Tire Squeal

[Mr. Mister]

I have a '88 Toyota Corolla with less than 60K on the odometer. My front, p/s tire squeals all the time, except when I am at a dead stop or parked. It squeals while I am driving straight or turning. It does not seem to effect the performance, it does seem to be an annoyance more than anything. What could this annoyance be? How could this be resolved?

[eage8]

Originally Posted by Mr. Mister

I have a '88 Toyota Corolla with less than 60K on the odometer. My front, p/s tire squeals all the time, except when I am at a dead stop or parked. It squeals while I am driving straight or turning. It does not seem to effect the performance, it does seem to be an annoyance more than anything. What could this annoyance be? How could this be resolved?

it's probably not your tire, it's probably one of the engine belts. probably the alternator belt.

[Mr. Mister]

Originally Posted by eage8

it's probably not your tire, it's probably one of the engine belts. probably the alternator belt.

I have had the car parked and revved it up and no squeal came from the car until it started moving. Its not a high pitched squeal like a loose belt, it's more of a quite one that gets louder as I go faster.

[HwyPilot]

I would take a good close look at the front brakes on the car, or have someone do it for you. There is a very good chance that the brake is damaged, and the squealing you hear is metal to metal contact. It could also be the squeal strips on the brake pads telling you that they're getting thin and need to be replaced. I hope it's just the pads, but you need to have it checked out as soon as possible.

Alot of shops will check brakes for free, ask around. Brakes are only as good as you keep them, and if you take care of your ride it'll take care of you. Good luck! Peace.

[eage8]

Originally Posted by HwyPilot

I would take a good close look at the front brakes on the car, or have someone do it for you. There is a very good chance that the brake is damaged, and the squealing you hear is metal to metal contact. It could also be the squeal strips on the brake pads telling you that they're getting thin and need to be replaced. I hope it's just the pads, but you need to have it checked out as soon as possible.

Alot of shops will check brakes for free, ask around. Brakes are only as good as you keep them, and if you take care of your ride it'll take care of you. Good luck! Peace.

yeah, then it's either the brakes or possibly the wheel bearing.

[ericdude]

Is it an automatic? Set the parking brake and jack up the front p/s wheel.
If you put it in drive, the free tire should start spinning and you get a better
idea where the sound is coming from. I wouldn't get under the car in
that condition , but I've done it briefly to check for various problems.

Or you could try just spinning it by hand to see if that reproduces the problem.

[ae924d]

Originally Posted by eage8

yeah, then it's either the brakes or possibly the wheel bearing.

i have a wheel bearing going bad and it's more of a roaring noise then anything. i would say brakes.

[SuperRA]

I would say that it is the brake wear indicator which is supposed to "squeak" or "squeal" when the brakes are near gone.