Squeak in front right

cozdude · Nov 22, 2013

sooo a week a so ago i noticed a squeak/grinding sound coming from my front right tire/wheel area and i choose to ignore it. it only happens (or from what i can tell) when i am accelerating or when coasting and i start to hear it at 15 mph (im sure its sooner but cant hear it over the mud grapplers lol). when braking it doesnt seem to happen. so i went and looked at my wheel and it looks like the caliper could be rubbing on the back of my wheels. i have never noticed this before till recent.

anyone have any idea on how to fix this without running spacers? any idea how this could have happened in the first place? could bad ball joints lead to this?

Wheels are 16x8 with 4.25 BS, C gussets installed, stock Ball joints still (new crown ball joints are getting installed on monday)

wayoflife · Nov 22, 2013

Maybe if you had 15" wheels I could see it but, you should be clearing your calipers just fine with 16's. Either way, have you checked the gap between your dust shield and rotor? Also, have you checked your unit bearings? Depending on how many miles you have, they could be going bad.

cozdude · Nov 22, 2013

wayoflife said:
Maybe if you had 15" wheels I could see it but, you should be clearing your calipers just fine with 16's. Either way, have you checked the gap between your dust shield and rotor? Also, have you checked your unit bearings? Depending on how many miles you have, they could be going bad.

i havent checked the gap between the shield and the rotor. when i look at it its almost like the caplier is rubbing on the back of the holes on my wheel.

i have no idea where or how to check to see if the unit bearings are bad lol i have 24,000 miles and change on my jeep currently. almost all of those miles with the current wheels and just over 4,000 with my mud grapplers on.

cozdude · Nov 22, 2013

found out what the unit bearing is lol its basically the piece that the lug nuts are connected to. i saw someone say that you check it the same way as the ball joints?

wayoflife · Nov 22, 2013

I would start with the dust shield as it is the most likely culprit being that you're hearing a squeak. Not 100% sure what you mean by the "holes" on your wheels but, if you are referring to the cutouts in the design, I would think you'd be hearing more than a squeak. Regarding your unit bearings, a quick check you can do is give a forceful sudden push on the top of your tire. You can do this with your hip or hands and if they are really bad, you'll feel it shift.

cozdude · Nov 22, 2013

wayoflife said:
wayoflife said:

I would start with the dust shield as it is the most likely culprit being that you're hearing a squeak. Not 100% sure what you mean by the "holes" on your wheels but, if you are referring to the cutouts in the design, I would think you'd be hearing more than a squeak.

Click to expand...

yea thats what i meant, its the soft 8 cutout design. the bottom of the cutout seems to be the part that is rubbing/grinding the caliper causeing the squeak. i will try and check the dust shield first

Regarding your unit bearings, a quick check you can do is give a forceful sudden push on the top of your tire. You can do this with your hip or hands and if they are really bad, you'll feel it shift.

Click to expand...

just jack it up then hit it? or can it be done on the ground. if it can done on the ground i will check it on my lunch break today and pray it doesnt move.

a follow up - bad ball joints wouldnt cause this would they? im replacing them anyway but just wasnt sure if that would help as well.

wayoflife · Nov 22, 2013

You can do it on the ground and if the unit bearings are really bad, you will feel a shift. Bad ball joints shouldn't cause a squeak.

cozdude · Nov 22, 2013

wayoflife said:
You can do it on the ground and if the unit bearings are really bad, you will feel a shift. Bad ball joints shouldn't cause a squeak.

ok thanks eddie i will give it a good hip check this afternoon. :cheesy:

for the ball joints i ment if they were bad could they cause the wheel to wobble to make it grind against the rotor allowing it squeak. im assuming not by the way your talking about it.

wayoflife · Nov 22, 2013

cozdude said:
ok thanks eddie i will give it a good hip check this afternoon. :cheesy:

for the ball joints i ment if they were bad could they cause the wheel to wobble to make it grind against the rotor allowing it squeak. im assuming not by the way your talking about it.

I think you're misunderstanding what I'm saying. If the bearings are going bad, they can and will squeak. Your calipers are bolted to your knuckles and they are attached to the end forgings with the ball joints. If they are going bad, everything will wobble with it. does that make sense?

hinrichs · Nov 22, 2013

Steve, If you think the wheel is rubbing something just look behind and youll see clean metal easily I would think.

cozdude · Nov 22, 2013

wayoflife said:
I think you're misunderstanding what I'm saying. If the bearings are going bad, they can and will squeak. Your calipers are bolted to your knuckles and they are attached to the end forgings with the ball joints. If they are going bad, everything will wobble with it. does that make sense?

yea im misunderstanding you, im sorry. im still trying to learn all of this so thanks for dealing with me.

i think i need to give it a hip check like you said. if it moves i will kinda understand what you are saying and i need to replace the bearing. if it doesnt im lost on what to do next.

this is my noobness showing.

wayoflife · Nov 22, 2013

cozdude said:
yea im misunderstanding you, im sorry. im still trying to learn all of this so thanks for dealing with me.

i think i need to give it a hip check like you said. if it moves i will kinda understand what you are saying and i need to replace the bearing. if it doesnt im lost on what to do next.

this is my noobness showing.

