Hey guys, just joined the forums. Nice site!
My issue:
I've got a 2001 Chevy Blazer 4wd with 45K. Recently I started hearing a metal on metal noise coming from the left rear wheel area. It comes on when turning to the right at fairly good speeds (40+) and gets worse when turning sharper. You can hear it more faintly when turning to the left, but it's still there. Not a grinding noise, but a metal rubbing metal noise. It almost sounds like the inside brake pad is worn out and rubs on the rotor when it moves on the caliper slide while turning. When I first heard it I immediately thought wheel bearing, but I am far from a mechanic. Any ideas?
I would love to save $$ by doing the job myself (whatever the issue may be) as I enjoy working on stuff and would like to learn. Thanks ahead of time!
On another note..when moving at highway speeds (60+) I start to feel a front end vibration, it sort of radiates through the front of the vehicle rather than a specific area like the steering wheel...you think ball joints? All the weights on the rims are there, alignment seems good, no noticeable tire wear, but like I said I'm no mechanic.

And lastly..are there any bull bars/sport-type bars made for these blazers other than the Westin safari bar? I'm having trouble finding others. I would like something to mount some off-road lights to. Any recommendations?

 

No ideas? Comeon guys I know you must have something..

Here is a response I got on another site:
"If you plan on doing it yourself, id suggest picking up a chilton repair manuel, you can get them at just about any autoparts store. as for the noise id say get that side up on a jack stand, take the tire off and take a look around. check the brakes, start wiggling and turning things and try to find any noise or grinding/rubbing feeling. try moving the axel side to side or up and down to check play in the bearing. at 45k it shouldnt be a wheel bearing, but its possible."

And my response to that:
"I popped the wheel off this morning. Nothing catches my eye at the moment other than the inside brake pad being worn more than the outside, but it doesn't appear to be to the point where its wearing on the metal surface of the brake shoe. On the inside of the rotor, there are 4 bolts that appear to hold the wheel 'hub' to the axle housing. There appears to be 2 bolts holding the caliper onto the hub. Could I pop the caliper off then take the wheel hub off to check anything inside? Or would I be getting in a bit deep. I would assume there are splines in there that would need to be lined up? BTW - those nuts and bolts look pretty well rusted. With a breaker bar do I risk snapping any bolts or are they pretty sturdy? I sprayed some penetrating oil in the meantime.

I haven't be able to rotate anything as only 1 tire off the ground doesn't do much lol. I gotta find another jack to get the whole rear-end off the ground to spin the axle and see if I hear any noise."

What do you guys think?

 

Sounds exactly like what I experienced when I changed the brakes on the back of my old Bravada. Check the little sheetmetal shims for the brake pads. They can get out of position and rub on the disk. They are hard to see with the caliper installed.

 

Could you elaborate a bit more on what these 'sheet metal shims' are and what I should look for? Should I pop the caliper off to check this?

 

For your vibration problem I suggest having all 4 wheels/tires balanced. You mentioned the wheel weights but not that you actually had the balance checked. I bought 4 new tires to correct a vibration in my 03 but when that did not fix it I was stumped. Tried lots of stuff then finally took it to a different tire shop in the town that I work in. They found 2 tires not balanced....did I mention they were new? That corrected all of the vibration. This action would also verify you don't have a bent wheel. Doubt you have front end problems at that mileage. Regards, Dave