2001 Elantra Front end noise when turning
 

I'm here again, been a nice while.

This time its not seeming to be a down car, only a vibrating/grinding noise when I turn a corner and only when I turn the steering to the right.

I had a mechanic I know drive the car and said Wheel Bearings.

Another mechanic in the same shop, drove it after a repair of belts, and said the same thing.

They said its not a crisis, it will get worse and its a pretty big job.

Here's the problem the cars not worth much per book, so big repairs are an issue.

I wondered the net for awhile about bearngs and have minimal clue now.

Any Hyundai specific points anyone can offer?

Is it a pro job or amateur?
Whats a decent price for the whole job, or can I do part of the job myself?

thanks for any inputs ..

I'll add as I go for future help of others...

The Bearings are $24 Duralast, 49 Timken, $73 OEM Hyundai.

An article states the Timken comes with a plastic tool. OEM always recommended obviously if you can afford it.

I'll probably grab the Timiken.

Unless you own a press, you should probably go to a mechanic.

And just because the car isn't worth much "per book" the repair is still cheaper than a new car or even a used car. Bearings are a minor issue. If you needed a new engine or trans then my answer woudl be different.

Just got quoted 2hrs labor from Hyundai Mechanic, he said around $200 ...uh..$350 to $400 with taxes.

I thought ?what kind of taxes do we have here? huh... I'm hearing $400 a wheel. $100 of it parts, $200 labor and $200 in taxes..ahaha

Interesting the direction I turn is the most likely bad bearing. Mine will be the right as it only makes grinding noise when I turn to the right.

To DIY or not?

but it seems I need new races and snap ring too..

Thanks... I took your input, and a couple websites, mentioning the press.

I'm taking it to the shop. I not only dont have a press, I dont even have some of the other tools.

I decided to spend the extra $30 on OEM bearings $72.
2hr labor I was told at $199.....so $272 plus tax. (is the plan.)
Hopefully the Hub is ok, thats another $150 I was told.

I have gotten 3 quotes all about the same response.

Its being repaired before it has gotten really loud or noticeable, but on fast right corners it gets pretty loud now (which is 2 times a day or so).

the # 1 issue is as you said the Press. and its my only work car, so I can't leave it down.

For being worth it, I have spent about $1100 this year on the car, its worth $1,000 and has bad paint / several dings in body. Thats about $100 month average so far heading into Sept/2011. If I deduct the belt job, maybe avg $90 Month Ownership ...still cheaper than a payment! I agree....

thanks for the input!

Car was done.

$290 complete. Noise free and smooooooth again.

Was surprised I had the side wrong. The LEFT Bearing was bad, so when I turned hard right with the steering wheel it must put pressure on the Left side bearing, because a hard right with the steering made the loud grinding noise.

Mechanic also noted:
CV boots ripped and axl dry...$350 per side was recommended, $700 more....
I had to pass on that work.... 118,000 and counting

Yes, when you turn right, all the weight shifts to the left.

Don't wait too long on the CV joints. Cracked boots mean the grease is leaking out. No grease means the joints will wear out.

I saw you are having a similar problem to mine. Im almost 100% positive I need a new wheel bearing. I have a Hyundai Elantra 2001 with 85,000ish miles on it. It was just humming before, but then all of a sudden it started popping and clunking and grinding. I know bad wheel bearings and im not sure if thats the bearing being ripped apart or something else. It happens when I do slight left turns and hard left turns. Ideas?

I just fixed the problem with my 2011. It was the driver's side trans-axle half-shaft CV joint that was loudly complaining. The replacement shaft was $62.00 from Rock Auto and I changed it myself. Start to finish the job took me just over an hour. I'm probably going to change the passenger side to keep both axles the same age but that side isn't symptomatic of pending doom yet.

The axle consists of two knuckle-like joints fitted to opposite ends of a straight steel shaft. One end of the shaft fits into the transmission and the other end is secured to the wheel bearing in the steering knuckle, which mounts on the suspension and is moved by the driver through the steering linkage.

The joints on the axle move omni-directionally like pivots allowing the engine to drive the wheels, the suspension to move as-needed and the driver to steer all at the same time. This is done by ball bearings closely matched to machined grooves in the joints. When the bearings and grooves wear out they become very loose and start to make noise. It's most noticeable when turning because worn bearings are forced into lesser-worn areas of the grooves that they don't easily fit anymore and they let you know by complaining loudly enough to hear them.

The wear is caused by lack of lubrication that occurs when the rubber bellows-type boots surrounding the joints to protect them from weather exposure have age-deteriorated and broken. That allows water to enter the joints and over time it washes away the original factory applied grease lubrication. No lubrication between the ball bearings and their grooves, they grind against each other and eventually fail. Extremely worn axle bearings will transmit vibration to the wheel bearing in the steering knuckle and the transmission spline where the axle slips into. Not good, but even worse is the complete failure of the axle bearing (usually at the wheel end). If that occurs a whole lot of damage results as the end of the shaft is now free to fly around, like a crazy man with a steel ball bat, in the wheel well and deliver some bad news.

I would contact a Hyundai shop and ask how much they charge to inspect the transaxles (it should be free), get a quote from them and then seek your best price from other dealers or independents. It's a common failure for front wheel drive vehicles so literally everyone could probably give a phone quote. But, I'd do it like really soon.

Hello, use to own a 2001 Elantra. Bought it with 88k miles and got rid of it with 135k miles.
Back a few years, there was a recall for lower control arms. They would rust through.
Hyundai replaced the sub frame assembly and lower control arms.

As for the wheel bearing, yes. It is a bad wheel bearing.
Noise turning left means bad right wheel bearing.
Humming noise usually means the ball bearings are pitted or cracked or some defect on it's surface
Eventually this destroys the race holding the bearings in place
That is why you hear the other noises.
You need to fix it very soon.