ok, my 84 cgt has been sitting for about 6 years, for the most part in one spot. i replaced both drive axles and all cv joints right before i parked it. so the shcfts and cv's have maybe 20 miles on them, if that. th wheel bearings were replaced a few years befor that. so they maybe have a thousand miles on them. the suspension and brake system is all new.

when i drive the car, there is a rubbing sound coming from the front left side. the sound gets worse if you turn, but does not click or anything. it's just a constant rubbing. the noise increases with speed.i can't really tell if it's pulling to the side. if it does, it's very little.

so my thoughts are that perhaps the cv joint grease went to the bottom and left the rest dry? sitting so long i would guess gravity would cause the grease to run to the bottom. could this be the case? or should i purchase a new set of bearings for the front again?

Thats a possibility with the grease settling but a simpler check first may be to see if anything in the breaking system is rubbing. I had a rotor once rubbing against the dust sheild behind it. Sitting for that long it could even be rusty rotors rubbing on the pads or something like that, or an ebrake cable hanging up? Also sounds can sometimes be deceiving and I know the center driveshaft bearings always make noise after sitting for a while.

Hope this helps,
Brandon

so i don't think that brakes are the issue. it's got to be something else.

What does the rubbing sound like? I wouldn't think it is the CV grease. That is more of a clicking, and it would get re-distributed once driven on.

The dust shield sounds like a real possibility.

Are these the same wheels that were on before? I've swapped wheels before and had strange rubbing that wasn't immediately obvious.

It could also be rusty brakes....partially seized caliper, rusty rotors or drums.

Have you pulled to wheels to look around since you heard the sound?


In my experience, wheel bearings don't just suddenly go completely. They gradually get noisy at high speeds, but can be diagnosed by turning the steering wheel and listening to see if the noise temporarily goes away. I suppose the rears might be more likely to seize (or rust, or both) and that could make a pretty ugly noise.

i haven't driven it more than a few blocks to take them to school so i guess i don't know if the sound wold go away after a while. the wheels are the same and i removed the dust sheilds when i did the brakes.

everything on the brakes is new so there is no rust, no binding, and nothing is stuck. when i put it in the air, the wheels turn fine and i can't hear the sound (maybe it's just to loud around me when i try to listen to it.

i have never had bearings go bad, i just replace them as a maintainance type thing. if it is the bearings, what would they do when you turn. this sound is defenitly louder when you turn.

again, it's not a clicking noise like the cv's actually went out. it just sounds like something going around without lubrication.

it even roles just fine, so there is nothing that is actually binding or frozen on the brake or wheel. it rolls just fine with no extra effort.

Time has that effect on everything. My special build that I just parted with sat in a garage for just a year and the rotors started to rust which made that rubbing/grinding sound. It might go away in time, or you might just need to get new rotors or have your current ones planed down. Just my suggestion for ya. Good luck though man!

What if you jack it up so the front wheels are off teh ground, and run it in gear, 'standing still'?

You may get the noise that way, and be able to tell where it is coming from.

If not, at least it may tell you what it isn't.

Also check the "loose nut behind the steering wheel...." JK