OT: Toyota 2005 Camry front wheel bearing (?)

Richard · Jun 4, 2015

You are driving your car and you realize that (even after a 4-wheel brake job) there is some shimmy in the steering wheel when you apply brakes. You can also sense a speed dependent but background "whoh whoh whoh" (like that sound?) as the wheel turns. Faster speed means faster 'whoh woho whoh' and slower means slower. It is clearly a speed dependent sound. The shimmy in the steering wheel is also speed dependent. Going 60 mph and start to slow down you can feel the whole front end shudder.... lay off the brake a bit....reapply them and though the shudder is still (clearly) there, its magnitude seems to be greatly reduced. Almost like some slack has been taken up.

You feel as though the sound is coming from the rear wheel bearing so you raise the back end and spin the wheels. You have to do them both because the first wheel was essentially dead silent. There is a faint rub as it hits a certain spot but they both seem to do that and it doesn't strike you as a significant sound so your gut instinct tells you it's not the rear wheels.

This is further supported by the shimmy that you get in the steering wheel. (that it's the front wheels and not the rear)

You have not yet raised any of the front wheels to take a listen to them while you rotate them freehand so you don't know if they are going to be silent or sound like grinding metal (doubtful since it's likely on the earlier stage)

Would your opinion so far that it would be the front wheel(s) making the shimmy & vibration problem?

If so, I'm mechanically inclined but never done a wheel bearing assembly on a front wheel drive car. Any special tools needed?

I've got the wrenches, impact tools, I forget what it's called... a 'fork' like tool that is used to wedge into ball joints (if I recall) and of course I have a big mean hammer to hit something when I get upset.

Any issue on tools? If I swap it out, does this require a front end alignment afterwards?

Should I get the rotors turned while doing this since I'll have it apart anyway and put new brakes on the front? Kind of a free brake job for myself.

What say you?

zzvyb6 · Jun 4, 2015

"Sounds' like you put new pads on but the pads have not married to the rotors because the old pads had wear on them that were ground by the rotor crusts.

If so, theoretically you would do a rotor grind for resurfacing. I'm not a fan of grinding brake rotors because removing metal removes heat capacity which is like downsizing brake capacity. Its not 'like; it does.

Brake burnishing is all about seating the new brake pads and heating them up to form a heat transfer surface instead of the new pads ablating away with every stop. Try making several very hard stops from 70 mph, engaging the brake antilock system to get some heat and burnish into the brake pads. You will get some serious burning like smell from the front, end. That's what you want. Make 3 or 4 stopms like this and then male some very gentle brake applys to keep the rotors from warping as they cool.

A wheel bearing makes a growling noise generally starting at 50 or so MPH regardless of brake pressure, transmission is neutral and also will have the steering wheel shake on a smooth road. No, you should not nee a front wheel alignment after a wheel bearing change.

A flatspotted tire will also cause a wheel wobble and a steering wheel shimmy. Try rotating the tires front to back one side at a time to see if that solves your problem. Adding a lot or air pressure can also be used to diagnose a tire issue As in balance (maybe you lost a weight) of a bulge from (a curb or pothole bruise). Jack it up first to feel the tire inside and out before you do any of this. If a driveshaft boot has become torn, then you might have another cause: U-joint failure).

My Vibe got a shimmy from mud and road rash laying on the inside surface of a front wheel after I parked it. Cleaned off the wheels and it went away. Car wash did not fix it. Had to scrape it away.

Richard · Jun 4, 2015

I had the brake job done. It was supposed to be turn all four locations & new pads/shoes. Of course, I can't say factually that they did it that way as the shimmy was still there afterwards. The brake job was maybe 2 years ago so this isn't something recent.

Never thought of the tire or the weight. I do have a hard time seeing a small weight create the vibration that I get but.... I'm certainly not the final expert!

The bearing noise does start to perk up around 40. You can discern it's there at slower speeds but it definatly fades a bit into the background at slower speeds. I drive a 4-lane highway into town to go to work, average 70 MPH. I've started going a different (still 4-lane) road because I don't feel as though I'm on a race track and can drive more casual and cause less noise!

I'll try to investigate your advice this weekend when I hopefully have more time to delve into it.

I still have that gut feeling that it's a bearing. Last car I had (Miata) had a bearing go out. Though it was rear, I think the effects were basically similar. (this was 15 years ago) Took that car to a shop, said my passenger rear bearing is going out, how long & how much to fix? Going back to get the car, he said I pegged it exactly.

Thanks for the thoughts! Be great if it was one of those. Gotta love this forum.

:drink:

oldpilgrim · Jun 4, 2015

Classic symptoms of a bad CV joint. Check that before you do anything. If rubber boot is torn, you can count on it being bad or about to be bad.

Richard · Jun 5, 2015

I once thought of the CV joint but the car never gives (what I thought to be 'traditional') 'click click click' as you accelerate a bit with the wheels fully turned.

Regardless....when I duck in there, I'll check them out!

DJ54 · Jun 5, 2015

Almost sounds like the piston is hanging up in the caliper. Had that problem on my '92 For F-250 work/company truck. Say your coming up on a red light, and you just lightly touch the brakes to slow down. The light turns green, so you let off the brake, and accelerate. About 1-1/2 miles down the road, the front end would get a shimmy.

Come to find out, the caliper wasn't fully releasing, and got things heated up pretty quick. I found that if I pulled to the shoulder along the highway, and applied the brakes very hard after stopping, the caliper would fully release.

Finally got it in the shop, and the mechanic replaced the calipers, and problem was solved.

kencunningham · Jun 5, 2015

To check a wheel bearing you should grab the tire at the 12 and 6 oclock position and try to make the tire tilt. Pust at the top and pull and the bottom at the same time and then reverse the direction of force. If you see any movement then you most likely have a bearing problem.

oldpilgrim · Jun 5, 2015

Richard said:
I once thought of the CV joint but the car never gives (what I thought to be 'traditional') 'click click click' as you accelerate a bit with the wheels fully turned.

Regardless....when I duck in there, I'll check them out!

CV joints fail about a zillion times more often than wheel bearings. The noise depends on how badly the joint is busted or seized.