Okay guys, I need your help.

My right front wheel has started making a klunking sound every so often when I drive...actually all the time...especially while i'm going uneven pavement and/or making left turns...it never happens during a right turn. At first I thought it was my suspension--but i've narrowed it down to the wheel hub area making a klunk klunk sound.

Upon removal of the wheel, i found that I could physically move the rotor in and out, with only the caliper of the brake stopping me from pulling the entire rotor off. There are 4 lug studs, and in between them are 2 in total small holes with a screw thread...BUT--no screws in them. I found this odd, and was sure this was the problem.

Now, I go to check the opposite side (driver) to make sure it has screws in those two small holes because I'm having zero problems with that side--and lo and behold, it's missing the two small screws as well?!!!!

Question 1--do you have two small screws in those two small holes that already havea thread to screw into them?

Question 2--what do you think is the problem...I can't stand it and it's hard to get the courage to drive knowing that your wheel may fall off at any given time.

THANK YOU...my car is on jackstands right now, and I have to get to school tomorrow in the AM...so your timely help is kindly appreciated...thanks.

 

It's normal, at least for the toyota's. I had the same threaded thing on my former Camry. Not sure why it's there. Maybe in the future we will have those single lugnuts like on the Racing teams and only worry about talking out one nut. The rear one don't have em though. Not really sure why. But that should not be the cause of the problem you are having.

Are you talking about the two holes by the 4-lug holes? TOo dark outside for me to check.

 

First off find out weather the rotor is a two piece or one piece. Some rotors screw to the hub and can be changed witout buying a new hub, while others are a one piece. should be obvious does the rotor surface move while the hub dose not. If the rotor is one pice or screwed togather you need to check your wheel bearing. could be the wheel was put on too loose or too tight and the bearing wore prematurly. to check the wheel bearing simply remove the dust cap covering the wheel bearing and nut. When you pull on the rotor you should see very little lateral play (i.e. slop) Either way you should have the car towed to the deeler and have it looked at if the rotor is the problume you wheel should not come off! However if the wheel bearing is the problume I would deffinitly not drive it! Either way I recomend towing it. Oh I would love to know what the out come and diagnosis is! Good luck!

 

did you check the CV joint? they usually click and clunk when the joint goes, check the boot (behind the hub assmbly) if is torn then it needs to be replaced, good luck

 

Well guys it looks like the problem still isn't solved on my side, but thanks for all these suggestions. Here is an update on what I tried tonight.

I switched the wheels from L/R...and I used all regular lug nuts (no locks) to see if there was too much space between the area of the end of the lock and the dust cover that sits on top of the rotor.

I think you call that the dust cover...the raised circular pad on top of the rotor, which the wheel studs poke through--also the piece that has the two small holes in between the 4 lugs... I called a buddy and he said he did not have screws in those two holes, and someone else told me that it was normal on the Scions to have that "being able to pull the rotor almost all the way off except for the caliper keeping it on" thing. Wierd.

After all was tried, it still clunks...only on left turns while there is small uneven pavement, and like up and down driveways...the way we isolated the problem was that we rolled the car back and forth and back and forth on the same incline driveway...and sure enough the sound was a CLUNK CLUNK heard from the direct center of the wheel hub/rotor area.

I originally thought it was the suspension--but the funny thing is, there is absolutely no clunking sound if i go over a bumpy railroad crossing or purposely run my right wheel over those raised street reflectors...this has been tested time and time again tonight...same result.

There is some play when i grab the dust cover and rotate it left and right--the only thing stopping it from continuing is the lug studs..and then when it hits the stud, the clunk sound happens...this incidently is 90% what the clunk heard while driving sounds like. When i grab the dust cover and rotate it left/right, it moves seperately from the rotor until the dust cover makes contact with a wheel stud--at which that point the clunk happens and then i begin to not only move the dust cover, but the rotor itself starts moving as i move the dust cover part.

Could a part like the CV joint be bad already? The car is about a year old...then again, i don't know how long the avg. CV should last.

As far as the wheel bearings--I don't know the status on how those are, but the wheels were never put on too loose--however they could have been put on too tight..as I usually make sure to tighten the lugs up pretty good...I may have done it quite a few times that it wore the bearings out...hopefully I'll find out tomorrow.

I'm taking her to the mechanic tomorrow to see what he thinks...thanks for everything guys, keep the suggestions coming.

 

Ok if you turn the rotor to the right and left you will have a noticable amount of play it's natural in the bearings. What you are looking for is in and out play pulling and pushing or top to bottom. grasp the rotor at the top and bottom pull tward yourself withyour top hand and push away with your bottom there should be very little if any noticable play. If you Grasp top and bottom again and pull and push both toward and away from you at the same time there should be little or no movement in the hub. This may be more easily noticed with the tire on. CV Joint when going bad usualy tends to sound like marbles rolling around in the front wheel. Also tightening lug nuts has nothing to due with the bearing it is a seperate component. The nut on the inside of the dust cover ( The raised circuler pod on top of the rotor) if it was too loose when installed you still would not notice it by checking by hand but as it started to wear out you would! same result with overtightening! Now depnding on the rotor it is posible you warped it, dose the brake pulse when you apply the brake? Did you use an air impact gun when you installed the wheels???

