My 2001 2.4L PT Cruiser has a wump wump in the front right wheel area. I’ve been telling people about it for months but no one beleives me.
I replaced front tires but it didn’t help. Everyone thought (thinks) I am nuts. I left dejected and said I would turn up my radio. It didn’t work.
Now the wump wump is much louder. It goes with the wheel speed = wheel faster, wump wump faster.
Don’t hear any groning, no pulling. No noises when I turn. Just a wump wump while driving. What can it be?
You guys have been so good to me sharing your answers. They have really helped me prepare for talking to the shops and arming me with info that helps me come to grips with the severity of the problem.
Thank you all so much!!
Kim
Wheel bearing.
Are you saying that you’re the only one who can hear it?
The wump wump is on the driver’s side. thx
Until now I have the only one that hears it.
I thought maybe it was on diffent road surfaces but that didn’t seem to be the case.
The shop insisted they drove and did not hear it. That was back when it was very low.
They don’t say it but they think it is all crazy.
There are no other noises, no pulling, no ususual anything. Has been diagnosed with a leaking rack & pinoin but that wouldn’t do this. Took it to the Transmissons shop and was told I needed a solenoid pack, pan, and something else but can’t remember now. (Hope it was an oil change 
I’m at a lose. Do I go back to the shop and make the manager ride with me so he can hear it? He might get a little nervous since I am in the “I told you so” frame of mind. Trying to take my mechanic to task not break him. One of them said they heard the noise but I knew full well he did not.
I would like to know what you think is wrong and what you think I should do.
I have a broken motor mount and the car is leaiking from the pan. The power steering rack is leaking but I think that has nothing to do withi it…and I’m ignoring that anyway.
Ask anything. Your help is greatly appreciated!!
Thx!
Kim
And selling for parts is not necessarily on the table but you never know. All the money I’ve spent on this car it should be rebuilt by now
The sound is definitly a wump wump - not a grind or groan - just wump wump or wumpwumpwumpwump depending how fast I am going.
Wheel bearings usually make a steady rumble not a whump whump whump…That’s almost always a defective tire…Tread separation. A small part of the tread separates from the tire body. As you drive, this loose tread area hits the pavement and makes the whump whump whump sound…With the windows open, drive next to a concrete lane divider. This will reflect the sound and you should REALLY hear it…
I have absolutely had wheel bearings go wump wump. Its true that they most frequently drone/roar, but wump wump is absolutely in the realm of possibility. I wrote off the tires because they were replaced.
But now there is a broken motor mount. A broken motor mount can make noise.
Take the car back to the shop, get rid of the “told you so” attitude, and have a mechanic ride in the car with you.
If a wheel bearing is bad enough to go “whump whump” then someone in a second car should be able to see the wheel wobble…You can jack up the suspect wheel and try to wiggle the tire by hand. You should find no slop or movement in it’s mounting…How many miles on this car? The broken motor mount complicates things and should be fixed right away…
120K - A little over a year and a half ago I had 3 upper mounts replaced on the right side.
Had to replace a bolt and bore out the hole about 8 mos later. What a ride on this Cruiser! I love it though!
Since no one else has considered the bearing, I will take it to someone with a clean mind.
Thanks
Cigroller: I will stow the attitude since I will be taking it to a differnt repair shop.
Now I have to figure out who that will be. I’ve eliminated several of the shops up and down the street…Kim’s Auto Repair (no relation) - his motor mounts are questionable already had one bolt replaced and hole needed to be tapped and another broken - PEP Boys - towed it in said it was the starter towed it in the following week now it is the fly wheel then the folks who thought there was something odd me and possibly the noise only I heard.
I’m on N.Shepherd just north of the 610 loop - any suggestions? On a bus route would be nice but not necessary
I can aways count on you guys.
Thanks for your help,
Kim
Forgot - tires replaced because I was trying to get rid of the wump wump.
At what speed do you hear the noise?
How long have you owned this car? Do you know its history? Either YOU are driving the wheels off it or someone else did, or it’s been in a wreck and reconstructed…Drilling out motor-mount bolts, re-tapping stripped bolt holes, starters, flywheels, this does not sound right for a 120k mile car unless it was run hard and put away wet…
Motor mounts and tapping out bolts was this one - I’ve had it sincd2003 I’ve wrecked it 2 times. Starters & flywheels were the nemisis for the 1989 Ford Ranger XLT - which I am in the process of putting back on the road.
#Nevada_545 I hear it all the time. Maybe not 0-20 but soon after that.
The reason I ask is because plastic wheel covers make noise at 5-20 mph. Wheel bearings make noise at 35-50 mph.
I have replaced many PT wheel bearings, most under warranty, they are a common problem. If it is not loud enough for the tech to hear he may not want to replace anything as his guess may be wrong. You should demonstrate the noise.
Just for fun, let's rotate the tyres front to back and see what happens.