Can you name that sound (squeaking)?

[SJ-Chris]

I have a 2013 Coachman 210qb Leprechaun Class C. It has a Ford v10 e350 Super Duty engine. It has 111k miles on it and it hasn't been giving me any issues until now. It has recently started making a squeaking/rubbing noise that I cannot identify. Looking for suggestions....


Here are the symptoms.... After sitting parked for many hours/overnight, when I start it up and start driving there is a rubbing/squeaking noise that starts at about 15mph and continues up to about 40mph. Once up to about 20mph, the noise happens while accelerating, and/or while coasting, and/or while braking. It doesn't matter what gear it is in. The sound stays constant between shifting gears and also if applying a slight pressure on the brakes. After about 1.5 miles of driving, the sound goes away and it doesn't happen again until the car has been sitting parked for many hours (or overnight).


It sounds like something is possibly rubbing (brakes??) during this time and I suspect it has something to do with the rotation of one or more of the wheels. To me, the squeaking noise sounds like it might be related to the tires rotating (...the noise is kind of rhythmic and the speed of it seems related to how fast the car is going). Maybe it goes away because something has warmed up after 1.5 miles???


I did one additional test. I let the RV sit overnight. In the morning, I turned on the car and let it idle for 10 minutes so that the ENGINE itself was warmed up. I thought maybe if the sound is going away once some component of the ENGINE is warming up that I would be able to do this test (get the engine warm and THEN drive it...maybe I wouldn't hear the noise). But when I drove it I got the same noise (rubbing/squeaking) starting at about 15mph for about 1.5 miles and then it once again went away.


Here is a video where you can hear the noise. Turn up your speaker. In this video, it starts at about 2 seconds and goes away at around 8-12 seconds.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZz_NoQntB0
(Note: The "D" (drive) flashing in the video isn't real...it doesn't flash/blink like that. For some reason it just looks that way in the video)


Here is another video where you can hear the rubbing/squeak louder right up to about the 20 second mark.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/2VmWOJROS-s

Any thoughts?

A friend of mine who is mechanically inclined thought it might be the "indicator clips"(?) of the brake pads making the rubbing/squeaking noise. I'm not convinced that is the issue since the noise is happening NOT because I am braking...it just starts making that noise once the vehicle goes from being cold started and then gets to about 15mph. Could indicator clips cause/behave something like this?

"indicator clips" are the small clips on the brake pads that will hit the rotors (and make noise) before your brake pads get too low.

Let me know what you think.

Thanks!
Chris

[SJ-Chris]

Travelin2 wrote:
I had a similar squeak on a previous RV. It droves us crazy and like yours it would start when driving at a slow speed and eventualy stop after things got warmed up. I swore it had to be in the suspension/drive works of the rig but it was not. After sitting overnight or even when we were stopped at a restaurant if it was cool outside, the tires develop a flat spot where it meets the ground. As you start driving it starts a bit of shaking in the motorhome. As the tire warms a bit from driving it warms and the flexing of the tire limbers up the tire and the flat spot goes away and so does the minor tremors traveling through the coach. One morning we headed out on another trip and that damned squeak started up. For some reason a thought occurred to me. We were still near home and on a slow speed road,right in the "squeak zone". I ask my wife to go to the entry door and open it up. Upon opening the door the squeak stopped instantly. It turned out the slight tremor caused by the stiff tire flat spots was causing the
door to move ever so slightly in its' opening and the aluminum of the door was rubbing against the aluminum of the door frame, causing the squeak. End of story and end of squeak.

Thanks for the feedback. Wow...that would be a very hard squeak (the one you figured out)! It's the on again, off again issues that are sometimes very hard to pinpoint (...especially for us weekend mechanics). For now, my squeak has suddenly stopped. Could have something to do with the wet weather. I'll take it out again for a drive next week and see if it squeaks or not. I'll post an update if I discover anything new.

