Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Wheels & Tires Noisy Continental ContiExtremes?

I have 86K on my 99 and no problems with wheel bearings! The 25 PSI easily cause the problem. At that pressure, the tread buckles causing minor vibration which equates to noise. Also, most tires have a break in period.

Just for insurance purposes, I would call Tire Rack and place a claim on them so that if it returns Tire Rack doesn't say you should have called us a month ago!

-Andy

Excellent idea, Andy. At this stage, I guess I have to cull a bunch of opinions from as many sources as possible. I'll call Tire Rack and see what they have to say.

It just doesn't make sense that all four tires are bad. The noise (coupled with a vibration that I can feel in the pedals and steering wheel) can be demonstrated repeatedly, with a slight turn to the right being a bit louder than a slight turn to the left. If it were the wheel bearing, I guess it is the right one that is acting up. The noise appears to be speed related as well, as it gets progressively louder as speed increases. It may be me, but it seems that it has been getting steadily worse as time goes on. Of course, that could just be my sensitivity to it. But that could work in my favor, as the cause will eventually become easier to pinpoint.

What's so disappointing with this latest problem is that it is just another niggling issue in a long line of niggling issues. In the past two years, my E0 CSVT has had to have the main catalytic converter replaced (barely under the 80K warranty, fortunately), the water pump imploded and stranded me, a squeaking rear suspension was tinkered with three times before it finally shut up, a power antenna that refuses to come down anymore, the factory CD player quit working and had to be replaced, a power steering hose sprung a leak, and then the tires get chewed up at 14K. Now this. None of it is major, and all of it was fixable for relatively modest sums, but you know how frustrating this can get. The watchword lately has been, "NOW what?"

Sigh....

I still like the car (ordered it sight-unseen when SVT announced it in 1997 to replace a SHO), but occasionally I glance longingly at the Evo or STi (if I feel like a boy-racer) or the 6s, TSX, IS300, or WRX if I feel a bit more responsible and think the grass is greener with those new shiny things. Of course, I know that probably isn't true. A six-year-old sports sedan with almost 90K miles is going to need some care and feeding to maintain its prime operating efficiency, no matter who makes it.


Lee K

Lee, I'm not a gambler, but I would put money on your problem being wheel bearing related. A few CEGers replied to this proposed culprit by saying that in their case, they have lotsa miles without wheel bearing problems. Good for them, but that doesn't mean that wheel bearings aren't historically problematic with Contours.

2 ways to test for wheel bearing problems:
1. Jack up the offending corner of the car, remove the wheel, and rotate the hub by hand. Put your hand on the hub while doing this, and you may be able to feel the vibration. You can't blame tires if the wheel is off the ground!
2. Does the noise go away with a slight turn of the steering wheel to one side, and it doesn't go away with a slight turn to the other? This is a classic symptom.

Best of luck finishing your diagnosis.

Kurt,

Actually, the noise gets *worse* with slight turns to the left or right, with the turn to the right making a bit more noise than a turn to the left. I know it's tough to describe a noise with words in posting to a discussion forum, but I've used the term "howl" in my initial posting. It sounds to my uneducated ear like really noisy tires, almost like what you hear from those huge 4x4s with off-road tires when they zoom by on the highway. Other Contour owners with these tires report that the Continentals are relatively quiet (especially compared to the Goodrich KDWs), so unless I've gotten four bad tires (highly unlikely), the problem has to be with the suspension.

Thanks so much for your opinions and I'll get the wheel off this weekend to see if I can feel any play in the hub. I'm also going to take the car into a tire place (not the one that mounted the tires) that I trust and see if they can diagnose what is going on.

Lee K

Did a search on the forums for "wheel bearing" and found numerous (many!) posts about cars with the same exact symptoms as I've described. Interesting to see how they described the noise: some a howl, some a groan, some a vibration, some a wail. One poster even mentioned the same 4x4 off-road tire sound that I hear. But all say that it gets progressively worse. I believe the left front wheel bearing is the most likely suspect, as the noise I hear gets worse on right turns.

Thanks again to Kurt and all who replied.

Lee K

Yes, noises are hard to describe. Just ask the Car Talk guys...

Anyway, the noise my bearings made was described by some as an airplane cruising, and by others as the 4x4 sound. The best description I ever came up with was the sound of rolling a tire through a slightly tacky tar surface on a hot day. I had a bad RF bearing (meaning passenger side) and it went away on slight left turns. Sounds like you are correct in pointing to the LF as your culprit.

Update: Took the car into the dealer and had them look at the noisy/howling/growling front end. It was indeed the wheel bearings. They replaced both front bearings for what I thought was a very reasonable $349. Now the car is so quiet it is spooky! Thanks again to Kurt for correctly diagnosing the problem.

Lee K
98 E0 CSVT, silver

A dealer replacing LF and RF wheel bearings for $350? That's a good deal. Some dealers have asked nearly that much for 1 side only.

I'll be rolling on a set of these soon enough!

215/45/17's I hope the traction is as good as the treadlife!