Solved: Metallic scraping when turning RIGHT - dealer fail, any ideas? (1 Viewer)

[DirtNap]

Hey Mudders,
I'm hoping to tap the collective wisdom here to diagnose a metallic scraping/grinding sound I started getting when turning. My dealer was unsuccessful in figuring it out. I don't want to cause any damage, so I haven't driven it much, but I started some testing to see when it occurs. Looking for any ideas to chase down (and know it's hard when it's all virtual!).

I DO hear it:

• Only when turning to the RIGHT
• Only from the driver's side rear wheel
• More with sharper turns and more as speed increases (i.e., above 10 mph) - it 'scrapes' continuously throughout the turn
• When I swerve back and forth (i.e., moving steering wheel between 10 o'clock and 2 o'clock) - it 'scrapes' briefly and stops
• When driving straight on a bumpy gravel road
• It sounds like a metallic scraping sound, not like a screeching slipping PS belt.

I DO NOT hear it:

• On a slow speed turn (<10 mph) or a very large radius turn
• Going over speed humps or bumps in the road
• Accelerating quickly or stomping on the brakes for a hard stop

Here is my thought process (and correct me if I'm off!)

• I thought it sounded like maybe the wheel bearings were bad, or maybe one of the suspension joints needed to be lubricated, but dealer said they were fine.
• I thought maybe it was related to the shock dampers (since I hear it on a bumpy gravel road) but the speed bump/hard braking seemed to indicate otherwise.
• Since the noise is proportional to the turn radius and vehicle speed, I think it is related to either the vehicle cornering lean or the centripetal force pushing something out of place or into contact. But I have no idea what it could be.

Basic info on my LC: bought it 4 months ago; 2008; 124,000 miles. Icon suspension (struts/shocks w/reservoir, UCAs, rear links); 315/75(?) on Rock Warriors; Slee KDSS relo, but yes, the tires rub. I don't think Prior Owners ever took it off-road; so far I've only had it on pavement and short stretches of gravel road.


I think I'll have to 'lead the dealer to water' or else drive an hour to a shop that specializes in LCs or off road trucks. Thanks in advance for any ideas or insights you may have!

Sean
P.S. I could try to upload some videos to YouTube if it helps to hear the audio track

 

[Sinister]

Check the front backing plate for your front brakes (rotors). Mine was installed off center when the dealer replaced the front rotors, and if it is off it will rub when turning. It happened to me last year and was a simple fix.

 

[tirewater]

Eh, this reminds me to seriously doubt the competency of dealerships.

My passenger side rear wheel was making rattle and scrape noises. Particularly if you turned left.

The PO records indicated two visits to the dealer to rectify the problem. Both visits the dealer could not reproduce. If you roll the window down you could easily hear the noise.

Guess the parts:

pieces

• tirewater
• Oct 7, 2017

Prior to the noise issue, the PO had the dealer turn the brake rotors. It appears that the dealer didn't back off the emergency brake before removing the rotors and broke the brake shoe retainers.

The retainers were the rattling noise and the scraping was the brake shoes rubbing against the rotor when turning.

 

[EverywhereBear]

Check the front backing plate for your front brakes (rotors). Mine was installed off center when the dealer replaced the front rotors, and if it is off it will rub when turning. It happened to me last year and was a simple fix.

^^this - I had the same issue about two years ago.

 

[DirtNap]

Thanks for the ideas guys. These both sound like promising avenues. And glad I could be a reminder, tirewater (-;

Any other ideas floating out there?

 

[chilibit]

Sometimes a rock gets trapped by the sheet metal brake shield. I scrapes rather like you describe.

 

[DirtNap]

Hi Mudders,
Finally got around to digging into this. And the award goes to ......

Tirewater

These little bits fell out when I finally figured out how to get it apart.

For those of us who haven't taken apart their brakes before, the parking brake is basically a drum brake.
Those two little round doohickeys retain the parking brake shoes. There are two little rods that go through the backer plate,

through holes in the shoes, and then through these little "buttons"., This keeps the shoes from "flopping" out and hitting the rotor. So since they broke, whenever I turned right, one (or both) of the parking brake shoes shifted to the outside of the turn and scraped on the inside of the rotor housing.

Not sure where that spring goes ! Guess I'll have to watch the YouTube video again to remind myself.

Here are the other parts of the disassembled parking brake. There are two more springs here, heavy one at the top, and a smaller one at the bottom (which basically just holds the bottom of the shoes tight to the adjustment screw (kind of like a turnbuckle to adjust how close/spread the shoes are at rest).

And a shot of it before I removed it, showing the piece that bridges the shoes at the top and accepts the actuating cable. If I had to guess, the mystery spring goes in here somewhere.

Here you can see where the P-brake cable connects to that actuating mechanism. Looks like the "latch" that keeps it in place has frayed the cable a bit.

Enough for now. I'll post a few more pictures tomorrow of the brake pads, caliper, and rotor for grins, and to get y'all's input on whether I should clean up the rust and dirt.

Thanks again for everyone's input!!

DN

 

[DirtNap]

I should add that ironically that like Tirewater's dealer, I forgot to release the parking brake until I was pretty far into removing the rotor. So it is possible that I busted one (or both?) of those buttons myself.

Prior to noticing the noise, I had also started driving off a few times without releasing the parking brake. Didn't get far, but that might have contributed to it. Dumbass. Literally every car I have ever had has had a handbrake -- except my current sedan. It has an electronic P-brake that releases itself as soon as you shift the transmission out of Park. Very convenient but lulled me into complacency.

Regarding the mystery spring, I was thinking that it might actually go with the two 'buttons' that position the shoes, to keep them in the right pace re: the rotor. But I would have expected 2 springs (one for each shoe). That said, it was very dark when I got to this part, so perhaps there is another spring out on my driveway?

 

[DirtNap]

Found the missing spring (-: and how to reassemble, via this great YouTube video (on Tundra brakes).