LOL!! It's all good. Again, start with what's most likely your cause and easiest to check, your rotor dust shield. It's not uncommon for one to get bent while wheeling and that will definitely cause a squeak.

cozdude · Nov 22, 2013

hinrichs said:
Steve, If you think the wheel is rubbing something just look behind and youll see clean metal easily I would think.

the rotor is in the way so i cant see. i have to take the wheel off to see. i hope its something like rubbing and a little adjustment just needs to be made.

cozdude · Nov 22, 2013

Looks like it is a rubbing issue like I thought. You can see some of the black on the caliper and the inside of my wheel worn down a little. Any ideas?

ImageUploadedByWAYALIFE1385140801.081762.jpg

ImageUploadedByWAYALIFE1385140850.173802.jpg

Sent from my iPhone

wayoflife · Nov 22, 2013

cozdude said:
Looks like it is a rubbing issue like I thought. You can see some of the black on the caliper and the inside of my wheel worn down a little. Any ideas?

View attachment 57634
View attachment 57635

Sent from my iPhone

I don't know if I'd agree. If it were STILL rubbing, the marks you are seeing would be shiny, not all rusty and dull like they are. Still, if I'm wrong and that is what your problem is, you can take a grinder to your caliper and clearance it or, you can install a set of wheel spacers.

cozdude · Nov 22, 2013

wayoflife said:
I don't know if I'd agree. If it were STILL rubbing, the marks you are seeing would be shiny, not all rusty and dull like they are. Still, if I'm wrong and that is what your problem is, you can take a grinder to your caliper and clearance it or, you can install a set of wheel spacers.

you can see where it is shinny right around the cut out holes. i boxed them in. sorry it was a quick pic as my lunch break was only 30 mins lol

cozdude · Nov 22, 2013

wayoflife said:
I don't know if I'd agree. If it were STILL rubbing, the marks you are seeing would be shiny, not all rusty and dull like they are. Still, if I'm wrong and that is what your problem is, you can take a grinder to your caliper and clearance it or, you can install a set of wheel spacers.

also i did give it a hip check like you said but it didnt seem like it moved at all. all i felt/saw move was my tire. hard to tell if the wheel moved

wayoflife · Nov 22, 2013

cozdude said:
you can see where it is shinny right around the cut out holes. i boxed them in. sorry it was a quick pic as my lunch break was only 30 mins lol

Why only on that wheel? Also, on your caliper, I would have thought that the paint would have been long gone and just been shiny there as well. But, who knows, I could be wrong, just trying to help :yup:

cozdude · Nov 22, 2013

wayoflife said:
Why only on that wheel? Also, on your caliper, I would have thought that the paint would have been long gone and just been shiny there as well. But, who knows, I could be wrong, just trying to help :yup:

yea idk why it is only on the one wheel either. :thinking: i just did a tire rotation last week and it was doing it on the wheel that was on there before i rotated it. guess i was hoping it would stop.

trust me i appreciate all the help you are giving me from 3,000+ miles away!

i guess i could try to get new wheels and see if that works. just hard to find some in 16x8 with 4.25 or 4" of bs that i like lol plus i dont feel like spending the money right now as im getting a regear done this weekend which will hurt the bank

JAGS · Nov 22, 2013

cozdude said:
Looks like it is a rubbing issue like I thought. You can see some of the black on the caliper and the inside of my wheel worn down a little. Any ideas?

View attachment 57634

Sent from my iPhone

May not have to do with the problems you're having. But since you are running an aftermarket wheel, I'd suggest you remove the retaining clip(s). It's what you see here in the lower right^^^. That can cause your wheel to not seat properly/flush. Stock wheels are recessed there so they snug up tight, but not aftermarkets.

Again, may/may not be the cause of the issue, but something you'll want to take care of on all four.

Squeak in front right

Guy with a Red 2-Door

Administrator

Guy with a Red 2-Door

Guy with a Red 2-Door

Administrator

Guy with a Red 2-Door

Administrator

Guy with a Red 2-Door

Administrator

Caught the Bug

Guy with a Red 2-Door

Administrator

Guy with a Red 2-Door

Guy with a Red 2-Door

Administrator

Guy with a Red 2-Door

Attachments

Guy with a Red 2-Door

Administrator

Guy with a Red 2-Door

Hooked