[TysonG]

Hey everyone,

As the title says, theres a loud grinding / screeching noise coming from my 2007 LR3 HSE. When I turn in any direction the loud grinding / screeching noise kicks in and theres tension and vibration from the steering wheel. Also when I brake a bit hard the noise and tension starts. Lastly, when I go over bumps or uneven road, the grinding and screeching noise gets loud.

It originally was very faint, and now its incredibly noticeable. I'm afraid to drive my awesome truck, so much so that I rented a car in the mean time while I try to figure out the problem.

Also when I brake and the screeching and grinding happens, sometimes the truck has a jolt in acceleration.


This is some scary stuff and any help and advice would be a life saver. I'm afraid to take it to a mechanic and get shafted on all kinds other issues. Fellow Rover owners who have experienced and solved this problem is my most trusted resource.


Thanks in advanced! :wave:

 

[stmcknig]

Depends on where the noise is apparently coming from. It might be one or both front wheel bearings (I had one go and decided to get both done at the same time). The bearing hub itself if you buy online at somewhere like partsgeek.com is around $100. Look for Timken brand as that’s the same as OEM LR. I forget what my indie mechanic charged to fit, probably an hour labour. That's why you need to find an actual mechanic you can trust if you don't want to wrench it yourself. These forums are invaluable agreed but you can spend $$$ throwing parts at it on the forum recommendations and of course, being there to diagnose it in the flesh is best.

 

[TysonG]

Thanks stmcknig! I had a feeling it might be the wheel bearings / hub assembly. But a mechanic I called and described the problem to said that it might be the control arm. And I have power train warranty so I was panicking thinking its the control arm (cuz its not covered).

Also the weird thing is, when I'm driving and the windows are up I hear the screeching and grinding. But when the windows are down it isn't nearly as loud. But with the windows down, when I'm driving, I hear a loud rattling and jingling noise. Would that be part of the same problem but just causing a different noise at different speeds?

 

[stmcknig]

The front lower control arms have also been replaced on mine - it's somewhat easier time wise I believe than removing and popping out the old part, with the advantage that you also get new ball joints. These are pretty heavy vehicles so they wear hard on bearings, brakes and bushings. My 07 had about 80K miles when I had the bearings and arms replaced.

So as I recall the symptoms of the control arms were more a clunk when braking rather than a screech when turning. If you don't get noise in a straight line then it's probably more likely wheel bearing. But the only way for sure to know is to stop describing it and let someone who knows look and listen to it. Some garages may charge a diagnosis fee which is offset against work you get done there. Sooner or later, like the dentist, you have to pick your level of pain....endure a filling or suffer toothache...

-- Stuart

 

[tlt]

Keep us posted, it could be any number of things, or combination of things.

 

[TysonG]

Thanks again for the help. I'm taking it to a mechanic today and will let you know what happens.

 

[TysonG]

Alright, so I finally got word from the mechanic. He basically had my truck for the week and provided me with a free rental until he got the truck looked at. The time delay sucked by the free rental was a decent compromise.

The result? He said that the brake pads are completely gone and its metal scraping against the rotors. He also said that there may be a calliper problem, that the calliper may be seized/seizing and accompanied by the worn brakes can be causing the noise. But for him to find out if its the calliper he would need to take off the wheel and so on, which would charge labour. The diagnosis was free but to see if its the calliper will be charged.

I decided to find out the quote he will charge me to fix everything and see if its feasible. But to be honest i'm thinking of just changing the brakes and rotors myself. If I do decide to go that route, how would I be able to check the callipers and see if they are seized or seizing?

 

[scapehart]

Tyson,

What you described is exactly what happened to my '07. Your brake caliper(s) seized and burnt up your pads and ruined your rotors. Mine actually smoked like it caught on fire. I ended up replacing calipers, rotors, pads, lower control arms and bushings, front hubs and tie rod ends. All were needed and the problems are fixed. Hope this helps.
Scott