I get an intermittent sound that I hear in the front of my kombi. (sort of sounds like it's coming from the passenger side)

My friend asked me the other day why my car sounded like a locomotive. It's the best description I can think of. It makes a soft choo-choo-choo sound, but it doesn't always do it.

Also, the front passenger wheel has a black spray pattern coming from under the hubcap. Looks like oil, doesn't smell like brake fluid and I checked the brake lines to the best of my abilities and they don't seem to be leaking. I'm not sure if it's just the hub leaking a little from after I fixed the speedo cable back in and maybe gave it too much grease, or if it might be a bearing or something, and therefore related to the choo-choo-choo sound. (Yes, it's true, I don't actually know what lives behind the hubcap, I'm sort of just guessing!)

Car seems to be driving fine, but the noise, and the fact that it comes and goes has got me stumped. It's probably something embarrassingly obvious, so I thought I'd ask...

Ideas???

Some more hints maybe. Does the sound seem to be at wheel speed, as in once per wheel rev when it's happening?
Does it get louder/softer turning left or right round a corner?

If you think it's coming from the front wheels, try seeing is the wheels get hot after a drive (after 1/2hr or so)?
Also try holding the top of the tyre and rock really hard left to right to see if there's any play in the bearings?

Let us know how you go.
:thumb

Ok, got a chance to check it out a bit further tonight.

Only got to drive for about 20 mins (doing shopping and taxi-ing chores), but yes, the offending wheel was warm and the driver's side one wasn't.

The sound gets faster as I speed up, and a bit louder too. Not sure about number of sounds per wheel rev, but it definitely pulses faster the faster I drive.

Couldn't tell about cornering, because it's raining so I had to take it easy, and anyway, I do tend to slow down for corners But it certainly doesn't seem to get louder (at that speed it's very quiet)

And haven't tried wobbling the wheel yet, because (what a girly reason this is!) the wheel was all wet and dirty, and I was wearing nice clothes! I'll try it tomorrow though, when I'm all dagged out again. When you say grab it at the top and rock left and right, do you mean grab it at about 10 and 2 o'clock and see if it will rock back and forwards? Should I jack it up first?

Thanks,
Ang.

depending how strong you are, both hands at top & pull/push for al its worth, easier is to jack up so tyre is off ground & one hand at top & one at bottom, sould be very slight movement, any more& there is a problem

I should also say that a choof choof sound can be a tyre starting to come apart especially a retread, rotate tyre slowly & try & se if it is a bit out of round or any raised bits on the tread anywhere, you would usually feel this as a vibration though when on the front

Thanks for that. I'll check for dodgy wobble and dodgy tyre in the morning. Tyre's not a retread, but one of its bretheren blew out on the freeway a while back, so I wouldn't be surprised if it were faulty.

Could be a few things.

Firstly, Can you feel it? At the wheel or through the seat of your pants? Find a smooth road (yeah in Brissy ....right) and drive along at about 40km/h in third and wiggle the wheel. Noise change, come or go?

Check the tyre for a foreign body. Stone, nail, screw or any physical damage.

Jack that wheel off the ground, grab it top and bottom and try and tip it back and forward off the side of the van. Any play?

Could be your wheel bearing. Thats the sound mine made. Mine sounded like the passengers but was actually the drivers side.

Are your brakes worn/grabbing? Worn pads to the backing will make a noise but it usually gets worse with brake use. If the caliper is sticking and its dragging, that will get it hot and possibly melt the grease. Take off the hub cap and check the hub cover is ok, could have come loose and be wandering.

u2u if you want another opinion. Sat ok by me
kkk

Sounds like a few good things for you to look for.
One extra bit, pump the brakes before you jack up the wheel.
Because one wheel gets warm/hot from driving there's a good chance on caliper is sticking. This will mean it will be hard to turn the wheel by hand when it's jacked up. It could account for the noise as well.
Let us know your findings.
:thumb

I'm guessing its the wheel bearing. The 'choo-choo' sound would be the disc flopping around and rubbing on the caliper. It would be a good idea to have it checked before the bearing race collapses completely.

I'm with bearing too.

OK, the story so far...

I jacked up the kombi, and pushed and pulled with all my might. The kombi moved, but the wheel didn't, so I think the bearing is probably ok?

While it was up, I spun the wheel around, and there was the sound! (only quieter obviously) So next step is to get the bloody wheel off and check the caliper, cause it sounded like it was scraping on the disk. That makes sense, because (I forgot this at the time) a couple of times there's been a singing sound from that side that goes away when the brake is applied. Only happeded a couple of times, so I figured I must have a stone or something spinning around in there, but it could be a dodgy caliper I suppose.

Now where did I put that breaker bar?

I had what I think may be a similar sound and it was my speedo cable. This may help. If you want to check, pull the circlip off the wheel end (L/H front)and pull it out of the back of the hub and tie it back and go for a drive.:bounce

If the hub is getting hot and grease is melting and running out from the cap..
It could be a loose bearing and the brake pads have worn out....
Let Us know what it was..
Did You use disc brake grease.. HIGH melting point grease..?
Lee

Maybe its the speedo cable making the noise, and the brake pads on the LH side wheel are rubbing, which is quite common,
making the wheel hub hot and melting the grease....
on the other hand......
Brake pads rubbing plus a tyre ready to blow......

Sounds like any or all of the above. Checking out only takes afew minutes. remove speed o cable first, that's easiest. test drive.. if noise diappears there's your answer. IF not: OK ,Take of hub cap, Jack up wheel, remove the little grease cap. should be 1/3 full of WHEEL BRG grease. Not multi purpose grease. Wobble wheel, while looking at nut/lockwasher behind castellated nut. The big washer under the nut should just move a tiny fraction when pushed with a screwdriver blade from the edge and very little motion will be apparent in the radial direction from the axle to the rotatable mass of the hub itself. Keep spinning the wheel while its off the ground and have a good look around and listen carefully . TURN the stereo OFF, concentrate. You will then apply some common dog####. The problem will make itself plain and the answer will arise before you. You will have a vision and you will be damned proud of yourself!

WOOOOOO WOOOOOOO, Chugga chugga chugga chugga WOOOOOO WOOOO, TooT Toot:P