Wheel Humming

[FL Q45]

Hello forum! I have a 1994 Infiniti Q45 and recently I heard a humming coming from the front end of the car. If and when I am traveling above 20 M.P.H. and I turn the steering wheel to the left the humming starts (and gets louder when I turn the wheel more), but when I turn the car to the right it stops. I replaced the rack and pinion twice and I replaced all four tires with Michelin Pilot Sport A.S. 245/40/18's. Could it be in any way possible that the tie rod end can cause this humming? Can anyone inform me as to what can cause this problem???? Any help is appreciated .......

Thanks in advance

[metaverse3]

Wheel bearings, maybe ?

[FL Q45]

Thanks for the reply, but I replaced the left side wheel bearing already.Any other suggestions???

[Q451990]

What type of rotors are you running? It's possible that warped or cross drilled are creating a noise?

Heath

[FL Q45]

I am running cross drilled but those are new.

[Jesda]

Wheel bearings are the only thing that come to mind for me.

[Jeff Williams]

Check the brake rotor dust shield, to see if it is loose, or too close to the caliper or rotor. Check all the plastic panels, to see if there is any loose or rubbing. I am runing the same tire size, and have had no clearance issues, but I do not know your wheel offset, or mine, for that matter. Is the humming audible from outside the car? have someone stand outside the car, while you are turning in a parking lot.

How new are the struts and upper links? You can pop the tie rod off, to see if there is excessive play.

[FL Q45]

The humming is only audible from inside of the car. You only hear the humming when you travel above 25 M.P.H. and the moment you start to turn to the left it starts to hum and gets louder when you turn harder.

[rsiwicki]

I assume you are in Florida based on the screen name, so where are you located at?

Also on a side note, why was the steering rack replaced twice?

could it be your splash gaurds are not bolted up tightly and the air moving under the car is causing them to vibrate causing the humming? I had my drivers side splash gaurd torn in halh in the very front from old age and it use to create a whistling/humming sound if I was behind a semi truck on the freeway from the different flow of the air currents. I replaced it a year ago and no more noises.

btw.....would love to see what kind of 18" wheels you are running with.
Modified by rsiwicki at 3:08 PM 4/25/2005

[FL Q45]

I am based in Florida, Orlando that is. I replaced the rack because it was to that point that it needed to be replaced. The humming noise just started one afternoon. The first thing I did was replaced the left side wheel bearing, that did not help. Next step was replacing the new rack to see if that was the problem, unfortunatly it did not help because the humming is still there. Is there anything else I should check???? I am thinking it could be the tie rod ends. I will post some pics of my Q very soon. The rims are Giovanna Mae.

[rsiwicki]

can't go wrong with Gio's and have thought about the Capri's for my car many times. I always love to see another Q with big wheels besides 15".

Here is my ride...



We have a NICO member with a 91 Q45 located in Orlando that is very handy with the tools that might be able to help. Look up "heavyduty" on NICO, he might be able to help from somebody already very knowledgeable about the Q and can help ya with any speed mods you need as well. If you are ever down in Miami look me up. I just met a sexy Brazilian that was vacationing down in SoBe for the weekend from Orlando who now has given me another reason to get up there. If I go maybe we can meet up for an hour or two one weekend.

Steering racks are not cheap if you are replacing with OEM type quality level of a part.

[FL Q45]

I will look up "heavyduty" and see what he can do. I am always in Miami just about once a month or so. Your Q is looking nice, what all did you do to it? Any mods or customization done to it besides the rims????? I like to see another Q hooked up.....it shows that the Q is here to stay.

[rsiwicki]

thanks and see the notes in my sig below.....my car is only slightly modded

btw....shoot me an email at "carpedm69" of the hotmail variety and I will send ya my phone number to maybe meet up one day.
Modified by rsiwicki at 3:11 PM 4/26/2005

[rsiwicki]

http://q45.spilky.com/rob/

click the above link for a video or two of my car and the last video is from a couple of weeks ago at Moroso 1/4 track where we had 3 Q's there running from S. Florida....

