Noise After Long Drive

Maintenance/Repairs
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1

My 2000 Pont Montana makes this strange groaning noise after a long trip of a few hundred miles - never around town. The first time, it groaned angrily at very slow speeds when I was pulling into a parking place and turning the wheels.

The folks at Goodyear couldn’t replicate it, but recommended replacing the front drivers side wheel bearing, which was loose. So I did that. They said the passenger side wheel bearing was fine.

The car seemed to roll smoother after that, and I never heard another peep out of it until recently after a trip it made a similar, though not as angry, sound as I was pulling into my driveway after a 300-mile trip.

The only other thing I can think of is that my brake rotors are kind of old, grooved and rusty. I didn’t replace them earlier this summer when I put in new brake pads.

Anybody have any thoughts?

Thanks,

Reid

2 
Your wheel bearing was loose?  That's something to think about.  The folks at Goodyear diagnosed that, huh?  I'd stay away from those guys.  Now, to your problem:  where is the noise coming from?  Front end? Suspension?  Engine? Brakes? Seats? Could you reproduce it with someone listening, so you could isolate it and tell us where on the vehicle it is "groaning"?  Don't ask the guys at Goodyear to listen. If this noise only happens after trips of several hundred miles, I might look at heat related only because everything is warmed-up to the point of . . . well, hot.  Spinning wheels for several hours, engine running for several hours but that's just a guess until you isolate the noise.    Rocketman
3

Hey Rocketman,
Thanks for responding. I could have been more descriptive, but I also didn’t want to bias anyone responding.
The sound comes from the front end, and tends to happen when the wheels are turning as the car creeps around a turn, into a parking space or my garage. I haven’t had somebody get out and listen to the noise. When I get out and bounce the front end of the car, I don’t hear anything.
Reid

4

My wife’s 98 Windstar made a groaning noise pulling into or backing out of the driveway starting around 56k miles. The mechanic said the tie rod ends had dried out. Even though there were no grease fittings, he was able to lubricate them using a “needle” fitting on the grease gun. The tie rods were still quiet when the van was sold a few years later at 99k miles.

Ed B.