-Chris

[Travelin2]

I had a similar squeak on a previous RV. It droves us crazy and like yours it would start when driving at a slow speed and eventualy stop after things got warmed up. I swore it had to be in the suspension/drive works of the rig but it was not. After sitting overnight or even when we were stopped at a restaurant if it was cool outside, the tires develop a flat spot where it meets the ground. As you start driving it starts a bit of shaking in the motorhome. As the tire warms a bit from driving it warms and the flexing of the tire limbers up the tire and the flat spot goes away and so does the minor tremors traveling through the coach. One morning we headed out on another trip and that damned squeak started up. For some reason a thought occurred to me. We were still near home and on a slow speed road,right in the "squeak zone". I ask my wife to go to the entry door and open it up. Upon opening the door the squeak stopped instantly. It turned out the slight tremor caused by the stiff tire flat spots was causing the
door to move ever so slightly in its' opening and the aluminum of the door was rubbing against the aluminum of the door frame, causing the squeak. End of story and end of squeak.

[klutchdust]

tomcat88 wrote:
Here a squeaking noise I had in my class C at 17000 miles that made me crazy till I found it, where they cut the roof of the cab out, (the haft round) they riveted the medal to the wood (not good) the rivets came loose and the medal would rub on the wood going down the road. I pulled out the head liner and installed about 30 self-tapping lath screws #8 1/2" Problem solved 60,000 miles later still good.

My 09 Cambria had the tv mounted in that area, I had that squeak. Actually two squeaks. They epoxied or glued metal brackets to the roof cutout area then fastened the nose cone to that. well over time they came loose. I used a very strong product that cured that, well then there was another one. They had speakers on both sides of the TV mounted in a wood frame. After a application of wood glue and a few extra screws the squeak was gone.
That tapping sound you hear my dear? well the strap that you pull the awning down with would do that. Even as obvious as it was it stumped me for awhile.
Best hint I learned was using towels in-between pots and pans etc. Once I had my new stereo system installed i hardly noticed any of those squeals.

[tomcat88]

Here a squeaking noise I had in my class C at 17000 miles that made me crazy till I found it, where they cut the roof of the cab out, (the haft round) they riveted the medal to the wood (not good) the rivets came loose and the medal would rub on the wood going down the road. I pulled out the head liner and installed about 30 self-tapping lath screws #8 1/2" Problem solved 60,000 miles later still good.

[klutchdust]

Grit dog wrote:
Back to drivetrain squeaks. Our 86 GMC K20 has a little speed dependent squeak aft of the transfer case. 1 piece driveshaft.
This is one that would stump most and I’m not totally sure what it is even.
Not outer axle bearings, not brakes/drums and I pulled the driveshaft and both u joints feel perfect.
And it only does it when the truck is in motion. In gear with rear wheels in the air, no squeak.
Best I can figure is one of the u joint cups that I can’t pull without popping the u joint out is just beginning to dry out. Just enough to make noise but probably won’t be evident wear for quite a few more miles.

"And it only does it when the truck is in motion.' hmm. that's a good one. First thought would be suspension related or something to do with the body and chassis flexing against each other. On the stands it's stationary. Body mount or rubber worn? I owned 2 K-5 one "85 and one "90 they were tight despite the use they got. Found out the 90 was on a chassis that was also used for utility trucks like catering trucks. Explains the frustration in getting chassis parts, one sharp eyed parts guy told me about it when I needed motor mounts.
Off topic but .....

[klutchdust]

Grit dog wrote:
And a word of caution about serpentine belts and goop on them.
Not like v belts. And of course the soap trick is opposite of belt dressing. Lube vs sticky.
Never use belt dressing on a serpentine belt unless you absolutely have to get more belt grab and can’t replace the tensioner.

I didn't word my post correctly. What I meant to say is use the soap trick to see if it changes the squeak, then you would know it's the belt. I personally have not used belt dressing on my vehicles

[Grit_dog]

Back to drivetrain squeaks. Our 86 GMC K20 has a little speed dependent squeak aft of the transfer case. 1 piece driveshaft.
This is one that would stump most and I’m not totally sure what it is even.
Not outer axle bearings, not brakes/drums and I pulled the driveshaft and both u joints feel perfect.
And it only does it when the truck is in motion. In gear with rear wheels in the air, no squeak.
Best I can figure is one of the u joint cups that I can’t pull without popping the u joint out is just beginning to dry out. Just enough to make noise but probably won’t be evident wear for quite a few more miles.

