my car (04 base) is having issues with the front left wheel. When driving around 65 mph and up the wheel starts to make this vibration that pulsates. Faster the drive, the faster the vibration pulse. I have my wheel balanced and alligned.. but it still does it. From what i know, a bad ball joint can cause vibrations in your wheel.. but i have no idea what kind of vibration. Also the vibration becomes stronger and more pronounced as i turn left slightly on highways at around 55 mph and up... what do you guys think it could be?

Also, my other front wheel, makes this pulsating hiss sound (you hear it like crazy at low speeds especially when driving along a wall, which sounds much like the brake not completely depressing.. but even when i apply the breaks, the sound still exists.. so i know its not the breaks. Any ideas?

These two matters started about a month ago, and its killing me to get it fixed, and i dont want to take it to the dealership until i have at least an idea what it could be. Your help is much appreicated guys.

 

I don't know what the "hissing" sound is being caused by, but I can give my experience on the ball joint situation.

My car is the 2003 Touring. When I first purchased it, I realized that when I made left turns from a stand still, the left wheel would make a popping noise and give a sharp vibration to the steering wheel. The dealer found out it was a defective balljoint connecting the upper control arm and the knuckle assembly. They replace it. Hope this gets you closer in your journey.

 

well i have no issues at low speeds.. but it might be somewhat related. How much do new ball joint go for on Zs? can u get them seperate or are they like the z32.. all one piece with the control arm?

 

I have 06 Z and recently I start to have these weird vibration noise and sometype of grinding ish sound coming in my front wheels when I got pass 40+mph and left turns..faster I go the louder it got..I took it to the dealer and they found that my wheel bearing was f'k up and any longer wouldve broke the wheel loose..I got them replaced under waranty... =D** mmm waranty...but yea u really should get it check out cuz they wouldn't even let me take my car home that day wen they had to order parts and said it was too dangerous to let me drive till it get fixed...

 

I'm not sure how much they cost. Mine was warrantied. The joint is pressed into the upper control arm, so yes it is one piece. If you had to buy a new one, I'm sure it would cost over $75.00... I had to replace some on my old Eclipse. If I remember correct, they were about $65.00-$70.00 at the dealership.

 

awesome .. thx for the heads up guys... really appreciate. If anyone has any other stipulations.. let me know..

 

Unfortuantly you cant buy "just" the ball joint. Nissan only sells the entire knuckle with the joint already in it and it's not cheap. I think Performance Nissan sells it for $300+!

I would try to get under warranty if it is bad, I have heard of quite a few people having them replaced.

I though I had this issue also, but it turned out that the nut was a little loose and it took 5 minutes and a new cotter pin to fix.

Here's another way to trouble shoot the problem:

Jack up the side in question, leave the wheel on!
Try to move the wheel up and down, side to side.
Do you feel a slight "clunk" when putting pressure on the rim?
Now, if it moves up and down only it's probably the ball joint.
If it moves it all directions, then it might be a bad wheel bearing.

I was chasing a similar problem and this is how I got it figured out.

As far as the brake thing, your pads are supposed to contact your rotors. Thats perfectly normal.

 

K.. i have no idea why i didn't just jack the car up and speculate on my own.. i guess it was still a bit cold to do so.. anyway.. so problem one .. fixed... what was the problem:tire lost about 15psi of air... (how stupid do i feel).. but still there are symptoms of what i mentioned.. but hardly noticable.. still gonna have nissan scope it out at my next service. The hiss sound... jacked the car.. spun the wheel... turns out, and i dont know what its called... but that metal plate behind the rotar.. was slightly rubbing on the back of the rotor.. pretty much took a flat head screwdriver.. wedged it out.. and the problem is now gone completely.... i feel so stupid that i didn't just didnd't fully investigate on my own.. but im glad i fixed the problems without spending a cent... i guess im just saying all this while risking my competence.. so that if any Z owner experiences this.. they know what to do... especially with that stupid hissing sound.. ... and thx you guys for ur help nonetheless.

 

Oh well, atleast you got it fixed.

Sounds a lot like when you would go up to the teacher in school, to ask about a question on a test, and without her saying a word, you figured out the answer!

 

true.. but there is no grace for you when you are a 25 yearold.. but its true... just one of those things where u are like "why didn't i do that??" .. bah... i'll get over it..

 

Damn, I don't know why I didn't think of that. I've had it happen to me a couple times too. It usually happens when we're changing our brakes. We'll inadvertantly pull on the brake dust shield, causing it to rub against the back side of the rotor. Simple fix. Glad everything turned out ok.

 

the simple things are sometimes overlooked lol

 

I have a clunking and loose feeling from the front left when I hit rough patches. Could a busted ball joint cause that? Any other recommendations? I'm going to get under my G tomorrow and wiggle the wheel.