Sound from passenger side front wheel.

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garyb1st

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The DW has been hearing this for a while.  However I heard it for the first time when driving slowly to our last camp site a few days ago.  Hard to describe but sounds like clapping.  Almost llke a large rock stuck in the tire treads.  The closest thing I can think of is when we were kids and attached a playing card to our bicycle spoke.  It's not a metallic sound.  I looked under the wheel and didn't see anything that was loose.  Mud flaps loose but don't think they're hitting chassis.
I've heard that the brake calipers need to be lubed periodically and it's been maybe two years since our RV service guys lubed them.  Don't hear any noise when braking.  Otherwise braking on the motorhome is fine.  Front passenger tire doesn't have any abnormal wear.  Caliper Campaign performed September 2010.  Mileage at time 25,500.  Current mileage about 43,000.  Any suggestions. 
 
If you have a hubcap or wheel simulator it could be ?creaking?.  Same is true if you have alloy wheels with a hub cover.  Same cure in either case - remove & reinstall.
 
Muddy, I took off wheel simulator and reinstalled.  It may have been loose but it's tight now.  We'll see when we leave tomorrow.  I'm also going to use the jacks to raise the tire and rotate it a few times. 
 
garyb1st said:
The DW has been hearing this for a while.  However I heard it for the first time when driving slowly to our last camp site a few days ago.  Hard to describe but sounds like clapping.  Almost llke a large rock stuck in the tire treads.  The closest thing I can think of is when we were kids and attached a playing card to our bicycle spoke.  It's not a metallic sound.  I looked under the wheel and didn't see anything that was loose.  Mud flaps loose but don't think they're hitting chassis.
I've heard that the brake calipers need to be lubed periodically and it's been maybe two years since our RV service guys lubed them.  Don't hear any noise when braking.  Otherwise braking on the motorhome is fine.  Front passenger tire doesn't have any abnormal wear.  Caliper Campaign performed September 2010.  Mileage at time 25,500.  Current mileage about 43,000.  Any suggestions.
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garyb1st
When my coach made a similar sound one of the left front disc brake pads had cracked and a portion had become unglued from the metal backing plate to which it was supposed to be fastened....BTW I only replaced that one brake pad.
 
garyb1st said:
Hard to believe the sound was coming from the simulator but since I removed and put it back on, no more sound.
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Great to hear !  Sometimes heat and bumps put things in odd flexes and they make noise.  My disappointing noise is a stupid heat shield on my exhaust that lost a tac weld or two.  When it gets hot, it tells me about it.
 
We had a noise coming from the passenger side front. I tracked it down to a loose fibreglass panel on the front side beside the entry door. Some of the rivets
had let  go and I could hear a slight banging sound. Funny, a couple complained of the same sound and it was the same problem. I offered to rivet it for him and he gladly accepted. No more annoying sound. He loved it.
 
sounds like clapping.  Almost llke a large rock stuck in the tire treads.
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If the sound is at the frequency of tire rotation, check the tire for bulges or broken belts; check the wheel and lugs, too. The tire/wheel should be eliminated as the cause because its failure represents the greatest potential for catastrophe.

That said, a brake rotor slightly out of spec and a caliper slightly dragging can make a noise at low speed.
 
Dan 23, when we purchased the Pace Arrow in 2016, Redlands Truck and RV did a pre purchase inspection.  They did not say anything about the brakes.  Redland, a well known and respected service center stated that the calipers can stick and need to be serviced, I think they indicated lubed, once a year.  They charged  $1,000 for the service.  That just seemed way out of line and I had another service center look at the calipers.  They said the calipers were fine and charged only a minimal amount for the service.  But I've had a nagging concern about the calipers since.  What is the recommended service and a fair price? 

 
Gary,

I wouldn?t worry about it too much.  If you want to feel safer get an IR thermometer and check your wheel temps once in a while.  If you have a dragging caliper that wheel will be much hotter than the others.
 
I?ve driven Fords with floating calipers like yours for 50 something years.  I had one seize up, and that was from was a piston failure.

That taught me the importance of replacing the brake fluid every couple of years.
 
garyb1st said:
Dan 23, when we purchased the Pace Arrow in 2016, Redlands Truck and RV did a pre purchase inspection.  They did not say anything about the brakes.  Redland, a well known and respected service center stated that the calipers can stick and need to be serviced, I think they indicated lubed, once a year.  They charged  $1,000 for the service.  That just seemed way out of line and I had another service center look at the calipers.  They said the calipers were fine and charged only a minimal amount for the service.  But I've had a nagging concern about the calipers since.  What is the recommended service and a fair price?
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I don't know if you work on things yourself or if that's even an option for you, but $1000 is a LOT of money. One thing I do is suck out the master cylinder brake fluid periodically, replace it with new proper fluid and bleed it through the system at each wheel. I've had good luck keeping caliper pistons working well in their bores by that alone and use it on everything I own. The other thing is lubing any slide mechanisms designed to keep brake pads from dragging. That job is going to vary according to particular brake design (and I'm no expert) and the cost will vary. I check that my brakes release by letting off the pedal slightly when stopped during a trip to check that they seem to release smoothly and fully and the RV moves forward slightly on level, paved ground. As noted above, I check each wheel set for heat (tires and brakes) with my hand when I get out.
 
Found a tire shop that does mechanical work.  They looked at the calipers and said they were fine.  Lubed them and finished in less than an hour.  Also said the breaks were in great shape.  About $100.  Have no idea why Redlands wanted so much.  Maybe I misunderstood but then again, I paid almost $800 for a pre-delivery inspection and they missed a couple of biggies.  Like a leaking propane tank.  So much for the best service center in So Cal. 
 
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