I'm having this constant rumbling noise coming from my front end. No squeeling. It starts about 15mph, and doesn't go away at any point after that. It almost sounds like I'm driving on really knobby tires, but tires are decent. Wheel bearings?

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1989 300E 144K

brian will say no. i suggest jacking up the wheel and spinning the tire while looking at it intently. look for any irregularities. also try to wiggle wheel. if bearings are loose you will be able to wiggle it a bit. also if it is the bearings you may be able to feel the rumble when spinning by hand.

if bearing s are loose you often can repack and tighten and go ahead wo buying new bearings.

good luck

tom w

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

I tries spinning, seems like something internal may be rubbing slightly at the same spot in revolution. Any suggestions.

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1989 300E 144K

Sounds like wheel bearings to me.

Another thought..I wonder if a warped rotor would do the same thing???

Cheers,

Bill

Is there anyway to tell about the rotor other than just eyeing it?

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1989 300E 144K

My wheels stick in the same spot when I spin them...I always thought it was the caliper or something, because the car is in park.

But we all know that I am a moron with cars.

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1982 240D.
My name is Michael, and I am an 18 year old binge-drinkin', cigar-smokin', novel-writin', all around unsavory and unnattractive guy. I tell long-winded stories, and I only shave once a week, although I've had to do it every day since I was 16.

The rotor will not cause this problem. It will only be felt when brakes are applied.

A roar as you describe is almost certainly wheel bearings or a roaring tire. It is more likely a roaring tire, but from what you say about spinning the wheel and feeling something it would not hurt to clean, repack and adjust your wheel bearings. Inspect them for smoothness and visually after washing them.

It is common that a roaring tire cannot be detected with visual inspection. You might try rotating front to rear and see if the noise follows the tires.

Good luck,

Thanks, Larry. I will try that after work today. I heard your the man in these parts.

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1989 300E 144K

what causes a roaring tire?

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1982 240D.
My name is Michael, and I am an 18 year old binge-drinkin', cigar-smokin', novel-writin', all around unsavory and unnattractive guy. I tell long-winded stories, and I only shave once a week, although I've had to do it every day since I was 16.

OK my 300SD is doing the very same thing and I suspect bearings as well.
So Larry, you are saying to clean and repack rather than buy new as a trail fix, or have you found that this ususally cures?
Mine have 155K on them if that helps.
Also is this a pretty straight forward DIYer project. I have average skills but have never done my own brake or bearing work. I have watched plenty of times and have read the procedure but have always shyed away from it. Now I am in the position where I really don't have the $$ to spend on labor so I need to see if I can do this myself.
If the bearing is bad what do I order? (approximate cost?)

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Ron
2015 Porsche Cayman - Elizabeth
2011 Porsche Cayman - Bond,James Bond
Sadly MERCEDESLESS - ALways LOOKING !
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Hey meltedpanda, I repacked the wheel bearings on mine about a month ago. And it's not hard at all. If you're just repacking. All you really need is a new seal, which you can get off fastlane. My repacking didn't seem to improve anything, so I think I will get new ones. Check out the DIY tab above; it walks you through it.

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1989 300E 144K

Looked but saw nothing specific, did I miss it, perhaps I am overlooking it.
My main concern is removal of the brake caliper and not screwing up the caliper or pads

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Ron
2015 Porsche Cayman - Elizabeth
2011 Porsche Cayman - Bond,James Bond
Sadly MERCEDESLESS - ALways LOOKING !
99 E320 THE Queen Mary - SOLD
62 220b - Dolly - Finally my Finny! Sadly SOLD
72 450SL, Pearl-SOLD
16 F350 6.7 Diesel -THOR
19 BMW X5 - Heaven on Wheels
14 38HP John Deere 3038E Tractor -Mean Green
84 300SD, Benjamin -SOLD
71 220 - W115-Libby ( my first love) -SOLD
73 280 - W114 "Organspende" Rest in Peace
81 380 SL - Rest in Peace

I know on mine, the caliper came off with two bolts. Very straightforward. I thought that section contained the info, but I guess not. I know of a few DIY pages, I'll check them out and post a link. OK, here:
http://207.210.95.34/~boostd/
Check towards the bottom.

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1989 300E 144K

The wheel bearings are about as close to bullet proof as wheel bearings can be. My 240D has 523,000 miles with the original wheel bearings. I've only packed them twice in that time. Just inspect them to see that they are smooth with no rough marks. These ripples are called brinell(sp?)

A roaring tire is very common on front wheel drive cars on which the tires do not get rotated. They can occur on RWD cars as well. I've heard them roar so bad it sounds like you're running along next to an 18 wheeler. I started seeing this being more and more common about 15 or 20 years ago. I don't know what caused this to start being more common. I'm wondering if the prominence of all season tread design has had something to do with it.

Good luck,

Dad blames radial tires for that. If he could get them, I think he would still be running bias ply. I don't know if his point has any validity or not, personally I attribute it to "old-man" syndrome.

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Keep everything as simple as possible-but no simpler--Albert Einstein