Carina E

[gazza1286]

I've got a 1994 carina E 1600GL which is suffering from a noise coming from the F/N/S wheel. It's only noticable when the steering wheel is set at say 10-15 degs to the left and only on certain roads! The noise sound as though something is catching and repeats as per revolution of the wheels.

I have tried the following:

(i) checked the disc guard - it's not catching

(ii) driving in a full lock at slow speed will not reproduce the noise

(iii) pads removed and checked/cleaned etc.

(iv) no stones in tread - recently changed the tyres - had the noise before and after

(v) there was some play on the wheel bearing which has been replaced - still no improvement.

(vi) Brake caliper seemed a little stiff on that side - this has bee overhalled but again no improvement

Because of (i) above and previous problems I had had with my 1990 Carina II with the disc guards catching, I presume that the discs will 'flex' due to the forces applied when cornering? This being the case might the discs be at fault? There is no excess wear or any juddering under any braking conditions and the noise is still there when the brakes are applied!

Any advice greatfully received as this noise is driving me mad!

[Beardie]

Check that your calipers, driveshafts and wishbones are all nipped up ok.

[gazza1286]

Thanks for the reply.

Since my original post I've examined the disc on the N/S more closely and swapped it with the one on the O/S. The discs are NOT warped!

The problem appears to be the Wheel hub. The N/S hub has a slight wobble. I intend to swap the N/S hub with the O/S hub to establish whether the hub itself is slightly buckled or whether the fault lies with the N/S driveshaft.

Anyone know whether Hubs get buckled or am I going to have to fork out on a new shaft?

I'll let you know how I get on!

[gazza1286]

Obtained a new N/S hub unit from the local dismantler - this has solved the problem totally.

A couple of months ago I had a garage replace the wheel bearing on the N/S as there was a little too much play. The guy at the scrap yard seems to think that the wear in the old bearing would have generated enough heat to have distorted the wheel carrier. Replacing only the bearing would not have solved this. But with the entire unit swapped over, the car drives nice and smooth. :D