Light metallic scraping noise from front driver wheel

Question

I recently replaced the front brake pads and warped rotors on my 2002 VW Passat 1.8T. All went well and the new pads and rotors are working great and very quiet.

However, I noticed a light metallic scraping sound coming from the front driver side wheel whenever I turn the wheel right. It never occurs when going straight or turning left. And I have to roll down the window to hear it. At speeds > 20+ mph it cannot be heard. (the sound does not get louder with increased speed). And unfortunately, I do not know if it was present before I replaced my brakes.

When I lift the car on jack stands and turn the driver's wheel right and spin it, I cannot duplicate any metallic scraping. So I believe the sound only occurs under load.

I intend to replace my driver's side CV axle as the outer joint is leaking grease, and the grease has made a bit of a mess in the surrounding area around the caliper and wheel hub. I'm not sure if it could be the CV axle, because as far as I know the most common symptom of a bad CV joint is "clicking," but there is no clicking sound (yet).

Wear on brake pads looked pretty even on both wheels, so I am inclined to doubt it's an issue with the caliper.

Could it be my wheel bearing in the early stages of failure? Any ideas on how to analyze this would be appreciated.

Answer 1

Did you have to beat the old rotors off? It sounds like you have a dust cover/backing plate rubbing the rotor when turning right. Probably on the bottom of the rotor since it will flex ever so slightly during a turn.

If you were to remove the rotor, you should see a shiny spot on the dust cover somewhere. Or you could use a long screwdriver or something to reach in there to 'tweak' it away from the rotor.

Also noise location can be very deceiving. It is best to have someone stand outside the vehicle while duplicating the noise. That way you can verify the problematic wheel area.