Update 2:
We declined the service and took it home. Lo, and behold, the noise went away. We're thinking that during the course of pulling off the wheels, poking around the brakes and putting it all back together, they inadvertently fixed what was rubbing or loose.

We'll see if it holds, of course. Murphy's Law is squinting his eyes at us.



====Update:====
Mechanic says the following things need to be done:
* Struts
* Swaybar bushings
* Tie Rods
* Rear brake pads and drums
$1900.
We have not given the go-ahead.
Given that this is a 20 year old car, It's very likely all those things need to be done. But we just want the problem we hear fixed. Mechanic was evasive about which of these things was making the noise.
===============




Help me out, before I throw myself to the mercy of a mechanic.

1. rhythmic rub. wubwubwub sort of thing. Not sharply grindy to my ear.
2. BUT quiet under 20 MPH on a straightaway
3. Increases with speed once it starts
4. Disappears when accelerating
5. Appears on hard turns, but not slow ones
6. Continues when braking at speed. Quiet braking at slow speed.
7. Getting worse/louder over time, but we're taling about only about 100 miles of travel
8. Noise is not affected by bumps in the road. Just forward movement.

It puts me in mind of a loose caliper, or maybe a partially stuck emergency brake. I suppose wheel bearing is on the table.

It very recently had the brake lines replaced after a massive leak, FWIW.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 09/13/2022 04:56PM by Acer.

My first thought was wheel bearing, but I’d certainly look at the brakes due to the recent work. Bleed the brakes, perhaps.

Car model and year?

Edit: also options and modifications?

---

In tha 360. MRF User Map



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/12/2022 05:20PM by Filliam H. Muffman.

2002 dodge caravan, vanilla options. 130k miles.

Quote
btfc
My first thought was wheel bearing, but I’d certainly look at the brakes due to the recent work. Bleed the brakes, perhaps.

Bleeding the brakes will only serve to eliminate air in the brake system.

Does it happen going left, right?

We had similar problem that turned out to be a small rock rolling around between the brake disc, backing plate and caliper. It stopped when turning left, if I recall. Easy fix, though.

---

Separated steel belt in a tire maybe?

---

Grateful11

“ Bleeding the brakes will only serve to eliminate air in the brake system. “

Duh?

Air in brake lines can result in sticking calipers, and also can create issues as brakes begin to heat up due to the difference in expansion rates between air and brake fluid.

Contaminated brake fluid or debris can also cause problems.

Bleeding brake lines is quick and easy.

Both issues are fairly common after brake line work.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/12/2022 06:22PM by btfc.

Quote
btfc
“ Bleeding the brakes will only serve to eliminate air in the brake system. “

Duh?

Air in brake lines can result in sticking calipers, and also can create issues as brakes begin to heat up due to the difference in expansion rates between air and brake fluid.

Contaminated brake fluid or debris can also cause problems.

Bleeding brake lines is quick and easy.

Both issues are fairly common after brake line work.

Well, true, after replacing a leaking brake line, bleeding would be critical. Any shop that replaced a braked line without bleeding the brakes should be shut down. I agree with all you say, but the chances that air in the brake system after a brake line replacement is nearly nil. The biggest problem with air in the brake system is not expansion, but the compressibility of air.

---

One would hope that if the brake line work was done by a competent mechanic, the brake fluid would have been completely flushed, (especially for a 2002) and the system was properly bled.

That doesn’t mean that this is absolutely so.

Any time there has been significant work done and an issue quickly appears it’s a good idea to check the quality of the work.

my eyes keep reading the OP as "Diagnose my red nose"

Definitely give the tires a good look.

Quote
btfc
Definitely give the tires a good look.

Yeah, I traced a similar rubbing sound to a tire with a broken belt. The broken belt became obvious when some ends of the steel wire from the belt popped through the sidewall.

Stuck caliper pin? I've seen a few of them recently when helping friends with brake jobs.

You might try rotating your wheels / tires and seeing if the noise changes.

---

rhythmic rub. wubwubwub sort of thing. Not sharply grindy to my ear.


I'd think that would tend to eliminate most metal to metal sources.

Front or back?

Left or right?

Brakes?

I don't know about that.

If the caliper were wonky and causing a noise, it would almost always disappear when applying brakes.

Bearings or CV joints would seem a possibility but there's almost always a metallic sound — a grinding or clunk as pressure is applied or released.

Hearing it on hard turns but not slow turns still could be bearing.

I'd start be remove each tire and checking the inward side wall and all around the wheel well for any loose unit(s).

If you had access to and IR thermometer you could check all four wheels and look for heat anomalies.

