Grinding/Flapping on Front Passenger Tire...

[GB4Runne4]

Hey guys...hoping to get some insight on what might be the cause of an annoying sound I've been hearing recently:

My runner is fairly new to me, and after buying I started to hear an occasional grinding/flapping sound from the front passenger tire area when traveling at a low speed and not touching the accelerator. After a few minutes of driving, however, the sound seemed to go away.

I just went up in tire size (from 265/70 to 75), and it seems as though the problem has become more persistent since the change. As I said, it used to stop after a short amount of time - now it doesn't. I haven't had any trouble problems with drive-ability, just the sound.

Any ideas what the problem might be? As I said, it's only at low speeds when cruising. Also, it's not really a grinding sound like low brake pads, and not a flapping sound like a spotted tire. Something in between those two.

Thanks for the help.

 

[kball]

Does the sound change if you touch the brakes or turn? Is your truck 4WD? How do your CV boots look?

 

[brian2sun]

Jack it up and spin em by hand.

 

[GB4Runne4]

Yeah I don't have a jack so I wanted to investigate prior to taking it to my mechanic.

I haven't heard the sound when turning, and it goes away when touching the brakes. It's 4wd. As I said, only when cruising at a low speed.

Haven't checked the boots, will do so today I guess.

 

[kball]

it goes away when touching the brakes./QUOTE]

I'd bet it's brake related then. Maybe a caliper dragging a little. Do your brakes generally vibrate when stopping hard at speed? If your rotors have build up/warpage and a caliper is not backing off enough it could drag and make the noises you are hearing.

 

[GB4Runne4]

That's what I was thinking - this is a NW truck and there's some degree of rust buildup in the general brake area. I'm wondering if there's rust deposit that's pushing the caliper in a strange way.

 

[97-4xFunner]

One thing that you didn't describe was if the sound was metallic in nature. I would describe the problem sound my runner makes exactly as you did. The cause of the noise on my runner is the floppy lining in the wheel well. One or two of the fasteners that holds it in place has broke off allowing it to flap in the breeze. I can hear it flap and grind when it touches the tire. Good luck what ever the case may be.

 

[gofaster]

My tires were rubbing the inner liners of the fenders. I just cut them to clear.

 

[GB4Runne4]

Results are in...

I checked everything out as best I could without a jack on hand, and since I had some time free I took it to the mechanic I've used frequently.

After lifting it up and investigating we found that the brake backing plate was rotted on the bottom and that was causing the noise. In his opinion the portion could be cut off without risking the integrity of the plate itself (basically - we could cut off the rotted lower plate portion and the brakes wouldn't fall into pieces), so we did that.

Drove it around and brakes feel fine and the noise is gone.

With my luck, however, I'll start a new thread in a few days telling everyone that my brake assembly fell apart mid-drive. Until then I'll enjoy the quiet ride.

Thanks for your help everyone!