Play on front right side wheel

[bmwhorseman]

I lifted my car and grabbed the right front wheel, hands at 9 and 3 o'clock respectively and moved the wheel, there is some play there,looks like it's coming from the tie rod, but the rod it self looks in good condition, no cracks on the boot whatsoever, can it still go bad?

I feel a whine coming from that side as well and at first i thought it's the wheel bearing, would that movement allowed by the tie rod cause the wheel to whine at high speeds? Any suggestions are welcome. Thanks

[jlevie]

Yes the tie-rod could be bad even if it looks to be in good condition. And keep in mind that there is an inner and outer joint for each tie rod. And it is possible that the wear is in the rack.

The whine could be from the bearing, spin the wheel with the caliper off and see what it sounds like. But then the whine could be from the tire.

[atomic]

Sounds to me like your wheel bearing is the culprit.

[bmwhorseman]

Is the movement I described normal for the front wheels< I mean when you grab and shake the wheel at 9 and 3 o'clock, when i try to move the wheel at 12 and 6 there is no play at the wheel?

[atomic]

Well I guess there could be some play at those positions, but from the way it sounds in general from the whine noise you have that it could be a wheel bearing. Do what someone mentioned about taking off the caliper and see what/how the hub sounds like. If that doesn't narrow it down maybe replace the tierod first since it is cheaper before replacing the bearing?.?.


edit~~ are you sure the tires are not making the noise?

[bmwhorseman]

I don't think it's the tires, because the sound only comes from the front right side, the noise is noticable only when the car reaches 40mph+, when slowing down, the whine also dies down.


I am going to try and make an audio clip to post it.

[atomic]

I don't think it's the tires, because the sound only comes from the front right side, the noise is noticable only when the car reaches 40mph+, when slowing down, the whine also dies down.


I am going to try and make an audio clip to post it.

Just wondering about the tires. That being ruled out any other thing that would cause a whine type noise is probably going to be a wheel bearing (especially if it slows while the car does). I just see no way of a tierod causing that.

[kev.skyline]

deffinatly a wheel bearing.

[bmwhorseman]

Well guys have a listen, the whine starts around 12 sec. into it, I am doing about 45mph during the recording. On photobucket i think it counts backwards so the whine should start around the 35sec mark.

http://s179.photobucket.com/albums/w315/bimmer666/?action=view&current=rightwheelwhine.flv

[E30SPDFRK]

That sounds like a wheels bearing. Does the noise get louder if you turn to the left?

[jlevie]

A bad wheel bearing will result in motion for the 9/3 and 12/6 wiggles. But you can have a worn bearing and not have motion in the wheel. Pull the caliper and spin the wheel. If the bearing is bad you feel/hear it.

Too much toe in/out can cause a whine at speed. Some tires can exaggerate that affect.

[bmwhorseman]

Update:

It was the wheel bearing, i slapped a new one and all good, no more whine:). Thanks for everyone's feedback. Cheers!!