Lexus IS 250 2007 (Noise coming from front wheel)

[Joolsd]

Hi All. I think I have another problem in the pipeline. I think it is my front left wheel. It is now making a (dunk dunk dunk) and noise with the speed of the car, as if it is something to do with the wheel and frequency of the sound speeds up with the speed of the car. Sometime it is less noticeable, if the tarmac is smooth.  I wondered what this might be. I do vaguely remember going over a curve when turning left. I have had a look to see if it was a tire bulge, but I couldn't really see anything or feel anything. I was wondering if it was a wheel bearing maybe that has got pushed? I was wondering what it is and how much is it to fix roughly? 

There are a few problems that need to be addressed and I was hoping there wouldn't be another issue. I got my oil changed and filter so I am pleased with that now it is colder. 

Thanks for you help in the past, it is very helpful being on this forum.

Julian

[Robertdt]

Hi Julian,

                   It does sound like a wheel bearing though they dont always behave the same when failing. Having just replaced 3 in the space of a year in my integra the noise i had was a droning noise with a mild thud that gets proportionally louder with vehicle speed. Also if you think its a front left, find a small roundabout at a quiet time and drive round it and the noise should get worse as your putting more load on that side of the car. Outwith that jack up the car and spin the wheel and it should feel a bit rough compared to doing the same with the right front. IMHO ith wont have anything to do with driving over something.

Rob

[J Henderson]

5 hours ago, Joolsd said:

I was wondering if it was a wheel bearing maybe that has got pushed? I was wondering what it is and how much is it to fix roughly? 

I've had to replace both of my front wheel bearings fairly recently. Left one in 2021, and the other side this year. The cost was £300+ each time, supplied and fitted.

As Robert says, the sound associated with a bad bearing is more of a droning or grinding sound, that would be louder or more intense when the affected side of the car is under load.

[Joolsd]

2 hours ago, Robertdt said:

Also if you think its a front left, find a small roundabout at a quiet time and drive round it and the noise should get worse as your putting more load on that side of the car.

Thanks for the reply. I when out today, and I whilst in the car park I did a slow full right lock turn and I could hear it more prominently. I think a bearing could be the problem. 

[Joolsd]

2 hours ago, J Henderson said:

I've had to replace both of my front wheel bearings fairly recently. Left one in 2021, and the other side this year. The cost was £300+ each time, supplied and fitted.

As Robert says, the sound associated with a bad bearing is more of a droning or grinding sound, that would be louder or more intense when the affected side of the car is under load.

Thank you. Yes it sounds like it. £300 ouch! 

[MrTrendizzle]

On 11/30/2023 at 6:05 PM, Joolsd said:

Thank you. Yes it sounds like it. £300 ouch! 

If you're a dab hand at DIY the entire hub assembly is £60 on Fleabay. Once everything is off and disconnected it's 4 bolts to replace it. Most likely require a good breaker bar and lots of WD40 over the next few days.

[J Henderson]

13 minutes ago, MrTrendizzle said:

Most likely require a good breaker bar and lots of WD40 over the next few days.

Exactly why I let the garage deal with it. Aluminium component mated to a steel surface for over a decade...not a good marriage.

[Joolsd]

17 hours ago, MrTrendizzle said:

If you're a dab hand at DIY the entire hub assembly is £60 on Fleabay. Once everything is off and disconnected it's 4 bolts to replace it. Most likely require a good breaker bar and lots of WD40 over the next few days.

You know I am just not that confident at mechanical things. Probably because of the lack of tools I have. I was tempted to put in the air filter as it looked quite easy.  But still got a pro to do it.

[Joolsd]

I can't believe I missed it. This is what 'dunk dunk dunk' sounds like. Complete with washer.

[J Henderson]

That's a sizeable bolt. Probably unrepairable.

Cheaper than a new wheel bearing though.

[Mr Vlad]

There's only one way to see if it's unrepairable. If the hole left is more than a few mm wide then it's possibly a new tyre But an old fashioned tyre place will repair it with a patch on the inside of the tyre. I've had that done with No issues and that was on a very fast Ford Mondeo. 

If the hole left is just a few mm then a Plug will seal that no problem. Also I've had that done and also really close to the edge of the tyre and again No issues and that too was on a different fast Ford Mondeo. 

As for wheel bearings. Plenty of very very good hubs on eBay and it's a dead easy job. Plenty of excellent videos on YouTube. 

[Joolsd]

On 12/6/2023 at 4:48 AM, Mr Vlad said:

There's only one way to see if it's unrepairable. If the hole left is more than a few mm wide then it's possibly a new tyre But an old fashioned tyre place will repair it with a patch on the inside of the tyre. I've had that done with No issues and that was on a very fast Ford Mondeo. 

If the hole left is just a few mm then a Plug will seal that no problem. Also I've had that done and also really close to the edge of the tyre and again No issues and that too was on a different fast Ford Mondeo. 

As for wheel bearings. Plenty of very very good hubs on ebay and it's a dead easy job. Plenty of excellent videos on YouTube. 

Yeah, I got it fixed really easily, a clean hole. It was a relief as I could have done without the wheel bearing issue.