Wheel thump worries - '96 SW2 wagon?

Wheel bearing, or possibly a CV (constant-velocity) joint. But most likely a wheel bearing IMO. You should have this looked at ASAP -- like, tomorrow. Bad wheel bearings have this nasty tendency to seize.

NO. Get it checked out right away. If it's a wheel bearing going bad, you're running a strong risk of a serious accident if it seizes at highway speed.

First thing I would do is move the front tires to the rear and rear to the front and see if noise changes. Eliminate the obvious first.

James

Thanks James - if the wheel bearing thing doesn't pan out (sounds more pressing), I'll do that next. I'm not as mobile as I used to be, so it is literally easier to pay the $50 for a diagnosis. =)

Sounds like you and my suspicions are on the same page. My old van that developed super noisy CVs only made any noise during turns. One brake guy I had listen to this one indicated that wheel bearings would usually be a steady 'roar', which didn't sound necessarily so to me, but I'm an idiot. He put it on his lift and spun the wheels by hand, but it was too noisy in there to hear anything. Does the fact that it only happens in a short train of pulses once each wheel rotation make any difference, I wonder?

I got the idea today that my alignment is also probably shot, maybe that's why it's in short bursts.

I'm going to do exactly that, thanks much!

i had a similar problem i thaught it was a worped rotor .. that can be caused by fast deceleration or breaking hard alot .. but it was a bubble in a tire .. u can feel each tire outsides and tread all around or look to see any deformed spots good luck

Try this: In a quiet place with the car parked, bounce the bumpers a little with your "posterior" and see if you hear the same sound. I had "The Bongos" a while back and I think I know exactly what you are talking about. The problem turned out to be a "squeaky" rubber bushing in the rear anti-sway bar assembly. Before trying anything expensive - try this and see!

ON THE OTHER HAND. I also did have a wheel bearing go bad. At some point I clobbered a curb during a poorly observed turn and within a couple of weeks the front wheel started making a bit of noise. Over time it got worse and even developed a high speed wobble. It was tough trying to figure out which side it was on. As it turned out - my clobbering managed not to break the bearing but that's probably when it lost its integral grease seal. I finally broke down and paid a mechanic $50 to press out the old and press-in the new bearings - he showed me the old one and it was dusty and dead. I think I paid $45 for the bearing assembly at Auto Zone.

However, this sound was a lot more like a "roaring" or mechanical white noise. The most indicative symptom was a difference in noise and sound level depending on the direction of turns. On a long S-curve road at 45mph this was particularly noticeable. (It was worse as the car's weight leaned it to the left while the turn was to the right - the bad bearing was the front left. Also, a very difficult replacement for this amatuer.)

-WaV

c-bee1 wrote:

Man, it's great this group is here. I lucked out, everyone, this problem was a _tire_. I would have sworn no tire could make a noise like that - and particularly, get somewhat worse over a 2 week period. The mechanic switched the back and front tires to rule it out before attacking anything else, and viola - the front sound is crisp and clean with no caffeine.

Tiny thumps and wobbles from the back, though. =) Mechanic said that may smooth itself out over time, but I might decide to get a new tire if it takes a while. All the same, I checked my jack and donut again, just in case.

Thanks again, everyone, for all the help!