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99 Camry Thumping And Dipping - Front Passenger's Side

1.2K views 1 reply 2 participants last post by  myname  
#1 ·
I've got a thumping noise that slows and speeds up relative to car speed and wheel rotation. It exists ALL the time, in any gear, with the brakes applied or coasting. It appears to be most prominent on the front passenger's side. On top of a thumping noise that reverberates through the whole car there exists a physical up and down motion. I can literally watch the front end of the car rise and fall as though moving over a tiny speed bump with each wheel rotation.

The only action I've taken to really see what's going on was to jack the front end and rotate each front wheel to feel for a bad bearing. No noticeable noise or resistance there. What can I test from here to diagnose?
 
#2 ·
Sounds like tire belt separation to me. I'd take it to the tire shop, a reputable one, and have them give me an opinion.

We just had tires put on both our vehicles for this very reason.

When you have the car jacked up, align some visual marker with the outside diameter of the tire. Have someone spin it for you while you stand back and observe. I'll bet you'll see that bump passing in front of the marker, or at least it'll appear to move closer to the marker.