Wheel Noise ?

is200 Newbie · August 15, 2012

Hi Guys

There have been a few posts on the forum covering this - so apologies for repeating but i dont think anyone has touched on what their cure has been - also it's hard to describe this one and what it can be. I am unsure which section to post this also

I am getting a bit fed up with this now and losing a bit of interest in keeping the car which i have looked after since i have had it. Its a really nice machine but to have this sort of problem is starting to get to me now and its not the sort of thing you would expect from a car like this.

I have had the "vibration" when braking problem and am still experiencing this along with a new fault - in trying to narrow down the fault to get rid of the vibration, the calipers have been replaced - slide pins have been replaced and regreased - discs have been replaced - pads have been replaced - 18" aero alloys have been added to replace the stock LE alloys - tyre pressure set to 35psi. I have however noticed that the weights of the drivers wheel are missing and i will be getting the wheels re-balanced next week. I cannot get rid of the vibration when braking which only happens when braking from around 60 to 50mph, the car is smooth otherwise. When i have topped the air up in the tyres i have noticed an improvement in the vibration but it always comes back. I am hoping the balancing will cure this but with them not vibrating under normal driving i am pretty sceptical that the wheel balancing / adding the weights back will cure this??! Is there a chance that a set of brembo discs could have warped as these were fitted around 18 months ago and if the calipers were sticking at that time then could these warp the new discs i fitted by overheating them? There are no signs of uneven wear on the discs or pads.

I have also noticed for the past few months that there is a whine coming from the front area of the car - somewhere around the wheel arches I THINK?? It increases and decreases in noise with the speed of the car and does not dissappear when the brakes are applied. It does dissappear at around 10 - 15 mph but comes back again above 15mph. I cant describe the noise really other than a whine as if the brakes are somehow touching the disc but with what i have done above i know all the calipers etc are working fine. It is something i cant check the location of where the noise is coming from as it only happens when the car is moving. If i rev it up to check for the noise when the car is stationery i cant hear anything which is pointing me to think its something around the area of the wheels moving parts?

I need to be put out of my misery one way or the other as im getting a bit fed up at the moment with it. I have a lot of things i would like to do with the car but dont see a point until this is sorted - can this be a wheel bearing or something else i have missed. The noise is not evident from inside the car but with the windows down then it can be heard clearly - when passing through a confined space it is more evident. I have never had a bearing go on a car before but have heard of people saying that its more of a rumbling noise.

I dont know why i think this but it sounds like something is rubbing on the disc but i cant think what. Pads have good "pad" on them.

Can anyone on the forum help me out with this one as i am pulling my hair out over this and i dont have a lot to start with .....!!

TonyGoose · August 15, 2012

I think the scraping noise could be the backing plates needing a shove back out of the way ?

TG

is200 Newbie · August 15, 2012

Thanks Tony - i need to have a more indepth look at this again i think as its got to be something thats pretty obvious?.... I have found this guy when searchingthe web thats posted on YouTube who has a similar issue but only when turning corners - the noise he is reporting is the same as what i am hearing but where he only hears it when cornering i am getting it all of the time - he has put a resolution in his comments so i will try this also - the link to his post is below

waveydavey · August 16, 2012

Hi,

I had near the exact same problem where there was a whistle noise coming from the drivers side of the car when the car got above around 25mph. The noise would stay constantly till the speed dropped down below around 10-20mph when it would stop. It seemed to come from the rear of the car. It drove me nuts as I couldn't work out what it was. You couldn't hear it with the windows up only when they were down and also it wouldn't happen if it was raining or the roads were wet!!!

It had it's service last year at Lexus Sheffield so i mentioned it to them and decribed exactly what was happening and they cured it by stripping down and cleaning the rear brakes.

It's been around 10 months now and the noise hasn't occurred since, (touch wood!!!)

Hope this helps

Cheers

Dave.

is200 Newbie · August 16, 2012

Thanks Dave -

Havent looked at the rear brakes to see if this is the problem although i do know the caliper pistons are fine - its an awkward problem as you can only hear this when moving and as you can only stick your head out of the front drivers window then its a bit limited in figuring out where the sound is coming from but i will give them a a strip down and clean to see if there is anything obvious going wrong - cheers

ndrk · September 4, 2012

whining noise comes from the rear and it increases when you are turning.

Problem is that rear dust cover have kind of inner edge which covers hub from dust and dirt. At one point either some small rock is exactly stuck between this inner edge and bed on disc or somehow (during bearing change for example) discs become too close to hub and this inner edge rubs to its bed.

Cure: remove discs, inspect inner edge and bed for wear. Grind down some micrometers of inner edge and clean bed. reinstall and whine is gone.

is200 Newbie · September 4, 2012

Thanks Indrek - I think its pointing to the rear wheels - so far i haven't had the chance to have a look at them as the wife has me cutting down trees in the garden !!!!!!!!!!!! I will have a look at some point this month but for now my cure has been to turn the radio up !! Have you had this problem yourself...does it sound like the noise in the video in the previous post?

ndrk · September 5, 2012

I have this problem right now. I´ll have two weeks vacation in mid september and then I planned to deal with it.

