DodgeIntrepid.Net Forums banner

Front end squeal while turning slowly

27K views 12 replies 8 participants last post by  leo173701 
#1 · (Edited)
UPDATE: The cause and fix for this was identified a few days later, on 10/18/2003. See below in the thread for the diagnosis and simple fix for this issue.

Hi, my Intrepid recently started making a noise when
the car is moving slowly, usually when turning tightly while maneuvering. There are two noises actually, one is more of a sqeak, and one is more of a squeal, although they are probably both coming from the same place. They seem to be coming from the right front wheel area. The noise does occur once in a while when going straight slowly, but usually it is during a turn. It usually happens after the car has been sitting for a while, although sometimes it happens when turning into a parking space after a drive.

The brake pads still have lots of life visible on them (36,000 miles on the car). I never turn with the steering wheel against the stops.

Has anyone experienced this? Was it bearings? Brakes? Something else? I had the dealer mechanic look at it a few weeks ago and they "couldn't duplicate" although it has gotten a little worse. What should I look for? Any ideas what to do?

Thanks!
 
See less See more
#3 ·
Well, I had problems similar to Creeping Death in the other thread...just a squeak at hard turns and low speeds...took me three visits to my dealer to find out that it was umm..I don't remember the exact wording...I believe it was the brake shield or brake rotor shield or something like that, they said it warped or bent or something and it was rubbing against something...anyways, they bent it back to it's regular shape and the squeak went away and hasn't been back since:)
 
#5 ·
Solution Found?

I think I might have solved, or at least diagnosed, the steering noise problem I was experiencing. The location of the sound was coming from the front right wheel area while turning. It was most prevalent while turning tight left, but could occur while turning right, and sometimes even straight. The problem appears to be a small disk rotor shield at the bottom of the brake rotor, inner side. This shield is extremely close to the rotor and is experiencing some rust. The shield apparently was contacting the rotor, especially during turns, producing the sharp squeak/squeeling noises.

I'm not sure if it is rust alone causing the contact or if the shield is closer to the rotor than it should be. A matchbook cover was too thick to place between the shield and the rotor when I first found the problem. I used some thin cardboard and worked it back and forth to remove the rust from the inner side of the shield so it wouldn't contact the rotor. Hopefully sliding that cardboard back and forth didn't hurt the disk any, although I certainly don't think it would have.

I reinstalled the F.R. wheel, took it for a test drive, and no more squeaking noise!

I would like to know how much space should be between the shield and the rotor. I couldn't find any details in the factory service manual. When I have time I will remove the front right tire so I can compare the amount of space between the shield and rotor there. It maybe possible to check this without removing the tire.

Unfortunate my fix will probably only be temporary as the rust problem will continue. Perhaps it needs to be replaced with a new painted shield part for a permanant fix.

On the other hand, there is another noise, (much quieter) that is still there. It sounds almost like crickets that increase frequency as the car speed increases and is really only noticeable with the driver window down while I drive by something (like a wall) that reflects the sound back to me. It's not particularly loud, so I'm not particularly worried. Perhaps this is caused by a similar problem on the left side that is not as severe yet as on the right.

Thanks to the earlier posts that pointed me in this direction. I would appreciate any comments or information that anybody might have on either problem. If your car squeaks while turning, perhaps you have the same cause as I do.
 
#13 ·
Solution Found?

I think I might have solved, or at least diagnosed, the steering noise problem I was experiencing. The location of the sound was coming from the front right wheel area while turning. It was most prevalent while turning tight left, but could occur while turning right, and sometimes even straight. The problem appears to be a small disk rotor shield at the bottom of the brake rotor, inner side. This shield is extremely close to the rotor and is experiencing some rust. The shield apparently was contacting the rotor, especially during turns, producing the sharp squeak/squeeling noises.

I'm not sure if it is rust alone causing the contact or if the shield is closer to the rotor than it should be. A matchbook cover was too thick to place between the shield and the rotor when I first found the problem. I used some thin cardboard and worked it back and forth to remove the rust from the inner side of the shield so it wouldn't contact the rotor. Hopefully sliding that cardboard back and forth didn't hurt the disk any, although I certainly don't think it would have.

I reinstalled the F.R. wheel, took it for a test drive, and no more squeaking noise!

I would like to know how much space should be between the shield and the rotor. I couldn't find any details in the factory service manual. When I have time I will remove the front right tire so I can compare the amount of space between the shield and rotor there. It maybe possible to check this without removing the tire.

Unfortunate my fix will probably only be temporary as the rust problem will continue. Perhaps it needs to be replaced with a new painted shield part for a permanant fix.

On the other hand, there is another noise, (much quieter) that is still there. It sounds almost like crickets that increase frequency as the car speed increases and is really only noticeable with the driver window down while I drive by something (like a wall) that reflects the sound back to me. It's not particularly loud, so I'm not particularly worried. Perhaps this is caused by a similar problem on the left side that is not as severe yet as on the right.

Thanks to the earlier posts that pointed me in this direction. I would appreciate any comments or information that anybody might have on either problem. If your car squeaks while turning, perhaps you have the same cause as I do.


My subaru STI has the same problem, which puzzles me since last July.
Thanks a lot for your diagnose and analysis, it's really inspiring !
 
#6 ·
wont they squeak if the brakes need to be replaced?
 
#8 ·
found this thread in a search, im having the same problem, i know its not the brakes, at least in my case, i hust got done changing them hoping it would solve it. but im still here right. i heard a power steering flush with a higher viscosity fluid. anyone try this yet? i think ill give it a try.
 
#9 ·
Dodge_punk said:
found this thread in a search, im having the same problem, i know its not the brakes, at least in my case, i hust got done changing them hoping it would solve it. but im still here right. i heard a power steering flush with a higher viscosity fluid. anyone try this yet? i think ill give it a try.
If the noise is the turning squeak/squeal, replacing brake pads would have no effect. That noise is caused by the heat shield inside the front brake disks near the bottom. The shields rust over time and collect debris in between the disk and shield. Eventually there is contact between the shield and disk, at first only during hard turns. It's easy to fix, I just used thin cardboard to slide in there and get the junk/rust out, then carefully moved the shields back a millimeter or two. (I did this with a flat screwdriver, protecting the brake disk from the screwdriver blade with cardboard.) The only problem is that it tends to reoccur.

Use a different steering fluid? I would not recommend that. There are three fluids used on LH cars from the factory. M.Y. '98 got the old fluid, M.Y. '99 began the intermediate fluid, and a few years later (forget actual year, it's stated in a TSB) everyone got ATF+4 as factory steering fill. The oldest fluid is NOT compatible with ATF+4 (a complete drain/flush would be required), the intermediate fluid is. If the noise you are hearing is strictly a steering system noise (not related to when the car is moving) then perhaps there is a problem with the steering rack, pump or something else.
 
#11 ·
Squeal right front wheel

I get a high pitch squeal from my right front wheel when making slow turn especially after the car has sat for a while. 2001 Intrepid.
I found the dust/crud shield on the inside of the brake rotor was rubbing. Bent it out to the same clearance as the left front wheel.
All ok.
Hope this helps you guys out there.
 
#12 ·
Glad you figured it out. There are posts in later years in which a bent rotor shield was pointed out as the culprit of squeals from the wheels. That's the problem 99% of the time.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top