Tink Tink Tink Tink

One of the things I enjoy is listening to cars and trying to figure out what's wrong with them by the noises they make.  Often times, you can pretty easily recognize belts slipping (and sometimes which belts) or dead CV joints, bad suspensions, broken exhaust manifolds, etc.

When the RV started making a noise about halfway between Baton Rouge and Baytown, I was concerned.  Really concerned.  The noise appeared to start at about 10mph and stopped at about 45mpg (or the wind noise drowned it out).  It sounded like it was coming from the front left wheel, which was super concerning since I'd just had the front wheel bearings completely replaced and now I was nearly a thousand miles from the place that did the work.  I don't have the tools or skills to fix this, so we'd be talking an expensive tow and then getting the right parts in, all while trying to find a place to stay while our house on wheels got fixed.  The noise was definitely speed related (not engine related) because I could feather the throttle and didn't hear the noise change frequency.

Leaving Baytown, I'd had enough.  I wasn't sure what the noise was, but I wanted more information.  I pulled off the road and had Sarah jump in the driver's seat.  My intention was to pull the wheel cover off and listen to the noise - "TINK TINK TINK" and see if I could determine if it was coming from the bearing, the brakes, or something else entirely, possibly something caught up in the wheel.

When I pulled the wheel cover off, the problem was obvious.  One of the lead weights had come loose from the rim and was sliding back and forth on the rim, hitting the wheel cover and rim alternately.  This accounted for the noise and once I removed the weight, the noise was gone.

What a relief.

Evil Lead Wheel Balancing Weight