Wheel Creaking

[Sandy]

My '92 (with 65k) has a habit of "creaking" while coming to a stop.. A bit embarrassing...

It reminds me of the sound a steel wheel cover makes when being pried slightly loose.

It occurs:

With each revolution of the left rear wheel.
Only while braking (not audible if coasting to a stop or accelerating).
Isolated to the rear (by noticing the parking brake also brings the creaking).
Not audible until I've braked a few times (warming the brakes).
Louder as the brake/wheel is warmed.

I've searched "noises" on this forum. No luck.
My technician hasn't an answer.
The lug nuts have been checked and rechecked for torque.
My tire people claim that wheel has a slight bend or warp making an exact balance impossible, but no cracks are visible and there are no rim dings either.
The wheel is the double point 5-spoke chrome Momo, 17x9. No spacer.

The car has a history (before my ownership) of two collisions, one of which was rear. Unknown if with these wheels installed. The repair was 1st-rate judging from lack of evidence except for a 1/4 inch lift to the right-rear of the trunk lid.

Creaking or no creaking, bottom line is that this 11-year-old car draws more attention than an 11-day-old Vette! A stark tribute to Japanese genius..

 

[Briank]

The first thing to do is to determine if the noise is from the brake or the suspension. When you stop does it make any difference if you let up on the brake as you come to a stop or just hold the same pressure and the car rocks back on stopping. Can you cause the noise by moving that corner of the car up and down by hand? Have the sway bar bushings lubed and see if that fixes the problem. Also I assume your rear brake pads are not worn out if they are the noise is from the wear indicator.

 

[fkong777]

I would suspect the wheel. Although you don't see cracks.. it can be hidden under the chrome. If a spoke is cracked it will still retain air pressure.

Good to just install stock wheel on that corner to narrow the noise to the wheel.

I've seen a good set of Work wheels cracked and be hold, It was chrome too.

The chrome process itself tend to weaken the makeup of the wheel. Chrome is not allow on wheels in germany. Most European wheels are chromed in the US.

 

[Briank]

Follow this link for more info funny noises


http://www.nsxprime.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=203589#post203589

 

[MiamieNeSeX]

I had the same problem last year. It turned out to be a wheel hub. Jack the car up and see if you have any playon the wheel, also spin the wheel and listen for the noise.

Hope this helps
Armando

 

[Sandy]

Thanks so much guys,

I believe I'll continue this investigation by swapping my rears. I have no other wheels, and it will only require pedestrian speed. I am aware of the rotation direction requirement of the tires for normal driving and will swap them back afterwards. I'll post the result after this weekend.

A further description of the creak:
On perfectly flat pavement (no suspension movement) and below about 20mph (not to say its not sounding at higher mph, I probably just can't detect it) and after a few brake applications (to warm it), I'll get the sound at a certain point in it's rotation.
It's clearly driver side and also producible on application of the parking brake. It'll disappear completely on release of the parking brake or brake pedal.

Though the wheel appears whole and with beautifully smooth chrome, I'm inclined to initially agree it may be a wheel structure problem and potentially risky.
The wheel hub check will be stage two.

 

[Larry Bastanza]

Sandy,

Brian mentioned your rear brake pad wear, in his post. Not sure this was answered. Are your brake pads OK or worn?

HTH,
LarryB

 

[nsxtasy]

Brian mentioned your rear brake pad wear, in his post. Not sure this was answered. Are your brake pads OK or worn?

This was the first thing I thought of, since that's by far the most common cause of any squeaking noises in the wheel area, particularly when braking. But then I saw that your technician couldn't figure it out, and I can only assume that that was the first thing that he would have thought of, too. Still, it never hurts to double-check...

 

[Sandy]

The pads will be checked, again.

But let me further clarify on "creak" as opposed to "squeak" or squeal...

The sound might also be likened to a (house) door hinge in need of oil and opened slowly, but only occurring in 10 or 20 degrees of the wheel's 360 degree of rotation.
Or compress 4 or 5 clicks and presto, you've got a creak! I can almost count the "clicks" of the "creak" at walking speed...

 

[Larry Bastanza]

I asked because the description could be the sound of the wear indicator just on the boarder, and a rotor with a high spot on the edge. I think this is what Brian and Ken were thinking.

Maybe try this: Jack the wheel off the ground, and turn it by hand. If it creaks, remove the wheel and try again. If it creaks, it is definately brakes or bearing related.

HTH,
LarryB

 

[MiamieNeSeX]

I asked because the description could be the sound of the wear indicator just on the boarder, and a rotor with a high spot on the edge. I think this is what Brian and Ken were thinking.

Maybe try this: Jack the wheel off the ground, and turn it by hand. If it creaks, remove the wheel and try again. If it creaks, it is definately brakes or bearing related.

HTH,
LarryB

Good Idea

 

[Sandy]

Heat is apparently a large factor in this problem.
Temps dropped 25 degrees since my last posting and during my drive yesterday I couldn't detect the infernal creak.
I'll post when I've got something for you guys, and will look carefully in the brake department too.

 

[Sandy]

The creaking was solved by my technician by application of a chemical to the back side of the brake pad.

Anyone out there with this peculiar 'creak' sound at pedestrian speed should write me and I'll refer you to my tech.