[FL Q45]

Nice videos, expecially the ones on the track......I am looking for an ECU and TCU. Know of any places that sells them for a reasonable price????

[5zigen]

Hey I have the similar problem too, my friend said my power steering fluid needs to be replaced (and it does.) Could it be that?

[FL Q45]

I drained out all the fuel and replaced it and that did not help. But will try again just to make sure.

[1FLQ45]

I drained out the power steering fluid and replaced with new one. Every day I drive the car the humming seems to become a vibration. Like I stated before, if and when I am traveling above 20 M.P.H. and I turn the steering wheel to the left while driving, the vibrations starts (and gets louder when I turn the wheel more). When the vehicle is in motion and I turn the steering wheel to the right it stops. It's not the tires or rims because I recently upgraded the rims and tires with 245/35/20's, and it's still there. Any other suggestions????????

Thanks in advanceRickey

[Q45tech]

"running cross drilled but those are new"

When installed were they indexed [shimmed] to meet oem runout spec [<0.0028"]...............almost never done by anyone! Takes 30 minutes [or more] per rotor and special products.

http://www.brakealign.com/pages/products.htm

"Many manufacturers allow the rotor and hub to wobble up to .003 inch because of machining tolerances. More than that and the rotor wobbles too much - it acts like it is warped. Some cars are especially sensitive to rotor run-out. If it is more than .001 inch, then brake pulsations can occur.

The answer is to correct the run-out to less than .001 inch. One way to do this is to machine the rotors in place on the car instead of using off-car brake lathes as most shops do. This will correct for run-out in both the rotor and the hub. The trouble with this is on-car brake lathe machines tend to be more fragile and cost three to four times an off-car brake lathe so very few repair shops own one.

Recently, another method of correcting rotor run-out has been introduced to the market. Brake Align(r) has designed special tapered shims that are placed between a removable rotor and its hub to compensate for rotor run-out. Run-out is measured on the rotor and one of three different size shims is installed. Run-out can be corrected to within .001 inch.

Brake Align(r) shims have been tested for hundreds of thousands of kilometres and research by the company shows that if rotor run-out can be kept under .001 inch, then brake pulsations are no longer a problem.

Correcting brake pulsations or preventing them is just a matter of details. Keep mounting surfaces clean, machine rotors so the sides are parallel, reduce rotor run-out to a minimum, use the proper procedure to torque wheel nuts, and brake pulsations should no longer be a problem on your vehicle. "

WITH DRILLED ROTORS: The noise shows up BEFORE the warping is felt!

[maxnix]

It's not the tires or rims because I recently upgraded the rims and tires with 245/35/20's, and it's still there. Any other suggestions????????

While you may percieve running 20" rims as an "upgrade", it is known the addtional mass is a dfinite downgrade in performance. Throw in a substandard manufacturer and inadequate load carrying capacity on the tires and problems multilply geometrically.

Were the rotors Brembo-Stillen ones or Powerstop, or Chinese imports? Are brake pads OEM or aftermarket. All are possible sources of problems.

Besides Q45tech's recommendation to index, measururing hub run-out should be your first step after it is cleaned and greased.

[1FLQ45]

Thanks for the advice!!!! Although the 20's were put on the car recently, the humming/vibration has been going on for quite some time. I'll say for over two years. By now it's starting to get a little annoying. The humming/vibration was there with the factory wheels, it was also there for the 18's that were on the car and now it is still there with the 20's. The humming/vibration did not get louder or quiter when the rims were changed. I will look into Q45 tech advice.

Thanks for all the great input, I really appreciate it.....

[1FLQ45]

Anyone knows of a good mechanic shop in the Orlando Florida area, besides the dealership????

Thanks in advanceRickey

[911/Q45]

How far is Orlando from Atlanta and T3?

[1FLQ45]

About 8 hours.