[troysavage]

Theres a small ticking noise coming from the front passenger wheel when i drive. the faster i drive, the faster the click and vise versa . sounds like a card in a bike wheel. I jacked up the wheel and noticed that as it slowly left the ground, it slid in about half an inch. I checked for play top to bottom and side to side but really couldn't feel anything. I jacked up the driver side and the wheel stayed exactly where it was as it left the ground. I believe its the wheel bearings or the cv half joint. How do i determine which one it is?. I am kinda gun shy because the i spent close to $ 1200 trying to keep my car from missing and going dead, before you guys stopped me and told me to get down to ford and make them replace the recalled fuel pump wich i did. So do i replace the bearings and go from there or do you guys have any ideas?

 

[bluefront]

Are you sure there isn't a small rock or nail in the tire? A bad wheel bearing or CV joint usually doesn't make small clicking noises.

Wheel movement as you jack up the car.....normal I'd say. The wheel doesn't stay perpendicular as the suspension is loaded/unloaded.

 

[troysavage]

I checked the tire for rocks or anything. couldn't find anything. i'm afraid to take to the shop and have them inspect cause i know they will find " something" major wrong?

 

[bluefront]

Jack up the front end and support it on stands. Run the car in gear with the wheels off the ground.....see if the noise goes away.

Or......rotate the wheels to the rear, and see if the noise goes to the rear. Small ticking(clicking) noises that occur at wheel speed are almost always tire related.

 

[troysavage]

Thanks! bluefront. Will Do

 

[NemesisEnforcer]

as he said, i would think its tiny pebbles in the tread. very annoying. cv joints dont usually make that noise unless turning, and you should see a torn boot, with all the grease gone.

 

[troysavage]

Clicking in front passenger wheel PART 2

Hi Guys dont laugh at me. My wife is still doing it. I told yall the other day that there was a ticking in my wheel that faster as i drove the car and slower when i slowed. You gave me great advice from cv half to bearings o rocks and sticks in the tire. I ven paid $9.00 for the "Just Ask" site for a tech to tell me that the ticking was prob. the cv half.. Well the tech at my job told me to bring it by sat morn. Before i did, my wife and i stopped by autozone and bought the cv joint and the wheel bearings.

on our way to the shop, my said" that doesn't sound like ticking, that's flapping!". Of course i told her to hush and ride. We got there and the tech had me drive up ramps . he didnt say much but hello and took out two zip ties, rolled under the left wheel well and zipped it tight where the screws had come lose. After he and my wife laughed and giggled for ten minutes, she paid him twenty bucks from my GIN AND JUICE FUND and said "Now do you know the difference between a tick and a flap?". And of course the Ticking stopped. Thanks Guys

 

[bluefront]

Heh....that's an issue all right, describing a sound. The increased speed caused the loose piece to "flap" faster, making a similar sound like something stuck in a tire.

Pays to get a second opinion on strange noises. Had you said "flapping noise" rather than "ticking noise", many of the opinions on the problem would have changed. Lucky for you the fix was easy/cheap. [hah]

 

[ChuckDee]

what was causing the flapping noise?

 

[StealthGray]

Troy, I had a VW that developed a squeal in the water pump. I've been driving long enough to know what a squealing water pump sounds like. Car was still on warranty, so I called and made an appointment with the shop a week later, and bought a bottle of water pump lubricant on the way home to hold things together until it was fixed.
When the car was in the shop I got a call, it was a bent shaft in the alternator... I told them that was the first time I ever had a can of water pump lubricant stop the squealing in the alternator and they laughed and said I had done and told them all the right things, but sometimes it doesn't add up ; )

 

[troysavage]

the flapping was caused by the plastic wheel "well" that covers the wheel that is screwed to the car. two screws were loose

 

[Craven915]

My car is doing the same thing, I will check when I get home. I thought to was somthing wrong with my tire.