96' Sentra GLE - pulling left, plus rattling noise.

[TigerBill]

My auto 96' Sentra GLE 1.6L, is pulling left and has a rattling/knocking noise. I recently replaced the passenger side axle, because the inner CV joint was going. I believe I could need an alignment, but the noise is bothering me.

The noise is present at anything above 10 mph, it goes away when you turn the wheel to the right to straighten out the the car. Other than that it varies depending on speed. It sounds like a loose rattling noise, It is not present during sharp turns in either direction. I don't think its the CV joint, because its not the clicking that I usually hear from those going.

My brother and dad both seem to think I could have a wheel bearing going, or the caliper is hanging up thus causing the pulling to the left. My brother is going to take a look at it later this week, but I was wandering what everyone else thought. I need to get this fixed so I can garage my 240 for the winter and rebuild its motor. Any help is greatly appreciated.

[audtatious]

Could be the strut mount (top bushing) is bad or the strut itself is blown.

[TigerBill]

Thought of that, but it is more of a rotational noise.

[audtatious]

Hmm. Possible wheel bearing? Try jacking up the side that seems to be making the noise and see if you can replicate it manually. To test the wheel bearing you can see how much play it has by pulling on it. If it shows play then that is one problem...

[driftingmy240sx]

if noise started right after axle replacement, double check you work. if its and aftermarktet axle i have seen the rebuild poorly and have sen the snap rings on the inner snout (where it goes into trans) be bad and cause noise. i would start by rechecking what was removed or loosed when you replaced the axle. normally wheel bearings dont ratle the growl.

[TigerBill]

No noise was there before the replacement, thought it was the passenger side hence the replacement. Was disappointed that it didn't fix the problem.