2000 Mustang Gt - Wheel Bearing Noise Up Front, Can't Figure Out Which Side.

[jayrw]

Are you sure the caliper isn't dragging and one of the pads isnt worn down to metal?

I checked the pads when I swapped out the wheel bearings last week, they all looked pretty healthy still and I didn't see any unusual pad wear, also cleaned both sides the rotors and didn't notice any obvious grooves / metal to metal symptoms.

Hopefully they figure something out tomorrow when it goes in the shop.

 

[Bob Hughes]

Make sure you post I have a similar thing. Get a slight shake in the wheel on initial braking. New pads and rotors all the way around. Pads didn't look bad. I checked ball joints tie rod ends while doing rotors everything seemed good. Curious what they say about your issue

 

[jayrw]

Well I took my car to the shop this morning and turns out the front tires have minor cupping on the inner edges which was apparently the main source of noises & vibrations, when we initially took it for a test drive the tech thought it sounded like bad wheel bearings.. which is what everyone who rode in it thought.

But once it was on the rack they couldn't detect any bearing issues but noticed the front tire cupping and a warped driver side rotor which would explain the brake pedal pulsation especially under heavier braking (but it wasnt the source of my noise issue).

I took it to the shop that originally installed the tires and they did a free rotation.

The noise is much less noticeable now, it's still there but not as loud and I cant feel vibrations in the floorboard anymore.

The tire shop said the tires are very close to the tread wear limits and the person I spoke with recommended I go with Nitto brand tires next time?

The sad part is my current tires only have 7,500 miles on them.. I guess I wont be buying Falken brand anymore lol (At least not the ZE-512 model).

 

[joshjwc9]

Nitto's are great NT555's will last you 20k easily. Run NT05's if you plan to go boosted soon or NT01's if you plan on Autocrossing/Road Racing it (and not driving it as it is a super soft compound for the street).

Falkens IMO are for FWD imports. (And S2k's.).

 

[Kilgore Trout]

Bad bearings will cause cupping. If you do not replace the bearings right away they will destroy your tires real quick.