Its not that loud squeak like in this video. Its more like constant sshahh-sshahh-sshahh. Amplitude depend on speed. It appears specially when cornering and is heard only when window is open and best when sound can bounce back from something (from some house or some wall near to car).

There was an excellent description and step-by-step tutorial to solve this problem in my.is forums. Have no time to look for it right now. Maybe later this evening...

is200 Newbie · September 5, 2012

Thanks Indrek - i have found the is forum post - will definately have a look at the rear discs - will need to find out if the 200 has the inner pads as per the 300. Will let you know how i get on when its done.

ndrk · September 5, 2012

Link to my.is forum: http://my.is/forums/...e-noise-342886/

waveydavey · September 20, 2012

Just wondered if you got the problem sorted?

Did it end up being a problem with the rear brakes like mine and others?

Cheers

Dave.

is200 Newbie · September 20, 2012

Hi Dave - yes it looks that way - i have still not had a chance to take them apart yet but i did have the pressure washer out a couple of weeks ago and thought i would blast the rear brakes so i got the jet nozzle as far as i could into the rear wheel brake assenbly and gave it a good blast and it did have an effect in making it quieter so i think i have found the area of the noise but just need to get down to taking the bits apart. I might get a set of rear drum pads to replace the ones on the car while i have it in pieces.

When i get it done i will re-post the results but i am really hoping this is the cause (as explained in posts above)

Frostytel · September 20, 2012

Although mine is a gs , I had the same issue that sounded like the front but was the back discs and the rust in the groove causing the noise, removal and a good clean up ensued wire brush, flat bladed screw driver , and few micrometers ground off back plate with flap disc cured problem, which is shown in the excellent picture shown here in this thread, my front end braking judder was virtually cured with a set of front lower no.2 control arms a new set of mtec discs, and a set of unimax ebc brake discs which are very good at bedding in discs

steve2006 · September 20, 2012

I recently posted up regarding the parking brake on my LS400 but the disc removal technique I used may apply to the IS models so the link is below.

http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/index.php?showtopic=78818#entry788772

is200 Newbie · September 22, 2012

Hi Guys - had a chance to look at this today.

Got the rear wheels and calipers off ok but when trying to get the discs off i could not get either side off - managed to free them both up from the hub by using two bolts in the two threadded bolt holes to inch the discs off but while i was doing this the drum pads themselves were coming off with the disc. So i stopped this as i didnt want to damage any.thing

Its a while since i done drum brakes - should there be a nut or a screw to back the drum pads off from the disc?

While i had them loose i ran a screw driver around the groove in the disc and got a lot of crud out - i done this on both sides while i had them loose. Took it for a spin but the noise is still there although at a different pitch now so i do need to take these off to give them a good clean and inspection.

Does anyone know how to back the pads off from the drum? - pics below

Frostytel · September 22, 2012

There should be a rubber bung in the back of the brake housing towards the bottom using a flat bladed screw driver to rotate the cog will either put more brake on or rotate the other way to take brake further off ..... And yes a really good clean out is required to totally get rid of noise also check brake disc shield for rubbing , evident by shiny areas

J Henderson · September 22, 2012

As stated, the adjuster is at the 6 o'clock position. Spin the hub until you can see it through one of the holes then turn the cog with a flat screwdriver.

I once had this problem on an E30 BMW and it was because the springs and caps that hold the handbrake shoes in place had broken off.

is200 Newbie · September 23, 2012

JOB DONE - no more squeeling !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think i will be replacing the disc and the drum shoes in the future (now i know the car had drum shoes) - must be the original parts and have lasted well at just under 100k on the car. They are looking a bit worn now.

Just one question - i noticed when cleaning the drum out and putting it all back together after grinding the shield down that there is an odd shaped pad pin that holds the shoe to the brake itself (aided by a spring and a type of locking washer (one on each shoe), i dont know what the proper name for the part is? but the one on mine when i came to put it back together seemed too long for the drum as when all was fitted back, the spring was touching the hub and when spinning the hub around it was hitting the rear of the wheel bolts. I got round this by adding some spacers on the rear head of this pin to pull it away from the hub.

Its that small a part but has anyone else seen this when changing the shoes. What i have done in using the spacers has worked but i dont think its right.

Anyway - the noise has gone which was driving me to despair - so thanks to all has given me - spot on :hocus-pokus:

ndrk · October 9, 2012

I also completed the job some weeks ago.

My disc groove was really corroded so good clean with dremel did the trick. Be sure to wear some respirator because there will be huge cloud of rust dust when dremel is in action.

I also cut down some micrometers from lower part of both backplates edge. Aso replaced brakepads as they had to be removed anyway...