Hi Everyone;


First time posting!! Go easy on me :) I''m still learning my car.


I picked up a 2000 SC1 a couple of months ago and recently had new tires put on the front. I now have a noise/very slight buzzing vibration coming from the front end.


I''m not sure if the two are related, though. The noise picks up with vehicle speed, not engine rpm. It does not matter what gear I am in (5 speed), it changes linearly with vehicle speed. If I turn down a slight right hand turn on the highway the noise goes away. When I center the tires again, or turn left, the noise comes back. The noise does not get worse the more I turn left, it just comes back and stays the same level as when I am travelling straight. Could this indicate CV Joints? A visual inspection of the CV Boots looks OK. Is there a quick method to checking the CV joints by moving them and looking for freeplay or something? I hardly have to turn the wheel to the right at all to get the noise to go away.


Tires are balanced OK, the buzzing vibration does not appear to be balance related (steering wheel does not shake like a balance issue).


Car does not pull to either side. Brakes do not grab when applied.


A friend of mine told me that the tire shop put the tires on backwards, that I shouldn''t be able to read the DOT labelling, this should be on the inside...I had directional tires on my 89 Thunderbird years ago but I figure for the 50 bucks these tires are worth on the Saturn that they probably aren''t directional. However, I look on the tires on the back, and there is no DOT label on the outside (different brand however). If, by some chance, they are directional, could this cause the noise/buzzing sound? I don''t think so, because I wouldn''t think the noise would go away when I turn right.


When I get some more daylight, I''m going to crawl underneath again to see if there is a chance of plastic rubbing or something that was moved slightly to allow it to rub, but not rub when turning right.


Thanks in advance for any pointers you can provide.


Rick

Depending on how many miles are on the car, it could be the front wheel bearings.

and also depending where you went to get your tires put on....check the lug nuts, and even maybe a wheel balancing...

Thanks for the replies. I checked the lug nuts, and they''''re on good. The vibration/buzzing noise is a faster rpm than the wheels would make if they were out of balance. It does sound like it could be the right rpm for the wheel bearings though. I crawled underneath today and it doesn''t appear that any plastic is near enough to rub the CV joints or shafts, and all CV Boots look to be in good shape, but the plastic piece under the radiator feels like it could vibrate seriously in the wind at highway speeds. Who knows?


My next question...The 2000 SC1 I picked up was originallysold in Quebec, Canada, and so the owners manual is only in French. I have been looking around (not too seriously until now) and haven''''t been able to locate an English owners manual. Are there any sites I can download a manual for free or at cost? I''''ve done a few searches and checked ebay but no luck yet.


Thanks again,


RickEdited by: Ricketts

try http://partsource.com .....goto do it your self. Their is also some tips and service tips on http://autozone.com as well look on their and you''ll find some basic repairs, also have some randoms on theirs which might help..

Cool, thanks! I didn''t have any luck at partsource.com but autozone had some pointers. I''ll have to keep an eye on ebay or something for an owners manual.


Thanks,


Rick