Hi all,
It's been a while since I've been on here, but the 2006 'rolla is starting to make some noise. About two months ago I started to notice a thump, thump, thump coming from my driver's side front end between 30 and 65mph, with the peak sound around 50 or so. Rotated tires (Michelin Hydroedge), balanced them, checked rotation again... thumping was still there each time. Now its getting worse and I'm getting a little thump felt in the steering wheel as well. I DO need new brakes, as these are the originals at 93,000 mi and the pads have only about 1/8 inch of meat left. I have Brembo rotors and Hawk HPS pads (fish, these were based on your experience with them) sitting in my dining room, ready to go- just need to find the time to do them. The noise doesn't seem like brakes, since it is consistent whether I'm braking or accelerating. It also doesn't sound like a bearing, as there isn't the telltale grinding sound. I'm thinking at this point that maybe its the inside CV joint on the driver's side axle, as I also get a metallic clack from that area when shifting to reverse when the tranny is cold.
Any input from the 'pros' on here? I'd like to get this straightened out before winter, but also don't want to start pulling apart the front end until I'm certain I need to (brakes are cake, but I'd rather not be doing axle jobs at this point!)
Ideas?
Thanks,
~Chris