integra brakes going thump thump thump

[BobCarter]

Hey, My wife has a 97 integra with about 120k on it. For about a year now it has been making this thumping, or thudding noise whenever the brakes get hot. Like if you are slowing down from interstate speeds, or carrying a lot of people. It is definitely comming from the front of the car. It has been in several times and they've turned the rotors, replaced the pads...last time they replaced one of the rotors and turned the other. Still the same result. I can't figure out what could making a noise like this? a hub/wheel bearing mayeb??? let me know what you think.

[Amirked]

doesn't sound like brakes .. check to see if anything is loose .. control arms, wheel bearing, strut assembly etc. . also check all of the bushings to see if they are worn out and creating play .. - it sounds like struts though

[Daniel]

For the life of me, I cannot think of anything in the brake assembly that would go thump thump. The only thing that is making contact as a result of your movement is your brake pads to the rotors, and their surface contact would not yield audible bumps, no matter how mad their condition is.

Maybe it's not your brakes, since it seems everything's been done to fix them if they were the problem.

Check your brake lines for loose brake lines.
Check your axles for busted CV joints.
Check your suspension for worn or loose assembly pieces, like bushings, bolts, etc.
Check the lug nuts, make sure they're torqued on.

[XSrcing]

when you say a thumping noise, does it keep thumping when you hit the brakes? or does it thump once?

[MikeR]

i know exactly what your talking about, mine is / was doing the same thing on the right front and it is only when applying the brakes and it is not a constant noise but a thump say once per every couple of revolutions. i just changed the wheel bearing in that side while doing a motor swap aprox. 7k miles ago, i checked it for play and nothing, my rotors showed nothing funny, pads are wearing fine(just changed them) but after i jacked it up and set it back down i haven't heard a thing since???? wish i knew !!!

[BobCarter]

It makes a thud sound only when the brakes are applied....and the harder you brake the louder it gets and you can somewhat feel it in the pedal. I've just about convinced myself that it is not a brake problem...but rather something else. I think the wheel bearing may be a probable cause. Would it be possible for a bearing to make such a noise? Someone mentioned struts...but I dont really see how a strut would cause that noise. Is it possible to check the bearing? How hard are they to replace...I'm somewhat knowledgeable and have a haynes manual. Thanks guys.

[timmyh]

Have a mechanic or someone knowledgable check the hardware that deals with whatever it is that lets you know when your brake pads get low (confusing, i know, but think about it and it'll hopefully make some sense). I believe it's a retaining clip of some kind that may be broken. Never had it myself, but have heard of this being such an issue.
Let us know how it works out and good luck.

[Daniel]

A Helms Manual will help you a lot more. Regarding struts, when you brake, the car's inertia transfers more load to the front suspension. It's possible, that they have worn out, and are rebounding. This would make sense in your case, because the more brake you apply, the quicker you stop, which means the more weight transfers to your front suspension, which means more rebounding, or bumping. Check your strut mounts and make sure the struts are securely torqued down. I wonder if you could have blown struts as well...

[Amirked]

yeah with the struts thats what i was trying to say .. you just explained it a lot better. . anyway also i dont know if integra's have them but on some vehicles there is a bushing on either side of the lower control arm for a torsion bar .. (if there is one i'm not sure) anyway .. just last week at work I had an old style toyota camry come in .. in the air everything checked out fine .. no shakes etc. . but when the car was lowered the front wheels had a lot of play from side to side .. on closer inspection those bushinghs were completely worn out . leading to a knocking noise and apull .. the alignment was impossible to get perfect. Anyway .. might not cause it but worth looking for.

[Batouttahell]

Hell yes, Bob-
I know exactly what noise you're talking about. IF the sound is a low frequencing "drumming" noise, most apparent following some heavy braking (or slowing down a loaded car). Warped rotors do that. Overheated rotors expand when hot, and the sound lessens when they've cooled down.
If I'm ever forced to stop hard, like when some idiot in front of me stands on his brakes the 1st millisecond the traffic light turns yellow, I take a right turn run down that road a bit to cool the brakes, then "u" turn to get back on my route. Also, if you've been forced to stop hard, try to edge slightly forward & rearward waiting for the light, so that the hot rotor expends it's heat evenly, as opposed to warping "around" the caliper. I've had my Integra for 5 years & have been trying to live with the shitty oem brakes.
One fina thought: try swapping the tires, front-> rear. Tire wear often expresses itself with sort of noise. My car got so much quieter when I replaced the played set of oem treads for the Dunlops.

Good luck,
W.

[waylund]

it could be a lot of things, including warped rotors. However, I had a similar thing happening and it turned out a lug nut fell off, then the others were loosening and the wheel was wobbling slightly... start with making sure everything in the wheel assembly is tight, then go from there