Front End Noise

[Red 97 Camry]

Hi Everyone,

I own a 1997 V6 XLE model with 249,000 miles on the odo.

Within the last 2 months I have changed the following items:

- 4 New Struts (front and back), The reason I changed them is due to one of the rears started to leak and they have been on the car since new, so I said time for new struts all around.

- Strut mounts (front right & left) along with the bearings between the strut plates.

- Sway bar links (front right & left) as they were shot completely and were producing a clink noise on bumps.

- 2 brake calibers (front right & left) as the one on the right was sticking so I decided to change both sides.

- 2 new front Rotors and pads (right and left)

- 1 new front left ball joint as the old one was shot. along with the lower control arm complete with new bushings.

- Driver side axle as the old one started to click and caused sounds on turns.

Now when I come to a complete stop or turn right mostly or when I turn left but very seldom I get a rub/grind noise from the front left area. (my friend said it is rubbing something), I checked the brake dust cover but this turned out to be not the culprit.

I have checked everything more than once and I had 3 different mechanics try to diagnose the problem and all said we have no idea what could be the problem.

I thought that the new axle might be defective and all three mechanics ruled this out along with idea of a wheel bearing as it does not howl at any speeds.

I am puzzled with this issue, I love the car and it has been very reliable to me and my family from day one and I am not ready to part with it.

Guys Any help or suggestions that you may offer will be most appreciated.

Thanks

Al.

[kpszar]

"Now when I come to a complete stop or turn right mostly or when I turn left but very seldom I get a rub/grind noise from the front left area."
When I turn then brake it does not stop well. It would shake and make noise. Must be the brake disks that could be warped out. I also do get noise when I turn slight right going about 30 mph. I still can't find the problem. I don't see no evidence of tire rubbing. Maybe its an alignment issue? Does any one else experiencing with this?

[Red 97 Camry]

I am being told by an independent mechanic that the Driver Side Axle (which is new at this point) has some play to it. He is stating that the transaxle bearing might be the culprit but can not confirm 100%. I will be taking the car to a Transmission Shop that can help pin it down to the source of the problem and I will update the board with the results.

[Red 97 Camry]

I just came back from road testing the car with 2 independent Transmission shop mechanics, both shops ruled out that the transmission or the transaxle/differential has anything to do with the noise.

The first shop mechanic confirmed that the noise is coming from the left hub/tire area but could not pin point the problem and after 1 hour of diagnose time and road testing he said the best way to go about it is to tear into the front hub and re-examine all the parts and hopefully he can determine the cause of the problem.

So off to the next shop, this time the mechanic took the car for a short drive and he confirmed it was not axle, hub bearing, transmission or transaxle, he was also puzzled but persisted on testing the car by turning the steering wheel to right (driving in circle) and the noise was consistently coming and going. So he stepped out the car and asked me to drive by him in the same fashion as he was doing in order to hear the noise on the outside and he could not hear it at all.

He decided to pop the hood and sat over the left fender/engine bay while I continued to drive the car in circle which to our surprise the noise was gone. Then he rocked the car up and down on the left side and the noise was indeed visible and audible specially when the steering wheel was turned to the right, we both could feel the noise coming through the strut tower and the car bumper. Furthermore he confirmed that the strut was binding.

The verdict is a defective Left Strut as it is binding on turns and during brakes.

I will get the car fixed on Monday and I will report if the issue has been resolved at that time.

[kpszar]

Good thing i did not buy struts on ebay. Had you had any thumping sounds in the front during turning on bumpy roads with your new struts? I don't know if it sound be doing that?

[Red 97 Camry]

The issue is indeed was resolved and the car drives 100% the way it should be. Finally no noises whatsoever.

kpszar,

I did not buy my struts on eBay, I bought them through Auto Zone, brand name Gabriel Ultra with a life time warranty replacement. If you are getting noises over bumpy roads I suggest to look at your sway bar links, the bushings could be shot that's of course if your struts, strut tower, bearings are in good shape or fairly new.

[eyeball96]

Thanks for the information Red..Diagnosis and cure!..Welcome to TN!