Mason Jar Full of Marbles

[Jaxstarke99]

Had both my front wheel hub assemblies changed about a month ago along with my outer tie rod ends on my 2003 Pontiac Bonneville. Now when I make a right hand turn my left wheel hub (I'm assuming it's the wheel hub) makes a sound very similar to what a mason jar full of marbles would sound like being swirled around. The harder and sharper the turn, the louder and more pronounced the noise is. Could it be that I got a bad wheel hub assembly and is there any danger in driving this thing around for a couple more months until I can get it replaced? Thanks

[Frosty]

It's possible but I suspect you might have bad wheel bearings (they may not have been properly greased or packed or the spindle nut was not pre-loaded correctly) so the rotor and caliper assembly are banging into the spindle. Another possibility is your brake pads are not properly seated within the caliper and that the pads rattle as you turn. 

i recommend you take your car to a reputable front end shop and have it properly inspected. If you replaced the hubs they should not fail this  quickly unless they were installed improperly.

Lastly are you sure you have not picked up a rock or small stone inside  your front tires hub cap or center cap?

[notallthere]

If they used an impact to put it on they may have damaged the bearing.  Also bearings are made by people so it may be a bad one.  I would also check you half shafts for wear.

[Last Indian]

Jack, understandably Frosty is thinking traditional rear wheel drive. Notallthere is on the right track, but still most likely not the problem. It sounds like either the inner or outer CV joint of the axle on that side. If it was the bearing it would make the noise all the time, not just in a turn, in a turn scenario is when the CV is flexed the most and the sharper the turn the more the joint is stressed. Except for inward force to remove the axle from the bearing no impacts should be used & it is imperative that the axle shaft be supported properly through the entire process. Otherwise damage to the CVs will occur, which more often than not occurs as a result of improper support. The bearing is a pre-assembled/pre-greased unit and not a tapered roller bearing. Unfortunately to replace the axle assembly you must remove it from the bearing again and I never feel good about reusing a bearing of that type over again, but that's up to you.

[Frosty]

Actually I was thinking of my 4WD GMC Envoy Denali, which does have hubs, front disc brakes, CV joints and half shafts. However, CV joints are indeed another possibility. You should inspect your CV joint rubber boots for tears or holes as the grease can fall out and dirt, water, and grim can get it, thus leading to CV joint failure like Last Indian is explaining.

[Last Indian]

My mistake Frosty! I should pay better attention to what I read. I saw packed wheel bearings and spindle nut and I guess I saw in my minds eye Timken tapered rollers on front spindles of a rear wheel drive. Duh! 😔

 

[Jaxstarke99]

Thanks for the replies guys. I tell ya what, I am so sick of spending money on this car. Lol I guess I'll talk to my mechanic and see what he wants to charge for installing a cv joint. I'm already in line to get my valve cover gaskets replaced. Might as well throw a few hundred dollars more at it to get the cv joint replaced.

[Frosty]

1 hour ago, Last Indian said:

My mistake Frosty! I should pay better attention to what I read. I saw packed wheel bearings and spindle nut and I guess I saw in my minds eye Timken tapered rollers on front spindles of a rear wheel drive. Duh! 😔

 

No worries buddy. I can see how you might think that based on how I wrote it.