Clicking noise when turning (Page 1/2)
willyt JUN 25, 07:23 AM
I have a clicking noise coming from the font right wheel when I am turning the car either direction, with the steering wheel close to full lock. I replaced my shocks last night and now the noise is from both sides, louder, and happens more often. It is somewhere between a clicking noise and a grinding noise. Does anyone have any insight as to what could be causing this or have a good process for diagnosing the issue?

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1986 Fiero SE. V6 5 speed.

Mike in Sydney JUN 25, 08:01 AM
Check your wheel bearings.
willyt JUN 25, 08:40 AM
I was going to look this up tonight. What is the best way to verify the wheel bearings are bad? I know about grabbing the wheel and checking for play, but this can be caused by other issues as well. Can I look at the bearings and tell if they are bad?
theogre JUN 25, 08:40 AM
Check all 4 Brakes "Dirt shield" behind rotors first.
Many bent them while working then have noise And/Or Rust on rotors can make clearance problems w/ the shield.
Do Not go by noise that seems to come from X direction. Check all wheels.

Try Look for "cleaner" spots/areas where rotor(s) hit the shield.

⚠️ Warning: Front and back wheel bearing are Not Pre Loaded and some play is Normal.
front See my Cave, Front Bearings

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Dr. Ian Malcolm: Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should.
(Jurassic Park)

The Ogre's Fiero Cave

willyt JUN 25, 08:45 AM
Great idea, I will check this first when I get off of work tonight
cvxjet JUN 25, 12:00 PM
I want to second what Ogre said; Check those dust shields....I have had to straighten them a couple of times- it is very easy to bend them out of shape.
willyt JUN 25, 12:19 PM
Yes, I didn’t pay attention to that, I’ll take a look. It would also make sense that the sound got worse after I worked on it. Would that noise get louder when I turned though? I would think the dust shield would make a constant sound
theogre JUN 25, 01:03 PM
Shield Noise is often when you turn.

The normal play in the bearing allow wheels and rotors to get a tiny bit of run-out any time car gets Lat-G loads.
IOW rotor can move in/out rel to the axle a tiny bit hitting the shield turning and stop going straight.

You pulling wheels to change shocks or anything and then grab/hit the shield for any reason is often enough to have noise problem.
Often the shields are already bent some and/or have rust rot so very easy to bend to make noise.

[This message has been edited by theogre (edited 06-25-2020).]

willyt JUN 25, 01:48 PM
That’s interesting, thanks for the helpful explanation!! I will let you all know what I find. Hopefully that’s the answer, easy fix
Mike in Sydney JUN 25, 10:12 PM
Good point about the dust shields. If it's the shields, the fix is easy. If it's not the shields, check the wheel bearings this way:

1) Chock the wheels and jack up your vehicle. Support it on jack stands.
2) Without getting under the vehicle, grab each wheel at the top and bottom and attempt to rock it. You should have very little or no play.
3) For the front wheels, rotate the wheel listening for clicking and grinding noise. Any noise may indicate that there is a problem.
4) For the rear, put the automatic transmission in neutral and repeat step 3. If you have a manual transmission, take the car out of gear.

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Mike in Sydney