Rubbing and speaking on the front driver side tire

[Alloy]

Hey all,

First post here. I have a 99 Mercury Mountaineer with AWD. I have been hearing some speaking and rubbing on my front driver side tire/wheel. I have taken the wheel and tire off and check to see if there was anything rubbing the interior of the wheel to no luck. Does anyone have any ideas or something else i should look at.

 

[skpyle]

Hello Alloy!

Funny you mention that. The front wheels on my 1999 Explorer Limited AWD 5.0L made a rubbing noise when I turned the steering wheel. I lived with it for months. A couple of weekends ago, I had both inner fender liners out while changing spark plugs and wires. I found scrape marks where the driver's side tire had been rubbing the inner fender liner.

Looking closer, I found that the metal clamp that holds the front parking brake cable in place had rusted apart. The bow in the cable pushed the inner fender liner back edge out of position. I replaced the clip, securing the cable back in place.

No more noise from the tire.

This may or may not be what you are dealing with, but it would be worth a look.

Good Luck!

Seth K. Pyle

 

[Alloy]

Thanks Seth,

I will check that out as well.

 

[RomeovilleIL]

Was there any work done recently on the front end prior to the noise beginning?

Is the sound any worse with movement/articulation? Can you bounce the front end and get noise while parked? If yes, then likely a ball joint.

I have seen a dust cover rust apart that was rubbing on the back of a hub. Created noise only as low speeds.

Did you confirm the brake pads havent worn to the point of the tab making contact with the rotor?

Tire rubbing usually gives a bit of vibration as well and is generally more pronounced while turning one direction versus another. Does anything change as you turn?

Bad hubs can be noisy, too. Check for any grease on the rear of the hub. Is the ABS light on? Does the noise change with speed/direction or turns?