[Grit_dog]

And a word of caution about serpentine belts and goop on them.
Not like v belts. And of course the soap trick is opposite of belt dressing. Lube vs sticky.
Never use belt dressing on a serpentine belt unless you absolutely have to get more belt grab and can’t replace the tensioner.

[klutchdust]

\My thought was if there was metal to metal contact it may have rusted and now preventing the squeak.
When I did have an engine squeak and eventually realized it was the idler tensioning bearing. ( it grenaded the day before I was going to change it) It didn't change frequency regardless of what the engine RPM was. I was nursing it along with a few squirts of lube every few days until I could get to it. This was on my commuter vehicle.

Some times A serpentine belt will do the same regardless of engine speed. Old school, rub a soap bar on it and then start it up is a good diagnosis. Of course now they have belt dressing. When I remove a belt that is still useful and replace it with a new one I store it in my vehicle just in case. I also did that with my Polaris Ranger which is belt driven.

[enblethen]

Water has "lubricated" your problem. Dry suspension bushings would be my guess at this time.

[SJ-Chris]

Interesting update.....OP here....

Well, it's been raining so much here in California that I haven't bothered to investigate this squeak any further yet. I was planning on checking the brakes to continue looking for the issue. It has been sitting now for about 2 months. I decided today I would take it out for a drive just to make sure it is still squeaking. I was surprised to discover that there was no longer any squeaking! I was able to get up to 40-45mph without any squeak. Stopped. Started. Accelerated. Coasted. Couldn't hear any squeak...it was gone.

I guess I will have to wait for a few more days and then try it again. Hasn't rained in about 5 days. I know problems don't usually cure themselves, so I'll be planning/expecting it to show up again sometime...

-Chris

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

OK, I'll chime in with our adventures with "strange squealings". A month after our trip to Alaska in 2006, our 2004 Class C started to sound like a cat was being killed underneath "MeowMeowMeow" and it was loud. (Attracted the attention of pedestrians) Your sounds are very similar, just quieter. It started at around 15 mph, and stopped at higher speeds. We too did all sorts of crazy things trying to track it down including me pedaling as fast as I could on my bike to pinpoint the sound from outside the MH. Finally decided it was a carrier bearing near the middle of the MH, took it to a truck shop for service. They said yes, the "sealed" carrier had lost its seal and the harsh volcanic dust in Alaska had gotten into the bearings. They replaced the carrier, and all was well.

As an aside: we were told this was NOT covered under Ford's drivetrain warranty, because the frame had been lengthened to build the MH and new bearings had been added. We contacted Gulf Stream, and they put us in touch with the company near Elkhart that did the frame lengthening - they were SUPER-nice and offered to replace the bearing for free - would even let us arrive the night before, and would be the first service the next day so that we could be home that night. We decided to have it replaced at our expense locally, because we had a grandchild due to be born and didn't want to be gone. It ended up costing us around $300-ish; but I was really impressed by the willingness of the company (whose name I have forgotten) to help us out!

[Gjac]

Chris your u joints and carrier bushing looks good, you can put a wrench or socket on a breaker bar on the tensioner pulley and remove the belt or just relieve the tension and wiggle each pulley to see if there is any play in them. Also you asked earlier how to check the break squealers, sometimes with out wheel liners or hub caps you can see them with a bright light and a mirror on the end of the break pad. Also if the pads are thin say a 1/8 or so they could be rubbing. Taking the tire off to check to check is not that hard either. While it is jacked up you can wiggle the tire to check you wheel bearings also. Good luck.

[ernie1]

Have you checked the bushing in the tailshaft of the transmission? Maybe the oil around that area is due to a bad bushing which is hammering the seal to a point that it's leaking. If you can get your hands on a chassis ear tool it will find the problem quick.