A loose caliper or partially stuck parking brake would very likely generate a lot of heat.

How long after your brake work did this start?

If done by a shop, maybe take it back and ask them to road test.

---

I am that Masked Man.

All you can do, is all you can do.

There’s trouble — it's time to play the sound of my people.

Your boos mean nothing to me, I've seen what you cheer for.

Insisting on your rights without acknowledging your responsibilities isn’t freedom, it’s adolescence.

I've been to the edge of the map, and there be monsters.

We are a government of laws, not men.

Everybody counts or nobody counts.

When a good man is hurt,
all who would be called good
must suffer with him.

You and I have memories longer than the road that stretches out ahead.

There is no safety for honest men except
by believing all possible evil of evil men.

We don’t do focus groups. They just ensure that you don’t offend anyone, and produce bland inoffensive products. —Sir Jonathan Ive

An armed society is a polite society.
And hope is a lousy defense.

You make me pull, I'll put you down.

I *love* SIGs. It's Glocks I hate.

A few things it could be, obviously hard to trackor pinpoint.
Suggestions: brake dust liner is bent, brake pad is loose due to clip improperly installed, other brake-ish thing like a loose bolt (unlikely).

My bet is your tires are tired or need balancing.

---

Hurts like a bastid...

Sounds similar to how my truck sounded with shot tie rod ends.

If it's FWD, could be a bad CV joint.


It would be vastly more useful if you told us what year and make/model of vehicle you were talking about.

---

"In science it often happens that scientists say, 'You know that's a really good argument; my position is mistaken,' and then they would actually change their minds and you never hear that old view from them again. They really do it. It doesn't happen as often as it should, because scientists are human and change is sometimes painful. But it happens every day. I cannot recall the last time something like that happened in politics or religion." (1987) -- Carl Sagan

Quote
davester
If it's FWD, could be a bad CV joint.


It would be vastly more useful if you told us what year and make/model of vehicle you were talking about.

4th post

I think it’s an unbalanced or damaged tire, or a warped component in the brakes.

---

**************************************
MacResource User Map: [www.zeemaps.com]#

(this update is also copied to the original post)
====Update:====
Mechanic says the following things need to be done:
* Struts
* Swaybar bushings
* Tie Rods
* Rear brake pads and drums
$1900.
We have not given the go-ahead.
Given that this is a 20 year old car, It's very likely all those things need to be done. But we just want the problem we hear fixed. Mechanic was evasive about which of these things was making the noise.
===============

That’s because resolving noises like this can take a lot of work which you’ll be charged for.

---

Quote
Acer
(this update is also copied to the original post)
====Update:====
Mechanic says the following things need to be done:
* Struts
* Swaybar bushings
* Tie Rods
* Rear brake pads and drums
$1900.
We have not given the go-ahead.
Given that this is a 20 year old car, It's very likely all those things need to be done. But we just want the problem we hear fixed. Mechanic was evasive about which of these things was making the noise.
===============

pick kyb (not monroe) for shocks/struts for your particular vehicle (2004 DGC here)

Quote
Acer
====Update:====
Mechanic says the following things need to be done:
* Struts
* Swaybar bushings
* Tie Rods
* Rear brake pads and drums
$1900.
We have not given the go-ahead.
Given that this is a 20 year old car, It's very likely all those things need to be done. But we just want the problem we hear fixed. Mechanic was evasive about which of these things was making the noise.
===============
Help me out, before I throw myself to the mercy of a mechanic.

1. rhythmic rub. wubwubwub sort of thing. Not sharply grindy to my ear.
2. BUT quiet under 20 MPH on a straightaway
3. Increases with speed once it starts
4. Disappears when accelerating
5. Appears on hard turns, but not slow ones
6. Continues when braking at speed. Quiet braking at slow speed.
7. Getting worse/louder over time, but we're taling about only about 100 miles of travel
8. Noise is not affected by bumps in the road. Just forward movement.

It puts me in mind of a loose caliper, or maybe a partially stuck emergency brake. I suppose wheel bearing is on the table.

It very recently had the brake lines replaced after a massive leak, FWIW.

Since it happens only when moving, it is either a wheel bearing or a brake caliper. I suspect a caliper since the sound varies slightly, like a slightly warped brake disc being rubbed. You can determine which side by doing slow turns in both directions. Try it in a school or church parking lot on an off day.

Bad wheel bearings give a constant low grinding/rumbling sound at slow speed and get louder and and the pitch gets only slightly higher as speed increases.

---

Ed (modelamac)

I think I will just put an OUT OF ORDER
sticker on my head and call it a day.