i have a 2003 eclipse, ~78k miles, 4 cyl, kyb agx shocks tein s tech springs, rear swaybar swap (rear control arms, crossmember, endlinks, etc) 18x7.5 wheels and 225/40/18 tires.
i hit a horrible pothole a little less than a year ago, putting a fairly significant bend in my left rear wheel. when i had my tires replaced in november, they went to balance the wheel and could not get it done perfectly, though close. i shrugged it off, figured i'd get my wheel fixed before too long. time flies.. here i am about 15k miles later and still haven't fixed the wheel. the wheel, since being bent, has really liked to cause a vibration and make a "buffeting" noise (i.e. like when one window is down,) peaking at about 55 MPH. i figured it would be okay and just stayed away from the speed at which it was the worst (stupid decision, i know.) i started to get a vibration in my steering wheel recently and went to have my wheels balanced again, though my tires are near the end of their life. it seemed to have been much better for about a day.. after that the steering wheel vibration came back. i'm guessing this is an alignment issue? anyway, that's a side note. the vibration in the rear seems to have gotten worse since having them rebalanced.. long story short i suspected that i blew my wheel bearing considering the bend in the lip of the wheel/the vibration. i jacked my car up and when i grab the 12 o clock and 6 o clock positions of the wheel and try to rock it back and forth, there is zero movement. HOWEVER when i do the same thing at 3 and 9 o clock, there is a moaning/creaking noise. it will do this with the car completely on the ground as well.. it SEEMS as if i can hear the tire actually rubbing the ground a small bit when i do it, indicating there is some movement. i can't tell exactly what part of my rear suspension it's coming from.. it's made this noise for a long time (before the infamous pothole,) anytime i turn at low speeds. i don't believe it's the sway bar bushings, it sounds like it's coming from closer to the knuckle. it also makes this creaking noise (and has for a long time) while i'm jacking up the car and letting it back down. sorry, this is again swaying from the topic, but i just wanted to add that extra information in there in case it helps anyone out.
ANYWAY what makes me think it may be the wheel bearing is that when i spin the wheel, at the same part of every rotation there is a short, fairly quiet grinding noise. it makes the noise for about 10 degrees of rotation, followed by another grinding noise of opposite tone.. i.e. as if it was coming on and then off. it also has a small amount of resistance at that point in the rotation.
anyone else think this is the wheel hub/bearing? or could it be something in the brakes? (they are drum brakes)
sorry i know there is a lot of information, some possibly irrelevant to the problem i'm asking about. but any help on the other noises would be greatly appreciated too. i'm making a 500 mile road trip in a couple days and i do NOT want to be caught with a seized bearing. thanks so much guys!
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