Hey all,

I have a 97 Blazer and when I try to make a very sharp turn (like a K-turn or a sharp U-turn) I hear this horrible grinding sound coming from my front wheels. It happens a bit louder when I turn a left circle. When I depress the brakes slightly, the sound goes away. It's a 2 wheel drive, so there's no bad CV joint up there. My mechanic drove it but he said he'd need a whole day to diagnose the problem. Today I got new tires installed and while the wheel was off I felt the rotors (I slid my fingers from the hub outward, if you can imagine that) and I felt a lot of grooves on the rotor. The outside lip of the rotor had a raised edge too. The pads themselves seem to have about 1/2 life left. I feel no funny vibrations/wobbling sensation that's commonly associated with a warped rotor. I thought that maybe the raised lip is grinding against the brake pads when I turn the wheel, but shouldn't the pads/rotor stay put when the wheel is turned? The rotors do look old, there's lots of rust flaking off on the edges. I'm considering buying new Raysbestos pads and possibly rotors too. Does anyone have any ideas about the wierd grinding sound though?

Thanks in advance!

 

Most likely is a wheel bearing problem and, by your description (louder when turning left), it is probably the right (passenger) wheel bearing.

All day to diagnose? Is this someone you trust?? That is ridiculous! I will say this. I just diagnosed basically the same problem Saturday in about 10 minutes. Grinding noise which was worse when turning left. Jacked up the passenger side wheel and felt for play. The next day, I swapped it out the bearing hub assembly in about 40 minutes. So all day is just plain robbery.

Given that I believe the front of a 97 has a spindle and not an integrated bearing hub assembly, it will take longer to replace the bearings, but they are cheap (~$6 outer / ~$7 inner). Just takes some patience when removing the old races from the hub and installing the new ones.

 

hey, thanks for your response, which makes sense. As far as the mechanic, no, I don't trust him. but then again, I don't trust ANY mechanics

You wouldn't happen to know of any good mechanics in or around Brooklyn, NY? (I see you live in a part of NY which I'm not familiar with).

What happens as I continue to drive with bad bearing (assuming that's the problem)?

*Combining Consecutive Posts*

One more question. if it was the bearing, why would pressing on the brakes stop the sound?


*EDIT by swartlkk* - Please edit your post if another member has yet to reply. Thank you.

 

One more question. if it was the bearing, why would pressing on the brakes stop the sound?

 

I have no idea where to direct you as far as a qualified repair shop.

Worst that could happen if you were to just let it slide... The wheel falls off and whatever disaster ensues after that...

If the bearings are not entirely bad, the brake could center up the rotor & hub, lessening the forces on the bearings.

 

Are you able to get to Farmingdale? Nassau,Suffolk cty border.. my friend has a shop there we can take a look at it for you. its 2 minutes from the S.S.pkwy..its up to you

 

2002..I'll keep that in mind. I know where Farmingdale is, I worked at the BJ there a few times. However, I'm going out of town next week and I'm really pressed for time. Maybe I'll look it up when I get back. I know another mechanic closer to me, in Brooklyn, who might be able to help me out. I'll try to keep you guys posted. Thanks!

 

i know i had a horrible sound coming frommy front end of my car and it seemed like the drivers side was louder to me, turns out one of my powersteering hoses had a leak and i was out of fluid. Check your power steering fluid, as for me it only made the noise when i was turning.

 

I will check the PS fluid. But would that be affected by applying the brakes?

 

A new twist. Last week I installed new tires, and now the sound seems to have improved. What kind of wrench does that throw into the works?