Hi

I've just renewed my steering linkage, also went to the vehicle inspection, toe hasn't been adjusted yet.

Before that, the right tie rod end was rusted and had a lot of clearance, because the rubber boot fell off two years ago. The same phenomenon was present then, the one which now - after changing the complete steering linkage - has still not dissappeared:

It's a humming / "dark" buzzing, like when you're driving on the kind of security center line that has grooves which cause a humming sound to warn you. The humming occurs in a very strange way. It occurs when steering to the right or left, even with the slightest steering angle. And moreover: sometimes it hums when steering to the right and then - during the ride or sometimes when you have parked - it changes... then it hums when steering to the left or even when driving straight. So it's always changing without an obvious reason or less often the humming disappears completely. What I noticed: during braking the humming decreases a bit or fully goes away when the car is coming to a stop. When driving at a walking pace you can't hear the humming, either.

The rotors and wheel bearings with pads have been changed three years ago. About half a year ago, new pads were installed again (the old ones were completely down, it was already jingling). Maybe it has something to do with the new pads? Certainly it didn't start right after I replaced them. At the vehicle inspection I asked about clearance at the wheels but no clearance was noticed. Toe was slightly over the tolerance. Oh yes, the tires have been changed in the meantime, so those can't be the reason. Merely a missing balancing weight could... but that should cause a vibrating steering wheel. The inspector suggested it might be caused by the power steering pump (without having heard the noise). What I also have to mention is, that before I replaced the steering linkage, I drove around with the bad tie rod end for a few months even though there was that humming sound. Besides, I noticed some scrub marks in the wheel house.

Can you help me?

Thanks,
Thomas

 

No one has an idea?

There's something else I noticed... after driving for a while there's a smell of like something is burned. I guess it's really coming from the rear end, from the wheels. But I've had this for a long time but it was more when driving steep roads and I thought it was the transmission. But now I'm not that sure anymore.

Might also be the brake shoes (or what's left of them) because the braking in a test was uneven... 12 to 18 braking efficiency from left to right.

Can anyone give me a hint what I should check?

Thanks,
Thomas

 

put it up on jacks or stands and try to lift and pull the wheels in every direction ... sounds a little like a bad wheel bearing or ball joint (if it is not the pump) ... hard to tell without hearing the sound though, try to get the sound on video or something

 

I would think you have a wheel bearing going bad based on what you describe. Jack up the car and see if you have any play in the wheel. Grab the top and bottom of the tire, try to wiggle it back and forth, like toward and away from the engine. If you have movement in there, you probably have a bad wheel bearing.

Regarding your burning smell, if you have the park brake partially stuck on or doing excessive braking (do you brake left footed?) that can cause the smell. Or, I just thought, if your brakes are completely worn out, it could be those making the noise too. Check your wheel bearings in the front, and then pull all 4 wheels and check your brakes just so you know how much is left on all of them and if they need to be changed.

 

Thanks for your suggestions...

Well, the guy at the vehicle inspection checked the play in the wheels and said that everything was fine, but I can recheck it. It's just... how can you explain the wandering noise from steering to the left and to the right and sometimes it completely disappears, especially when using the brake...?
And about the park brake... I have to pull it really to the very top (about 80°) to really hold the car. Can't imagine that it's stuck but might still be an option...
However the brake pads of the front brakes have been changed half a year ago, they're good.

So you don't think that a bearing at the rear could cause the noise? Or even the diff? Because the diff oil has never been changed the last 10 years minimum.

I don't brake hard, I use the right foot. The smell was already noticable when I drove only a few kilometers through town.

Thanks,
Thomas

 

It's me again.

Today I took another look at my car.

First I jacked up the front left side and tried to wiggle the wheel. But as far I can judge there is no play in the bearing. Only little play I thought to feel was from the shock strut bearing maybe. I put away the grease cap but I couldn't see anything special, everything looked as it should be. Well, you can't see that much because of the washer over the bearing. What I noticed however was, when I turned the wheel I could hear a slight grinding noise and there was some (although not too much) resistance when trying to turn the wheel. As I'm a beginner I can't really say what is still normal and what is too much. I didn't look at the other wheel, though.

Next I inspected the rear wheels. The drums got off quite well without a need to hammer on them. The break shoes look fine to my eyes, at least there is enough lining. I just thought that on the left side, the lining is a bit more worn than on the right side. Could this explain a big difference in braking efficiency between right and left on a test facility?
What amazed me more was that both wheels have play when pulling on them (sideways). And when turning them I could also feel play at the beginning like on steering wheel. So it takes about a centimeter until the axle begins turning. And while turning I heard kind of a slight clicking / tick-tack sound.

Well I roughly cleaned the linings and the drums and reinstalled everything.

As I'm a beginner, maybe you can read more in my explanation to help me.

Thanks and a have a nice Christmas!
Thomas

 

Check power steering fluid and make sure the power steering belt doesn’t have too much slack.

 

Hi Barryjoe

I've just checked the fluid level. It's not coming up to "full cold" but there's still some fluid on the dip stick, I would say it's maybe about 5mm under the "full cold" level. Do you think this could already cause such a noise? I know that the power steering system is a bit leaking. Since I've had the car (10 years) the big flexible hose is oily where it bends into the "metal thing". But so far no noises and I've quite regularly checked the oil level and I've never seen a problem, but maybe in the last few months it could have gotten too low.

Something else that I noticed... I had my front brake pads changed 3/4 of a year ago. And I'm quite sure that only a few weeks... 2-3 months the humming noise started and it got louder over time. I really can't think of a moment when the noise got very loud... I only know that I've been driving around with the noise getting louder for several months. But at that time also my right-hand tie rod end had a lot play. So when the vehicle inspector told me that, I thought that was the reason for the noise. But as it hasn't stopped now that I've changed the steering linkage...
So why am I telling about the brake pads. I was with the mechanic when he changed it. And I can't remeber that he plied the brake pad ears. Could that cause such a humming noise as well when steering?

The belt for the power steering pump is just the normal belt for air pump, alternator etc.? I changed that 3 years ago.

To fill up the power steering fluid... as I live in Switzerland I don't get the GM original stuff here. What do I have to pay attention to when choosing a fluid?

Thanks,
Thomas

 

not sure how things are setup there, but here in the usa, i use automatic trans fluid in my power steering ... also, does it only make the noise when you are driving, or does it also do it when sitting still and you turn the wheel with the car running?

 

Actually you can't hear the noise when sitting still or when driving very slowly (<15km/h) and turning the wheel.

 

If its not at, or past the 'Full Cold' line try adding some fluid. Without hearing the noise in question its hard to be certain, but my first thought reading your post was a power steering pump 'groan'. At least if your 100% sure the pumps full you can rule that out.

And I have used Automatic Transmission Fluid plenty of times, works just fine for power steering fluid.

 

sounds like a wheel bearing to me, but it is hard to tell what a sound is, when you cant hear the sound