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Squealing Wheels-Not Brakes

18 years ago

1997 dodge Intrepid, 95,000 miles.

Wheels (I'm pretty sure) are squealing, the squeals are not timed with braking, but rather just while driving.

Thoughts?

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Comments (6)

john999
18 years ago
Hub-caps ? Sometimes he sidewalll rubs on them and makes them squeal.
earthworm
18 years ago
Posted by stats99 (My Page) on Mon, Jul 25, 05 at 21:01

1997 dodge Intrepid, 95,000 miles.
Wheels (I'm pretty sure) are squealing, the squeals are not timed with braking, but rather just while driving.
Thoughts
Nigh impossible for the wheels to "squeal"..But it could be a bad wheel cover - these, being a little loose, would cause rattles...
Test for the brakes being on due to a bad caliper or master cylinder.

Probably a slightly bent backing plate is causing this...Its clearance must be more than just 1 to 2 mm !!
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It's possible that one side is a little dirtier than the other, or that pad is breaking in a little differently. I wouldn't worry too much about though if it's just a squeak and only for the first few applications. One really nice thing about the fact that so many cars now have alloy wheels rather than hubcaps as they used to have is that you can keep a lot better eye on your brakes without much effort. Most of the alloy wheels have big spaces in them that you can see through, and you can look at your rotors periodically and make sure they look approximately the same from side to side, and aren't scored too badly. One other good way to test your brakes is to apply them moderately on a smooth, level road and make sure the car doesn't pull one way or the other. If the car stops straight and smooth, with no pulling to one side or the other, I think your brakes are probably fine.
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GMC_ASE_TECH
18 years ago
Posted by: earthworm (My Page) on Tue, Jul 26, 05 at 12:45

Posted by stats99 (My Page) on Mon, Jul 25, 05 at 21:01
1997 dodge Intrepid, 95,000 miles.
Wheels (I'm pretty sure) are squealing, the squeals are not timed with braking, but rather just while driving.
Thoughts
Nigh impossible for the wheels to "squeal"..But it could be a bad wheel cover - these, being a little loose, would cause rattles...
Test for the brakes being on due to a bad caliper or master cylinder.

Probably a slightly bent backing plate is causing this...Its clearance must be more than just 1 to 2 mm !!

====================================================================================================================================================================================
Another Great WORM quote. While he's at it, maybe Stats should check the MUFFLER BEARING, or FIREWALL GASKET !

Here's a stab in the dark Earthworm, Wheel Bearing. Check those and also check and see if the wear guage on the back of the Brake pad is touching the Rotor. Both of those would make the noise you described. Good luck and post back with the results.
User
Original Author
18 years ago
Thanks.

The noise stops when I apply the brakes. also seems to stop when i make a right turn and increase if I turn wheel to the left!
brianl703
18 years ago
Worn wheel bearings usually rumble instead of squeaking. (I've never heard of a wheel bearing squeaking, and I think the reason why is that the bearings and the hub are simply too heavy to vibrate fast enough to produce a high-pitched noise).

Yes, a bent backing plate/dust shield CAN cause this..and it WILL stop when the brakes are applied..and if turning in the right direction..had this exact problem with a 1993 Ford Escort.
Pilm
12 years ago
This is exactly what happened to me recently, heard a very noticable scratchy kind of squeal from my front right wheel. Thought it might be the brake indicator, but I only changed front brakes 2 years ago, so it didn't seem like it could be a brake problem. So I jacked up the front wheel and rotated it and heard the noise, then looked behind the wheel and saw the dust shield was touching the rotor on one side. So I took a screwdriver and just bent it a few mils back so that it cleared, and the noise is gone. Not really sure what caused it to suddenly start touching, I don't recall driving into a sidewalk or anything, but anyway, that seems to have solved the problem!

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