DavidinCT

Hey all,

Trying to figure out what this is. I captured a quick video, if you listen carefully you can here a vibration noise from the front right (passenger side) wheel (Club Lexus does not like mp4 files)

https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resi...nt=video%2cmp4

Someone said it might be bearing but, I am not sure. So I wanted to run it by some fellow members here to see what it could be to see if I can address it myself/

Lots of DIY info here so hoping to be pointed in the right direction

Thanks for your time !

lumpy85

Did you check lugnuts? Could be bearing or loose caliper, lugnuts, driveshaft, tire, Hard telling

DavidinCT

Last week I had the wheel off, It's not the caliper (confirmed the 2 bolts were tight) and not the lugnuts.

Was hoping a video pointed in the right direction...

rkw77080

Did the vibration exist before you took the wheel off last week?

A warped rotor will vibrate when you apply brake but will not vibrate when you hit a bump, so that is not likely. A bad bearing will whine first before any physical symptoms occur, so that is also unlikely.

Have you tried what's called the 3/9 O'clock and 6/12 O'clock test? Lift the tire off the ground, grab it at the 3 and 9 o'clock positions and rock it side-to-side forcefully to see if there is any play - this will let you know if any steering component is loose. Then grab the tire at the 6 and 12 o'clock positions and rock it up-and-down forcefully to see if there is any play - this will let you know if any of the control arms attachment points is loose. Remember the weight of the tire is hanging off the end, so you have to be forceful.

I suspect it may be either a bad tie rod ball joint, or a bad lower ball joint.

DavidinCT

Thanks for your help. As driving to work today, I wanted to be 100% clear on when it happens. It's not as bad as I thought when hitting bumps, it seems bad when i break and hit a bunp while breaking.

So, on a perfectly smooth road breaking(we all know how rare this is) I dont hear or feel the problem (a very slight vibration in the car tho).

Over the years, I have cars with warped rotors, I know the feel and sound to expect, this sounds different and feels different.

I'll try the tests you speak of, this is the first time I have heard of them, that should help narrow things down a little.

I know the pads were getting low on the breaks (when I checked them last week), so I was plannning to do them soon, I will make sure I go OEM on them this time around.