i just had a very expensive (700 dollars) repair done which was the
result of loose axle nuts on the rear. wrecked axle stubs, wheel hubs,
drums and bearings - started off as a scraping noise - those axle nuts
need to be torqued to 350 ft lbs (i know now)

please consider this to be a cautionary tale

good luck

take care

monte

84 gl - works fine now

On May 4, 2006, at 2:38 PM, Dave Vickery wrote:

Nope that wasn't it.  The rust is coming out from around the wheel nut.
  I
took it off, used brake cleaner for a minute to run out as much rust as
I
could, then sprayed lithium grease around the bearing seal letting it
run
out and take some rust with it, then wiped up the excess.  Hope those
two
compounds are o.k. in a wheel.  Put it all back together and no noise at
all.  Still suspect I will have to have that bearing replaced in the
near
future.

> From: Dennis Haynes <dhaynes@OPTONLINE.NET>
> Reply-To: Dennis Haynes <dhaynes@OPTONLINE.NET>
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Re: Scraping Sound--Wheel Bearing?
> Date: Tue, 2 May 2006 06:57:09 -0400
>
> Backing plates are both rusted and bent.
>
> Dennis
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf
> Of Dave Vickery
> Sent: Monday, May 01, 2006 11:24 PM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Scraping Sound--Wheel Bearing?
>
> Here is a puzzler.
>
> My van has new rear brakes and drums.  Before I had that done, I was
> power
> washing it and noticed a lot of rust or Arizona red dirt coming out of
> the
> right rear wheel when directing spray at it.  This was right after I
> bought
> it.  After power washing, I heard the wheel scraping for the first
> time.
> It
> went away after driving for a while.  Hard turns and stops makes it
> come
> back.  I had brakes and drums put on at Brakes Plus and they said it
> was
> really scraping bad after they got it all back together.  They said
> they
> tightened the axle nut and test drove again and it started up again.
> They
> tighten it some more.  They got several turns out of it I guess and it
> was
> better for a while.  I took the van to mechanic and it wasn't making
> noise
> at that time.  He said it seemed fine.  They said if it was wheel
> bearings,
> it would make noise all the time.  It scrapes depending on the load on
> the
> wheel.  A little throttle and the sound goes away, or let it engine
> brake a
> little and it goes away.  Makes me wonder if the wheel is able to move
> some.
>   It scrapes as it rotates and when I had it jacked up it was scraping
> in
> the same spot each revolution and sounds like it the drum against the
> thinner metal cover behind the wheel but I couldn't find a particular
> spot.
> Looking at the now slightly worn brake shoes they are not wearing
> evenly
> on
> that wheel.  The scraping is getting worse and I am embarrassed to
> drive
> it
> in public.
>
> Anyone know what the likely problem is?
>
> Thanks
> Dave
> 91 Syncro

"I long ago lost a hound, a bay horse, and a turtle dove, and am still
on their trail. Many are the travelers I have spoken to concerning
them, describing their tracks and what calls they answered to. I have
met one or two who had heard the hound, and the tramp of the horse, and
even seen the dove disappear behind a cloud, and they seemed as anxious
to recover them as if they had lost them themselves." - henry thoreau