pector@ihuxw.UUCP (Scott W. Pector) (04/13/84)
I called my mother the other night and found out she was having some problems with her car. It's a 1977 Pontiac Bonneville with a V8 engine and it has 36000 miles on it. The story went like this: About 6 months ago, she began to notice an occasional thump when she made a left turn. She saw a mechanic about it and he said that her idler arm was loose and had dropped down about an inch. She asked whether it was serious. The mechanic that it eventually would be since if the idler arm kept dropping, she would lose the ability to steer or maybe just the ability to turn the car. He added that although she need not make the repair immediately, she should do so in the near future. Do to various circumstances, she made little use of the car over the next few months. About a month ago, she had to start using it again because my father was in the hospital. She was unable to bring it in for repair immediately, though. A couple of weeks ago, she began to notice a hum. The hum was neither shrill nor harsh (as in grinding), but only occurred when the car was moving. It was loudest at 30 mph, decreasing as the car went faster. She compared the sound to the noise made when one drives over lane separators (i.e., the road level part of an island). A few days ago, she took the car in for service. The idler arm and link were replaced (she says on the left side, although I don't know if that makes sense). In addition, she had her front disc brakes replaced and the rotors ground. The hum is still there. Do any of you have any idea what the hum might be due to? It still has the same properties as described in the preceding paragraph. Please mail your responses to me, or if you feel this might be worth some discussion, then submit your responses to net.auto. Thanks in advance, Scott Pector