they're barely noticeable when running my thumbnail over the rotor, but they are there. Its about 2/3s of the way out from the center of the rotor, all the way around it looks like.

Anybody got some ideas for me??

 

[crashkelly]

So, my car has been making this noise.... its been around in some capacity for quite a while, but has gotten noticeably worse recently. As i brake, i get a cyclic clicking kind of sound. Its obviously related to speed, as i slow down it gets slower, etc. It seems to happen regardless of direction when i'm on the brakes, although it doesn't always happen with light or extremely heavy brake application.

Does this sound like a brakes problem, or possibly a wheel bearing/hub issue?? Do our cars have bearings that you can repack, or is a "it works or it doesn't" kind of thing??

Thanks,
Jason

If this ends up being your bearing I can answer your questions regarding packing. If they are the rear bearings you HAVE to buy the whole hub assembly and just replace it. If it is a front bearing you can opt to buy the whole assembly for like 160-170 bucks and just swap it out OR you can buy a 40 dollar bearing and replace and repack it with grease. You need a few special tools to do it right and my buddy advised me that it is not a DIY in the driveway type deal. God luck and if it was a bearinf problem you would know because it would hum so loud it would prolly drown out your exhaust.

 

[jmv]

hmmm. okay, well its definitely not a humming kind of thing. Thanks for that info though, for sure.

 

[crashkelly]

hmmm. okay, well its definitely not a humming kind of thing. Thanks for that info though, for sure.

hey anytime. If you ever have bearing issues im your man...I have had to deal with them on several different cars and most recently I had completely shattered the front drivers and passengers side ones on my MSP.

 

[hoindawall]

when you changed the pads did you resurface the rotors or did you replace them?

 

[jmv]

resurfaced...

 

[iracemine]

these cars have sealed pressed in front bearings. not serviceable, you need a big press to get them in and out. some times a torch to heat the inner race off the axel.

It sounds like something sticking out on your rotor and rubbing something as it rotates. (quite posable a peice of rust on those stupid heat sheild thingys)

do a idiot check and take that corner off the ground and try and reproduce the noice with you rotating the wheel and your moms holding the brake softly and look for the contact.

just my .02 cents

 

[mazdaspeeeeed]

my car is in the shop for the same problem right now. It is the bearings in mine. def should get it fixed soon though... do you have a warranty? I got lucky with my warranty. free rental and everything

So, my car has been making this noise.... its been around in some capacity for quite a while, but has gotten noticeably worse recently. As i brake, i get a cyclic clicking kind of sound. Its obviously related to speed, as i slow down it gets slower, etc. It seems to happen regardless of direction when i'm on the brakes, although it doesn't always happen with light or extremely heavy brake application.

Does this sound like a brakes problem, or possibly a wheel bearing/hub issue?? Do our cars have bearings that you can repack, or is a "it works or it doesn't" kind of thing??

Thanks,
Jason

 

[jmv]

hmmm, thats somewhat depressing news, as i don't have a warranty anymore.

 

[mazdaspeeeeed]

hmmm, thats somewhat depressing news, as i don't have a warranty anymore.

mine shouldnt have one, but since i bought from a Ford Dealer I bought a warranty from them as well... Ill let you know how much it would have been later on in the week when i get my car back..

 

[btownprotege]

please let me know what it is.. i have the exact same problem and something i noticed is that there isnt any clicking when you go in reverse and press on the breaks

 

[mazdaspeeeeed]

please let me know what it is.. i have the exact same problem and something i noticed is that there isnt any clicking when you go in reverse and press on the breaks

mine is definitly a bearing in the brakes.. i get the car back tommorrow so i can let you all know how much it cost then.