Scraping noise on driver front wheel when reversing?

[mbcargirl]

Ok there are a few things that need fixed but I figured I'd ask about one at a time. Lately whenever I put my car in reverse and start to move I hear a metallic scraping noise for a brief moment near the drivers front wheel. Yesterday when I heard it the ebrake and ABS lights flashed on the dash then went right off. Driving and braking is normal and I didn't see anything stuck in there when looking underneath. The pads and rotors were replaced by the previous owner about a month before we got the car as well. The car is a 1993 Trans Am, auto. What could the noise be and how do I fix it?

[Kuhat]

what size are the wheels and are they stock? I had a scraping sound on the breaks from the chrome coming off of the wheels, so when you drove it the wheel would scrape against the caliper. that doesn't explain the ebreak and abs lights though...

[hoogiesngrinderz]

Front hub might be on it's way out.

[ruckusz28]

I've had a caliper freeze up before that would only grab and make noise when i was in reverse.

[hoogiesngrinderz]

I've had a caliper freeze up before that would only grab and make noise when i was in reverse.

Possible, had it happen to me before, but not sure if it would cause ABS issue.

[mbcargirl]

The wheels that are currently on it are 16" steelies that were bought for winter use, they came off a '98 TA & the guy I bought them from got them from Tirerack.com. The OEM wheels are 93 3 spoke swirl style in silver & the noise occurred with those too. When Backing up I haven't noticed the brakes grab or anything, just heard the noise for a second. I just had the winter steelies put on, if a hub was bad should the tire place have mentioned it? It might be worth mentioning that along with the yellow emblems on the car, the previous owner painted all of the calipers red, then painted yellow over that & it's flaking off. Since I've only heard the noise on 1 wheel I figured that wasn't the source.

[hoogiesngrinderz]

They'll rarely check hubs/wheel bearings unless you ask, at least from my experience.

It may not be going bad though, the reluctor ring inside may be corroding and rubbing the sesnsor. Hard to say, diagnosing via the internet is never easy and full of guesses.

[JoeliusZ28]

First two things that come to mind are hub (especially if you got an ABS light) or the brake pad squealer is just starting to make contact in a way that it only makes noise in one direction.

[mbcargirl]

Besides taking the wheel off, what do I need to do to check the hub? Also what do I look for? Sorry if the answer is obvious, I am still learning but if it's something I can fix myself, great lol. You mentioned a sensor, you mean a wheel speed sensor, or an ABS sensor? Guessing ABS, and if it's that what do I do? I will try to get a better look at it tomorrow & try to get some pics of it. Thank you for the advice so far!

[hoogiesngrinderz]

Besides taking the wheel off, what do I need to do to check the hub? Also what do I look for? Sorry if the answer is obvious, I am still learning but if it's something I can fix myself, great lol. You mentioned a sensor, you mean a wheel speed sensor, or an ABS sensor? Guessing ABS, and if it's that what do I do? I will try to get a better look at it tomorrow & try to get some pics of it. Thank you for the advice so far!

Wheel speed sensor and ABS sensor are synonymous. The sensor is integrated into the back of the hub.

Lift the car and see if you can rock the wheel up and down, hands at 12 and 6 position on the wheel. That's a quick way to check but not the best.

[mbcargirl]

Ok I was able to check it out today. First I shook the wheel and didn't observe any loose play, it was tight. After taking the wheel off I tried to see if there was anything metallic that was scraping (I spun the hub & rotor both clockwise & counterclockwise a few times). I didn't hear anything but I noticed the steering end link bushing was pretty dry rotted & falling apart so that's added to my "To Do" list. Now, I've never done brakes before but I noticed the brake pad was sitting against the rotor instead of having a little space in between. The wheel hub spins, but not freely as the pad is rubbing against it. Is it safe to assume it's not supposed to do that? I hear no noise when braking and the pad wasn't really close to the wear indicator yet. I took some pictures but it's taking forever to load them from my phone.

[Lucky SOB]

Sounds normal, but by not spinning freely, do you mean you can feel it scraping against the rotor? It's not going to spin really easily as you might expect. Especially when you're just turning it by the wheel studs.

Are the calipers tight to the brackets?

[mbcargirl]

well it spins but scrapes a little too, like it won't do a full 360 degree rotation on it's own. The other front pad is the same way, just barely touching but it can be spun. So I'm not sure what's making the scraping noise. It never happens when at speed, just from a stop backing up to 1 or 2 mph, just for a second.
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[hoogiesngrinderz]

Pads will always rub the rotor, braking or not.

I see a groove on the rotor that fits the squal tab...doesn't explain the ABS light though. The outside pad has plenty of life as well.

[mbcargirl]

Well next month I'm planning on probably having to take it to the dealership to fix an issue with the drivers window, highbeam switch not working, and maybe getting a spare key so I'll probably just have them look into the scraping noise. Thanks for the help