Bushwick Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 (edited) I love driving in the snow. So anytime we get a lot, I go out for a stroll. Anyways, on the way back the other day while coming down my street I heard a really weird warbling sound coming from the front right. I figured it was just packed snow/ice rubbing and forgot about it. Went out tonight and it started again while holding the wheel to the left (like going around bending turns). While at the gas station I noticed a bunch of snow still packed up and in the control arms (both sides) along with packed ice. Knocked it all out, but the sound is still there. I'm completely stumped. Stopped a 2nd time to make sure the CV shafts and boots weren't rubbing or touching anything, and didn't see anything out of the ordinary. But now it's making the sound at slow speeds (intermittently) and gets more pronounced when braking, but seems to be road speed dependent and not engine speed dependent, nor does it change with suspension travel. Putting in neutral while coasting makes no difference. I'm stumped. It's a low rumbling noise and sounds inconsistent. Thoughts? Trans failure? Edited February 11, 2014 by Bushwick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
logic23 Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 wheel bearing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 Is snow packed in your wheels? Packed in the wheel wells? Look up in the top at the spring perch too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bushwick Posted February 11, 2014 Author Share Posted February 11, 2014 Is snow packed in your wheels? Packed in the wheel wells? Look up in the top at the spring perch too. Up top? Not a wheel bearing. Wheel wells are cleared, as are the mud flaps, etc. I have the steel rims, so not sure how snow would get packed in them? Wouldn't the heat from the brakes melt everything off? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster2 Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 There is a warming trend coming your way early next week. Weather forecast says temps in the 40's for you. That should melt out any snow, that could make the noise. Until then, going through a car wash would help with snow and ice removal. I have never had a wheel bearing make warbling noise, but who knows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bushwick Posted February 13, 2014 Author Share Posted February 13, 2014 OK, went to leave other night and the sound was really loud. Pulled over, nothing out of the ordinary. Looked mid way back under car and there was a HUGE gob of ice hanging off one of those stupid heat shields (it was on top of the shield and melted down). Knocked that out (chunk the size of a baseball fell off) and some of the sound went away. BUT, I also put the FWD fuse in after knocking ice out so not sure if that was the reason or not. Drove around parking lot and sound was almost gone. I put the car in reverse and got up to around 15 mph and the sound came back and got louder. Drove forward some and no sound. Went to gas station and I could sorta hear it when coming to a stop, but it was barely there. Today I got in, went to leave and the sound came back, though it doesn't seem to be consistent and wasn't as loud as before. Also seemed to quiet down with some driving. I'm still stumped. The noise best reminds me of a dryer with something in it. The other night, the sound was like a single shoe rolling around in a dryer (loud). Now, the sound is more like a wallet rolling in a dryer. Do "U-joints" typically fail and make noise on these? Going from Park, to Reverse, to Drive, etc. doesn't make any noise or clunks, but this sound has me thinking something is failing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 Might have to put in on jack stands and run it in gear while you look underneath. I know you can get strange noises when snow and ice get all packed up under the car. I had the engine bay of my car packed full of snow once, even up on top of the trans, and it made all kinda of bumping and clunking racket. Had to let it warm up really good and go under the hood with a broom handle to knock it all out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bushwick Posted February 13, 2014 Author Share Posted February 13, 2014 Are these heat shields detrimental? Half of them seem to rattle loudly, and if this is going to be a nuisance between clunking and rattling, I'll pull them unless there's a solid reason to leave them in? I can see heat from the cats being an issue, but the rest seems to be overkill from such a small diameter pipe that can't throw off that much heat. Also, this doesn't sound like a CV shaft or drive shaft issue? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 The shields on the y-pipe are easy to deal with. Get a couple 2-1/4" u clamps from the parts store and clamp them down around the shield. No more rattle. They don't generally cause any clunking sounds though. Could be a U-joint on the driveshaft, would still have to get under the car to check them. Inner CV might make a clunk, but the only way to tell is to see if you can twist it without the axle moving. It can be hard to tell sometimes because there is a fair amount of play where the inner joint slides onto the stub shaft anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bushwick Posted February 14, 2014 Author Share Posted February 14, 2014 (edited) I don't think it's causing the clunk sounds (the shields) but there was a massive amount of ice being contained on the one that shields the drive shaft from the exhaust and I'm not interested in trying to climb under the car on slushy or salted pavement to mess with it constantly, and every time I "fix" a rattle, 2 more rattles develop. Normally I'd just chuck them and be done with it, but since they spent that much effort putting them in, was wondering how detrimental they are to blocking heat through the floor, or if a fire hazard could be present from removing them. Edited February 14, 2014 by Bushwick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewisd Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 like fairtax said, I'd put it on jackstands. I've had the clunking noise when the cv axle went bad and also wierd noises when bearing went really bad. I had top to bottom play in the wheel when lifted. just took care of that last weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 Removing that shield doesn't really pose a fire hazard per-se, but it does help keep a lot of heat out of the car. It also helps keep heat away from the driveshaft u-joints and carrier bearing. I've been through plenty of deep snow with mine, dragging the bottom and getting high centered plenty of times and having to rock back and forth to get free. I've never had snow /ice get stuck in the heat shield covering the driveshaft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bushwick Posted February 14, 2014 Author Share Posted February 14, 2014 (edited) I haven't had time to inspect further yet, but it's at least out of the -0 temps and slowing working up into the high 20's and 30's during the day so inspections should be easier. Yeah, I'm guessing the snow packed up and in while loose or slushy, froze, then lingered on the actual shield. I can thank 4"+ snowy roads and some figure 8's at a local school parking lot on a snow day Thankfully the drive shaft shield corner was loose and snapped at the tab, otherwise the ice never would have come out on it's own without melting with a MAP torch or something. I'm thinking I might have had 2 different noise makers coincidentally though and suspect the front right CV might be getting near failure, though the boots aren't ripped thankfully. I'll put it in neutral and see if there's a bunch of vertical slop or not. Also, if the front CV does snap or separate, is there enough power going the rear to get it home? Will the trans leak fluid if the CV spline is pulled from the trans? I've got some traveling to do (about 150 miles total) and won't have time to fix if it's a shaft. If it IS a u-joint, and say the front joint snaps and drops, what happens with these? I'm assuming the shield acts like an impromptu safety loop? Or does the exhaust catch it? Are these externally balanced? Gotta worry about weights getting flung off? Guessing it's a pain to get the rear of the shaft dropped to limp home? If the rear u-joint fails, is it safe to assume the FWD fuse being inserted allows the car to at least be driven w/o the shaft spinning? Just trying to think out a course of action in advance so I'll be somewhat prepared for the worse. Edited February 14, 2014 by Bushwick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bushwick Posted February 14, 2014 Author Share Posted February 14, 2014 (edited) like fairtax said, I'd put it on jackstands. I've had the clunking noise when the cv axle went bad and also wierd noises when bearing went really bad. I had top to bottom play in the wheel when lifted. just took care of that last weekend. Didn't you get wheel pull or weird steering response with the bad bearing? I've had bearing fail in other cars, and it usually resulted in a grinding noise or rumble, with slop on turns that the bearing was being pulled on. This sound now is more of a thump, thump, thump, thump, about a second or so apart, hence the dryer with a wallet thumping analogy. Suppose if a CV was failing, it could be "dropping" on a revolution and creating a thump, but I'd think it'd be more consistent as it should be spinning quite fast. Edited February 14, 2014 by Bushwick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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