I changed out my wheels this weekend, like I do often enough, and when I put my stockers back on, everything was fine. The car ran perfect for about a week, which brings me to today. I started hearing these faint rubbing/scraping noises coming undoubtedly from the front right wheel. At first they were very faint and only occurred under 10mph. Then I turned the wheel to the right and made a big circle at 10 mph, the noises got significantly louder. I jacked the car up and checked the lugnuts. 2 of the 5 were loose, and one was completely off. I tightened the 2 remaining ones, and tried to tighten the one that was off. The one that was off was off completely because it doesn't want to tighten. It just spins, I think the threads are damaged inside the lugnut based on what it looks like. Anyhow, its not a problem driving on 4 lugnuts as I know. So after I tightened them up, I took the car out again. The rubbing/scraping noises I heard WERE EXTREMELY LOUD now. Even when going straight at anywhere from 5-25 mph. I can hear them at 25 mph, granted they are a lot faster. at 10 mph I hear a scrape twice a second or so. When I go faster, the noise is at a much quicker rate. I took the wheel completely off, but the problem is that I don't know what to look for. I put the wheel back on, same issue. When I turn the wheel left, the scrape is significantly louder. Can someone help me and tell me maybe what I should look for before I go to have it diagnosed?

 

Take the tire off.. i betcha the inner wheel well plastic is rubbing agenst the tire, a screw probably fell out

 

Do you mean the lining inside the wheel well, the stuff that covers up the access to the small amber turn signal? I checked that and all the screws are in place there and it is not sagging at all.

 

Just an update, if anyone cares or has anything to add. I took the car to get looked at by a local mechanic. He told me that it sounded either like a wheel bearing or it sounded like the brakes were grinding. The only reason I see the brakes grinding is because there is no brake pad left, and /Aerostar\ had this same issue with a slight rubbing sound, and he was told that his brake pad was at 0%. Anyway, he tried to take my lugnuts off, and told me he couldn't. So naturally, I was like WTF!? He said it feels like the lugs are all stripped, and if he removes the lugnuts then the studs might break. He can't do that becuase then he has to keep the car since he can't get parts today. So I decided to not have him do anything. I looked at my one lugnut that didn't screw on but just turned, and the stud there is stripped, which was causing the problem. I need to have that replaced, so when I have that done, probably thursday, that's when I'll have him remove the wheel and take a look at the brakes, bearings, etc. Any input is still appreciated.

 

my current brake system uses the rivits and metal backing as the stopping material, on all 4 corners. No grinding noises except for the pastic that rubs the left tire

 

This is the problem, I think...

1st. If you have been using a lug wrench to removed the wheel lugs yourself, you may have applied too much off-center preasure when either tightening or loosening them. This caused the stud to bend slightly. When they finally came off they stripped the studs out. (Someone did this to my car when trying to change my brakes for me)...

I had to get ALL my studs replaced. I also couldn't not tighten them or loosen them.

ALSO, you may be using the WRONG LUG NUTS on your new wheels. If they are not made for that type of wheel, they can jam or strip your threads by stretching them (either the wrong thread pattern OR the wrong crown angle). This can also cause your wheel to sit improperly and perhaps cause some friction somewhere. This happens because you THINK your lugs are tight when infact they are just stripped and jamming.

I bet this is the problem to your rubbing noise:
You might want to see if your Rotor has come loose because the lug nuts also hold that in place. If it is logged out of place slightly it will make a horrible rubbing noise. This could have occured when the lugs broke or when you were applying force to removed them.

REMEMBER, Everytime you put lugs on and take them off you stretch your studs a little each time. If you change wheels too often you need to also change your studs per every 5 or 6 times you remove your lugs and tighten them back on. This can cause them to eventually break off or strip also.

 

+775243646387723538389729

that is a very informative post, and not to mention extremely logical. I have a strong sense that this is describing my problem to a T. When i removed the lugnuts the first time to change out my stock wheels to my SSR's, there were two lugnuts on this front right hub that required ALL of my strength, several times, to loosen. I didn't think anything of that because I was able to put my rims on and tighten everything up normally. When I removed those lugs again to change back to stockers, there was no problem. The lugnuts I am using on my stock wheels are the stock lugnuts, and the lugnuts I use for my SSR wheels are the lugnuts that came with the wheels, designed specifically for the wheel.

What you say about the rotors again seems extremely logical and is quite possibly why my mechanic said that it sounded like the brakes were grinding.

As per my loose lugnuts, my mechanic re-torqued all 4 lugs on that hub properly, and since then I drove the car about 40 miles and did not ONCE hear that noise that I was hearing previously. Perhaps the lugs were just not tight when I thought that they were, and by retorquing them properly, it set the rotor back in place?

I am going to have all 5 studs on that front right hub changed out the next time I decide to switch up my wheels.


Thanks for the info Cobra, very informative

 

glad I could help.. Keep us posted

 

Ive taken my rims off at least 20 times in the last 6 months.. lol

 

Hey is that a recommendation just as a rule , as far as changing every 5-6 times you remove tha wheels?
I have had a similar problem at times with my SC off and on , and I've never changed the studs in 4 years that ive owned it , actually ive never cha nged the studs on any car ive owned.. But I think i will do this . seems like a good oppurtunity to get longer studs too, so i can get some foot wide wheels too!!
thanks for the info. ... its much appreciated.

 

My car makes a similar noise, its very evident at or around 40mph though. Sometimes it is quite faint from the cabin, but you can definitely hear it outside or twhen im driving next to someone. My first reaction was that it may be the brake dust shield touching the rotor. But it clears the rotor fine. It's been making this noise for almost a year now I'm pretty sure it started when I curbed my front right wheel very badly - or maybe thats when I first noticed it. I'm not sure if that was the cause, but most likely it is.

Whats weird is that the noise goes away when i lightly apply the brake pedal, but I checked my pads and even resurfaced my rotors myself so they are definitely not worn. I'm thinking wheel bearing but, if it was the wheel bearing, it would make the noise at ALL times even when the brakes are applied. I'm really unsure what it could be. it might be related to your problem as well....

 

My problem has since disappeared altogether after my lugnuts were re-torqued. I think that was the root of my problem.

 

Ok, then can anyone give me torque specs for our lugnuts? I'll go and retorque each lug nut to make sure.

 

I'm not sure what the specs are, but remember.. When retorquing them it's best to removed the lugs completely and then tighten them back to spec.

 

I agree, make sure you take of all the lugnuts and then re-torque all of them to 76 ft-lbs.