'Clinking' noise

[captaincorolla]

It sounds like I'm dragging a small chain under my car, or loose change. Increases with speed, disappears at high speed (probably just gets drowned out by engine noise.) I'm 99% sure it's something with my bearings in the front. Which really pisses me off, because I just got them repacked. I'm hoping maybe it's something like a loose wheel weight. It's almost like a pinging or tinking sound.

[AlaricD]

I had a similar sound when I'd run over a large twig/small branch and it got stuck to the bottom of the car-- I went to the muffler shop because I thought it was a loose pipe or something, and they only found it when they put it on the lift. It may be something as simple as that...

Why not chock the rear wheels, and check each front wheel individually by jacking up the car and moving them by hand (with the transmission in neutral). That might tell you if it's a bearing or not.

[GaryGoatse]

If you jack up each front wheel and grab the top and the bottom of the wheel and push in at the top and pull out at the bottom and then reverse that you should feel a bit of freeplay. If it makes a tiny sound then it is the wheel bearings, they should have no freeplay. That is the easiest way to check your bearings

Try and listen for which side of the car it is on when you are driving. A common problem is the belt making a noise which would be on the right side of the engine. Its hard to tell what noises people are talking about unless you can hear them yourselves but just try and pinpoint where it is, or even jack up both front wheels and drive it while having a friend listen for the noise.

[AlaricD]

Originally Posted by GaryGoatse

Its hard to tell what noises people are talking about unless you can hear them yourselves but just try and pinpoint where it is, or even jack up both front wheels and drive it while having a friend listen for the noise.

If you are going to do that, be sure that the rear wheels are properly chocked, and the car is resting on jack stands, not on jacks.

[GaryGoatse]

Originally Posted by AlaricD

If you are going to do that, be sure that the rear wheels are properly chocked, and the car is resting on jack stands, not on jacks.

Lol i hope people assumed that when they read what i typed otherwise they could be in some serious trouble