Thread: Car Problems.

Ok is it odd when the car if jacked up to feel or hear no problems? Maybe just a little quite rubbing sound.

Originally Posted by 111Nathaniel

Ok is it odd when the car if jacked up to feel or hear no problems? Maybe just a little quite rubbing sound.

Not odd,you have no load on what ever is malfunctioning= no noise.

I think the car is front wheel drive which eliminate the rear gear issues. The drum brakes could also make the noise you describe if the wear indicators on the brake shoes on that side of the car are hitting the drums. If it is a wheel bearing be careful. If it is the outer bearing and the cage that holds the bearings breaks, the rear wheel can fall off.

Get it looked at.

The worst thing is if the bearing seizes; it will weld itself to the axel shaft, trust me from experience the only thing you can do if that happens is cut it out w/ a torch, or replace the entire axel assembly, which you might as well trade the car if it's more than 5 years old. Get them replaced as soon as possible. Then you need to check and repack grease in them about every 6-8,000 miles. Get the bearings checked, and have the differential fluid level checked as well. The roaring will get louder w/ time, and if it sounds like a scraping sound then there is metal to metal contact and you need to park the car asap.

Well, because personal liability I do not like advice but my two cents:

1. Wheel bearing can heat up to point that will start destroying other metal parts off the car (wheel bearing has one of the hardest metals) and wheel can fell off axle.
2. Fix is ASAP as you might end up with costly wheel hub replacement if you wait to long.

Br

With so many responses, one might think this was a Mazda forum!

I didn't see anyone mention jacking up that corner and physically moving the wheel with your hands. Have you done that? Being an FF (you don't have the AWD do you?), you should have no issue rotating the rear wheel and trying to jiggle it in directions. Also, if your not sure about the corner, jack up the others and check them as well.

My initial thought was e-brake disfunction in the drum. I thought these cars had disc rear with drum ebrake? With the car up, rotating the wheel and feeling the dull pressure in your hands might help diagnose that. Also, with the car down, try going in reverse a bit and using only the ebrake to slow to a stop. Likewise, reverse a bit and use regular brakes to stop. Hell, go forward and try stopping with only the ebrake. Feel anything weird with that, then maybe brakes. Reverse and ebrake is a good diagnoses of brake issues I feel.

To answer the actual question - I would still drive to work and back, but not much more. Be safe and provide a cushion for the traffic around you. Avoid freeway speeds if possible. Save some money so you can afford the repair. Some mechanics will drive your car for free and others will put it on the lift for free. Find those guys. =)

I once saw a wheel come off completly and rool by the car it was susposto be on. turns out wheel lock nut wasent put on lol man it was funny to see a tire passing a car thanfully no one was hurt.

I'll try to stop this thread before SRP becomes a mazda forum. But it would be cool to have a contest where people take a picture of themselves shaving WHILE driving!! The Bigspender didn't think of that one If you can do that ok i'd be ok with you talking on a cell phone.

First thing I did was to jack up the car and "feel" how things were. no wobble at all...yet. when you let it spin it "catches" on part of the rotation but still spins smooth while jacked up.

Originally Posted by 111Nathaniel

I'll try to stop this thread before SRP becomes a mazda forum. But it would be cool to have a contest where people take a picture of themselves shaving WHILE driving!! The Bigspender didn't think of that one If you can do that ok i'd be ok with you talking on a cell phone.

First thing I did was to jack up the car and "feel" how things were. no wobble at all...yet. when you let it spin it "catches" on part of the rotation but still spins smooth while jacked up.

Ha! I've had thoughts about trying to shave while driving. Wet shaving even! They're not good thoughts.

Hey, good that you jacked it up. About that 'catch'. If you're up to doing it again, note where the catch is. If it's in the same place in relation to your wheel each rotation, it would be related to your brakes I think or possibly something rubbing the hub, maybe even your dust shield got bent into something. If it was a bearing, because those rotate independently of the wheel (well, at a different rate anyway) then the 'catch' spot will rotate to different places in relation to the wheel. I'm hoping it's your brakes just so that it's affordable, possibly DIY even.

I have a wheel bearing replacement coming up this summer on my car, along with putting on new rotors. I bought all the OEM parts and bought a 20 ton Harbor Freight press. There are youtube videos on doing the work but shops do this stuff all the time. My car is a 2002 Honda Accord with 186K miles. Best to replace both bearings (left and right) at the same time.