Ticking from front left wheel - Honda Prelude Forum

ark86 · 04-23-2007, 02:22 PM

Lately since the weather has been getting warmer here (finally), I have noticed that my front left wheel ticks while I am rolling. It usually happens when the car has been driven for a while and is fully warmed up and the weather is hot outside. It is not real loud as I only notice it with the windows down. It is speed dependent but not rpm dependent. If I apply the brakes, it becomes less audible, but it doesn't go away completely. It kind of sounds like a wire brush being tapped against something gently every revolution of the wheel. Any thoughts on this? A wheel bearing going bad? Or does something just need greased? Thanks for any help.

Daemione · 04-23-2007, 03:46 PM

Mostly likely culprit is a wheel bearing . . .

But I don't know how common this is - but I recently figured out a click/tap sound that was much like yours on my car. One of the CV boot bands had come loose, and every time the axle spun around it was tapping against the control arm. Worth checking out at least, you shouldn't even have to jack up the car to see, just crank the wheel to the left & peer in there.

TruNinja619 · 04-23-2007, 10:47 PM

sounds like an axle or wheel bearing problem...

red92s · 04-24-2007, 06:25 AM

If it happens primarily when turning, it's a CV joint

jsmooney · 04-24-2007, 05:56 PM

agreed ^

when it's rolling and not turning, wheel bearing

ark86 · 04-24-2007, 06:41 PM

OK, I might check it this weekend and see if I can get it to do it again because it is not always there. If it is a bad wheel bearing is that something I can do myself? I looked it up on hondaautomotiveparts.com, and I'm not sure which one I need IF it is the wheel bearing. I'm not going to buy it until I'm sure but I am just looking at how much this may cost. Is it #4 in this diagram for $52.61? :

http://www.hondaautomotiveparts.com/...y5=FRONT+BRAKE

ark86 · 08-02-2007, 02:02 PM

I just wanted to bump this thread because I have some new info. I don't hear it unless I really warm the brakes up. With normal daily driving I rarely hear it (I am pretty easy on the brakes). It is only after I warm them up a bit (slowing to a stop from 60 for example) that they begin. I was pushing it a bit yesterday and when I was braking hard I noticed that there was a thunking sound that I could feel through the pedal. It was kind of worrisome because it didn't feel right at all. After a minute or so they cooled back down and was pretty much back to normal. Would this still indicate a wheel bearing? I notice it has nothing to do with turning, but I can hardly hear it if I apply brakes.

keukawake · 08-02-2007, 02:47 PM

Couple of additiona easy checks that I have had make clicking/ticking noises:

1. Loose lugs - simply re-torque (found this one out after putting wife's summer tires back on and apparently I forgot to torque one corner - boy did I feel stupid . . . .)

2. Wheel not mounted properly - check wobble/play (jack up he corner and spin wheel/tire and check runout. I had a hubcentric ring crap not seat properly and that corner had a tick that I could hear at slow speeds. Boy I should really pay more attention changing my wheels . . . .)

3. Same goes for rotors, make sure that they are not warped/mis-alignend.

ark86 · 08-02-2007, 09:06 PM

I will check those tomorrow, because I am changing my wheels (got my subzeros

).