Rubbing noise from front wheel

[kzee]

Hi,

I am driving A190 Automatic 2001 these days and from last couple of weeks i can notice rubbing (dug dug dug dug trying to explain ) sound from front wheel. I visited local Independent Mercedes specialist who looked at all the wheels after lifting the car, had a test drive and could notice very little noise on bends and then spotted that one of the rear wheels was out of shape. Finally, he said that my car is safe to drive and i not need to worry.

As per his suggestion I replaced that rear wheel with the spare one because that spare was a similar alloy but still i can notice that noise.

From last few days i am noticing that the sound gets louder when i leave the gas and car is rolling on the road to slow down.

Can someone please suggest what the issue can be?

Thanks

 

[wireman]

The first and most important thing to check for is tyre wall damage, look for a bulge on the side walls,
It could be just a bit of rust on the brake disk, check at the inner and outer edges of the working surfaces for a crusty ring of black/brown or circular ridges on the faces, this is common on higher mileage cars where the brakes are on their second set of pads, cure it with new disks. Or a maybe it could be sticky calliper, a bit unlikely as this would heat up the disk as you drive and it would be noticeable that one wheel would be quite hot when you stop, smelly means very hot.
There is a drive shaft from the gearbox to the front hub, check its gaiters at each end for integrity, check for little play on the shaft both end to end and twisting.
It is not normal for the hub bearing to make such a noise but it might be an early sign, if it is the bearings they will eventually begin to groan/hum/growl as you drive.

 

[kzee]

thanks wireman. I will have a look at the tyre wall.

Car has done only 41000 miles. I will consider other suggestions as well.

While searching on internet i found that some people has logged similar issue with their cars after taking foot off the gas. e.g. http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20101222160200AAMrkAp

 

[kzee]

Problem solved!

Today, i took my car to local tyre shop again to let them inspect the front wheel and tyre to figure out any issue. They took off the wheel checked everything and finally asked for keys to have a test drive. After test drive they said they could not spot any issue even they tried to listen to all unusual noises but everything was normal.

After work, i went for a long drive on same roads where this rubbing noise made me worried earlier on but now there was no more rubbing / growling sound. I think front wheel was some how loose may be because it had a puncture fixed a month ago from same tyre shop. Interestingly, mercedes specialist i visited earlier, lifted the car, holded all tyres firmlly and press them up down etc but could not spot any issue.

Thanks