slapshot

Hello gang. Anyone ever encounter a squeaking rear wheel when making a hard turn? Or even a medium type turn. First did it on a Malibu run, way back, then every spirited run thereafter. Gentle driving generally does not elicit the noise, though very rarely that will cause it too. It is coming from the passenger side rear tire. Only does it under weight and when side momentum kicks in. However, onces it starts it does not go away. Rears its head every time I take it up in the canyon twists or on the track. A little synchronous chirp, chirp, chirp with every rotation. Does not sound metallic like bearings but . . .? Already checked for brake sources, etc. Any thought would be most appreciated.

fbfisher

Chances are it's your power steering fluiid that is low. Do a search on "steering rack" or "power steering fluid" and you will see lots of posts. The resevoir for the fluid is located aft of your oil fill. The tank is small, black and there is a dip stick attached to the cap. It takes little to fill it (over if you're not careful). Sources of leaks can be as simple as a leaking hose clamp or as expensive as a new steering rack. The quick way to determine if it's the rack is to look for drops of clear PS (Pentisine only) fluid on your garage floor between you front wheels.

Good luck.

slapshot

Thank you Fred I will check the level. So, that could influence a squeek in the rear? Because it is definitely a rear wheel squeak. I will check out "steering rack" in the "search". Already checked "squeak". Interesting.

fbfisher

When it happend to me at first I thought I had a tire rubbing in the rear. I'm hoping it's a simple solution but every post I have seen like yours ends up being low PS fluid and I'd say most of the time it's the rack thats leaking - a known 993 issue.

slapshot

Thanks so much Fred, I checked it out, the power steering fluid is at the requisite level.

Anyone else have some thoughts? It really is a very simple squeak, sqeuak, squeak, with each passenger side rear wheel rotation. But it is enough of a simple squeak that I can hear it over my Supercups (with the window down.)
CV joint? Bearing? Just an area in need of lubrication?

Mr. Bedrosian? Mr. Calvo?

subdriver

I has a similar synchronous chirping noise from my rear passenger wheel, that was obvious at low speed but independent of turning. Traced the problem to a broken parking brake compression spring which was easy to replace.

Chuck W.

Christian...My wives Audi S4 just went though a similar thing. An odd noise would develop while the car was being turned to the left. It sounded and felt like a suspension problem. Over the next week it would come and go and finally got to the point she heard it while backing out of a parking space. As she got onto the freeway the right front tire gave way. The entire side wall and tread separated from the rim. After getting new tires the sound and problems are gone. I suspect that the side wall was failing and this is where the sound was coming from. The tires were Michelin Pilot Sports with 20000 miles on them. May be your problem...or may not. Good luck...

Chuck W.

Also, if you want to eliminate the tire issue, come on by and we'll swap wheels and tires for a week.

slapshot

Thanks so much for the input all. I will check both parking brake and tires. Possibly rotating them to see if the squeak switches sides! Scary story about your wife's Audi Chuck. Glad she is ok! I will give those tires a very special look upon rotation (swapping sides).

Chuck W.

Glad she's ok....I buried her yesterday!!! It was her fault...didn't have her seat belt on. Oh well...got the tire problem fixed.... Thank god she doesn't read this Rennlist board...she might not appreciate this .

Leland Pate

I am now (yesterday) getting the exact same symptom as described by slapshot.
Any updates or followups?

mborkow

i had the same thing a while back. it was low ps fluid (very easy to check) caused by a bad steering rack

Leland Pate

Wow, it just seems real odd people would get this noise from a power steering fluid problem. It is a rhythmic "chirp" that seems dependent on wheel speed. I only hear it at low speeds as the engine noise drowns it out as I pass 35 mph or so. I guess I'm trying to imagine how the PS pump would emit a chirping sound not dependent on engine rpm, but on wheel rotation.

Another note, I've also recently checked the power steering rack when I installed the rack brace. It was fine (dry as a bone) two months ago. I guess I'm hoping I've dodged the "rack failure" so many have experienced.
I'll check again.
Other than a failed rack, my biggest concern is a dying wheel bearing.

Felix

What happens to the noise if you gently squeeze the brakes and/or gently apply the hand brake?

Leland Pate

Haven't tried that yet; I'll give it a shot.

I did double check the PS reservoir and it appears to be full. My tires were a bit low so I filled them up to 35 and 40 lbs front and rear.