Help on a noise

[Das Delfin]

I'm having a low moaning noise coming from the front right wheel. The sound is there when going straight, gets a bit worse when turning right, but goes away when turning left. I can feel it through the steering wheel.

I thought it was a wheel bearing but if that were the case the noise should come from the passenger side when turning left. However, my noise comes when turning right and going straight.

I put the car in the air and checked the wheels for up/down wheel play and got none on both sides. Both also have marks indicating wheel bearings have been replaced at some point (the car has 200k). Also my brake pads look good.

One of my tie rod boots looked weird so I took it off and a ton of thin black fluid came out. I know my steering rack is on its way out but could it be the cause of the noise?

I've replaced front struts, upper bearings, tie rods, and brake pads/rotors within the past two years.

Any ideas? I'd rather not just throw money at the problem but if I have to a rack would be an okay place to start seeing as how I need one anyway.

[doorman]

I've got a tire/wheel that's probably got a bad belt.
I moved it from the right rear to right front and the noise followed. Sounds like a bad wheel bearing sound. All 4 of mine are new so I know it's not that. It does change a bit when turning.

[ahlem]

Did you spin the wheel when you had it in the air? Any grinding or odd rotating with zero weight would be magnified once you had weight on it. How are your strut top mounts?

[Das Delfin]

I spun the wheel but the noise I hear in the car when driving doesn't start until around 30 mph. I got new strut bearings last April. It's weird!

[Kershaw]

Spin the wheel while holding onto the spring. See if you can feel it that way.

[e30_325es]

left front wheel bearing is bad. It gets louder when you put load on it (turning right loads the left front). If it was the right front it would get louder when you turned left.

[estoguy]

Agree with last post, sounds like a bearing. Fortunately, it's not a terribly difficult job. The worst part is if the inner race gets stuck, but even then, it's not the end of the world. Some good DIY pages online.

If it's not super loud/annoying yet, you could still drive it for a bit.

That's not bad for service getting 200K miles out them... my original bearings went 159K miles and 184K.

[Das Delfin]

They were replaced before so I figure they were probably done around 100k and possibly with non-genuine replacements so might as well tack it on to the list of things to restore

[jeffnhiscars]

Grinding noises that change in turns are almost always a bearing and your point that they may not be OE would certainly increase that likelihood. You know noises can be hard to pinpoint and of course do them in pairs. Fronts are hub and bearing together and I actually got mine from the dealer for about what I can get them online and they include a warranty on parts AND labor even if you DyI the initial install.

Any contamination in a boot means it's doa and if you are doing the rack I probably don't need to tell you to get an e36 rack from Rich the RackDr who will include tie rods (perhaps just the inners ...don't recall).

Last bit of drivel from me...if you do the rack get the knuckle kit from e30tech. It's a much easier fit than the others.

I'm done :)

[Das Delfin]

Thanks Jeff! A lot of what I'm doing to my car I'm learning from your red cabrio thread. Hope to have the A/C working in a few weeks!

[Das Delfin]

Update:

I used the "spin the rotor while holding the spring and feel for vibrations" test and it confirmed the drivers side bearing was toast. So I swapped out both bearings with brand new FAG units. Also new backing plates and dust caps and nuts etc.

Everything is smooth now. I was feeling a slight steering wheel shake that got worse when I turned right, along with the noise, and that's totally gone now. However the noise is still there! Could it be my rear drivers side bearing?

Also

My gf reports she hears the sound coming from the drivers side of the car (while sitting in the passenger seat). I hear the sound coming from the passenger side of the car. So I'm not exactly sure where the sound is coming from. The only thing I know is it goes away when turning left