bluedurama

Since recently buying my 2008 GX470 with 100K miles I have been trying to find what is making a low rumble sound when moving. I have checked everything underneath, tightening up a few things etc. to no avail. However recent experimenting with the shock settings from comfort to sport. It seems that the rumble is less when it is on comfort. So I am thinking the shocks themselves are making some noise. Any advice?

sheikhmax

Does this happen at a specific speed e.g. 30mph + or more or it happens with everytime wheels cycle/move irrespective of speed.

Also what is the condition of your tires? Is there a bubble somewhere or uneven wear?

I am having rumble noise on my 11 accord on 35 mph. I was think its bearing but 2 Honda Techs diagnosed it as choppy tires which i admit are cheap quality from china... pegasus brand.

co4wheel

Could easily be shocks allowing the tires to bounce around more making a noise as a result. Stiffer setting helps eliminate this for now.

bluedurama

It is not speed related. The stiffer setting is louder than the comfort setting.

Morphyne

Its a wheels bearing. If you are driving at highway speeds and you take a left or right curve and the sound goes away, it is a wheel bearing.

Sounds like driving on a rumble strip?

Also, if you jack up your truck you can confirm by wiggling the tire from side to side. Good bearings have no play. Bad bearings will wiggle

bluedurama

Tire shop checked it out on the lift, no wheel bearing wobble. They drove it and did the back and forth test, no change. It seems like some internal noise as the shocks work up and down. All of the rubber mountings look good. Oh well. Hopefully it will get bad enough to see something wrong.

BlackCat81

Bad bearings often don't have any play. As a matter of fact, I can actually say I've replaced far more noisy bearings that didn't have play than noisy bearings that did have play.

OP; this is going to sound weird, but I chased and chased and chased a flutter type noise from my truck when I first bought it. I could get it to make the noise going over any uneven road surface. Now, being as I'm an Infiniti tech, you'd think it would've been fairly easy for me to diagnose since I'm the go to squeak and rattle guy at work. It took me forever to find. Ultimately, it was the second row seat bottoms fluttering where they clip into the floor. It was driving me NUTS. I ended up putting felt tape over the metal clasps on the seats to get it to quiet down. Took me weeks to find. What I'm saying is just because you're hearing it when firming the shocks up, doesn't mean it's the shocks. With a firmer shock setting you're getting much more feedback throughout the car as well, so keep that in mind.

bluedurama

What a great tip! That could be what I have been searching for. I will do some checking today. Thanks so much.

bluedurama

Drove the car today with the seats tipped forward. The offending rumble noise is still there. I will do a bit more experimenting with this before giving up this lead. Thanks.

BlackCat81

Right on, just wanted to get you to think outside the box a bit. It very well could be the shocks, but it's good to eliminate some other possible causes, especially if they only take a few minutes to rule out. Keep plugging away, you'll get it.

How would you describe it other than a rumble? Is it metallic sounding? Dull? Rotational? Is there anything other than shock settings that make it more or less pronounced?

Edit; just read the other thread you have that describes it a little better. I think it's safe to say it's not a speaker, you'd hear it when idling and not moving, which I'm assuming you don't. Is the noise intermittent, or does it happen every time you drive? Does temperature have anything to do with it?

bluedurama

It occurred to me while reading some other forum posts that disconnecting the wiring right at the shock might be a good diagnostic move. So I did this and I believe 95% of the offending rumble went away!. There is something in or about one or both of the rear shocks causing the noise.

New rear shocks will be the next order of business. Thanks for your help.