how to get rid of wheel sim noise

rick_od · 10-08-2007, 03:45 AM

Hello all,
My front wheel simulators are driving me crazy. I have owned my RV for close to 2 years now. When I first bought it I had a screeching noise in the front that I could not locate. Every time I would try a fix, I would put the wheel sim's back on and go for a drive with no success. Then it occured that it is probably the sim's themselves. Took them off and went for a drive and to my suprise, it was the sim's. Once I knew there was nothing mechanically wrong the sim's went back on and I lived with the noise.
Does anybody have a fix for the screeching noise??

rick_od · 10-08-2007, 03:45 AM

Hello all,
My front wheel simulators are driving me crazy. I have owned my RV for close to 2 years now. When I first bought it I had a screeching noise in the front that I could not locate. Every time I would try a fix, I would put the wheel sim's back on and go for a drive with no success. Then it occured that it is probably the sim's themselves. Took them off and went for a drive and to my suprise, it was the sim's. Once I knew there was nothing mechanically wrong the sim's went back on and I lived with the noise.
Does anybody have a fix for the screeching noise??

Doug Sage · 10-08-2007, 04:37 AM

Hi, Rick_od;
I had a noise in my right front wheel cover too. It was only noticeable to me at very slow speeds. I fussed around trying to figure out what the problem was and found that taking the cover off and putting it back on made the noise go away for a short time. My problem turned out to be a wheel weight. I had a 4 oz. weight that had a broken wheel clip. The clip still had a bend in it that went over the wheel but it just hung loosely on the rim - it could not be tightened. It was pinched between the wheel and the cover so it would not come off but it could slide around the rim to some degree. This sliding created a noise that was amplified like a drum by the wheel cover. The simple solution was to take the weight off and have the wheel rebalanced. The noise went away and has not returned.

Steve n Dar · 10-08-2007, 05:24 AM

Hi,
I had the exact problem with both of my front wheel covers. Just like you, took me a year to figure it out. My latest fix has seemed to do the trick. I pulled the covers, and applied a strip of half inch foam window insulation all the way around the inside lip. That extra bit of padding seems to stop the squeek.

Trek-Cyclist · 10-08-2007, 07:06 AM

You could also try battery terminal felt washers.
Place the washer between the rim and the wheel cover. It would be like using the foam but might last longer...

Richard 34A · 10-08-2007, 09:46 AM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by rick_od:
Hello all,
My front wheel simulators are driving me crazy. I have owned my RV for close to 2 years now. When I first bought it I had a screeching noise in the front that I could not locate. Every time I would try a fix, I would put the wheel sim's back on and go for a drive with no success. Then it occured that it is probably the sim's themselves. Took them off and went for a drive and to my suprise, it was the sim's. Once I knew there was nothing mechanically wrong the sim's went back on and I lived with the noise.
Does anybody have a fix for the screeching noise?? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Alcoa alloy wheels! Except I haven't been able to find them available for my specific chassis...

rick_od · 10-08-2007, 12:18 PM

Steve n Dar,
1/2" wide or 1/2" thick ?? and are you talking about the silver stuff ??
Rick

Izzyblueye · 10-09-2007, 03:40 AM

I have had the same problem. In addition my sims used to rub against the steel rim and cause un-sightly rust. I bought some 1/4" clear plastic hose at the hdwe store. Cut into 4--2 inch pieces for each wheel, slit it length wise and slipped it over the outside edge of the sims at equal distances around circumference, then re-installed the sims. Can't see it and it stopped the noise and the rust. cheap fix.

flashajt · 10-09-2007, 03:58 AM

We note only had noise but our sims were "out of round" so as we drove down the highway it looked like our wheels were about to fall off - they were whobbling.

After researching new sims we settled on new rims. We looked at Accurides and Alcoa wheels. Very pricey but we love them. We ended up with the Accurides.

Tom N · 10-09-2007, 05:10 AM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Homer:
I have had the same problem. In addition my sims used to rub against the steel rim and cause un-sightly rust. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

So that is where the rust on my tires is coming from.

I'll try the plastic tubing.

-Tom