 

hmmmm a warped rotor is a possiblity, but the clunk
only happens when he turns a certain direction, not both directions.

 

if you are not mechanically inclined, take it to your dealer(especially if still under warranty) or take it to a mechanic you trust. Don't trust hoping you know what the problem is and you don't. It's not worth totalling your car just for the sake of a few repair dollars.

 

OK here's my experience,and a few things to check for ya.
It is normal for the rotor to be loose with no wheel tight on the lugs.Those screw holes dont need to have screws in them,and usually dont.
Not sure what wheels you have but if they are aftermarket,see if they require you to have that hubscentric spacer that centers the wheels on the hub.
I dont think your CV joints are worn out yet.Unless you have been really hard on them.Lowering a car can be hard on them.But only if it is really really low.
Check the pads to made sure they are seated within the calipers correctly.They may be rattleing when you hit bumps.
Push on the fender on the side that is making the noise,get the car rocking up and down.What I am wanting you to check here is the nut at the top of the strut tower.If you changed springs,you may not have tightened up this nut well enough.
Speaking of changing springs,if you have lowering springs,raise up the side that is making the noise by the body,leaving the wheel to hang.Look at where the spring is seated on the bottom of the strut,is it rubbing there?You will be able to tell because the coating on the spring will be worn.
As far as a wheel bearing goes,do you hear a loud buzzing noise while going down the road that seems to go away or get worse when you get in the left or right lane down a two lane road?
Some final thoughts:
I dont think it is a wheel bearing.
Nor the CV joints.
I think it may be something to do with your wheels,if aftermarket,such as the centering ring as mentioned.
Or the spring,if aftermarket,is hitting on the lower perch where the spring sits on the bottom of the strut.
The suspension on these things are not complicated at all.

It very well could be some of the things I dont think it is.
Thats just my opinion from my experience.
Which is allot I might add.

 

Alright Enquiring minds want to know! Did you find out what the problume was??
I for one would like to know wht the diagnosis and repair was!

 

My experience with wheel bearings tells me that's it, but not necessarily the clunk, moreso a steady humming.

 

I posted some information I found out about the rotors on my thred mmechanical questions you might want to check it out!

 

Thanks for all the help guys...problem solved.

You guys were right...not the CV, not the wheel bearings...the mechanic knew right off that it wasn't those two, as the sound occurs only over even the smallest bumps, and it doesn't require me to have the car going at a certain speed or turning the wheel from axis to axis.

It turns out that the coilover on that side was set a tad lower than it should have been, so the spring had enough play to move around the shock with the wheel off you could actually rotate the spring around the shock. We raised it up a few notches so that it would compress the spring more, and when we were at the point where we could no longer rotate the spring--we tested it out on the road...and lo and behold, no more clunking sound.

Strange thing is that the driver side is now a little lower than the other side, yet i've yet to have a single problem...who knows, probably the springs are a few 100ths of an inch different...

Thanks for everything fellas...it's good to know there are others out there so willing to lend a helping hand.!

 

Glad you got her fixed!
Man that thing must ride rough if the coilover is all the way down.
Its not even using the spring!You must bottom out alot.
How low is that thing?!!

 

Oh boy--it's baaaaaaaaaaack...although lighter and more subdued than originally--i can still here it off and on, faintly, sorta like a weaker image of it's former self.

Tomorrow i'm going to raise both driver and pass side a tad more, and if that doesn't fix it, i'm taking apart the entire coilover on the front pass side and rechecking every nut and bolt.

Sigh...

 

Which coil-overs do you have?

 

jdm ones of course! hence the username!

 

I was going to say, use a tape measure to set coilover height if the coilovers are an add-on sleeve type. If its integral, meaning a coilover setup designed from day one to be a coilover then set ride height by counting threads or turns on the adjustment nut. If one side is higher than the other you should be looking at the back opposite corner to adjust that height, as well as the corner that is different than the others. Some settling will occur on all springs for some time. You'll most likely need to readjust them a few times over the first year before all the sag is finished. The final product though is quite amazing. I'm envious.

Mike

 

Thanks for the suggestion--i made sure to count the exact number of threads (8) from the absolute bottom of the coilover and tighten them up...yet, i still have a minor clunk every time i go up/down certain driveways or if i go over uneven pavement in say a parking lot or something to that effect.

The left turn thing is not evident any longer--so the case has gotten a bit better, but i'd like to totally terminate it if possible.

My feelings that it was the spring being too loose was partly to blame, because the sound did get harder to replicate--but there is something else loose in there. When i get a chance i'm going to attempt a full reinstallation on the front pass side and see what's going on.