OK, I'm noticing a rumbling/fluttering noise from the front passenger wheel well.

I just had the ball-joints replaced on BOTH sides. My Tire/Alignment guy said to keep an eye on the Wheel Hub Bearings. That they might need to be replaced/RePacked sooner or later. If I'm correct, he said they CAN NOT be repacked with grease. That they need to be replaced. I don't know if the wheel bearings would cause such a noise. I had seen a How-To on repacking them. I'm contemplating just replacing them all together.

I also had two new tires put on. But had them put on the rear and had the existing tires put on the fronts. Now, I don't know if the rear tires were out of balance at all.

The noise happens intermittently. Usually at slower speeds (20-40mph). I don't know if it's a piece of plastic from the body/fender. I haven't had a chance to take the wheel off to look.

Any suggestions on what it might be so I know what I am looking for?

Check the brake dust shield.

Thanks. Never thought of that. I'll follow up if I figure it out.

i had 2 relocate mine 2

How do you Relocate a brake dust shield? If I'm correct it covers the rotor.

You can adj. them by moving them back away from the rotor slightly.
did this occur after putting the rear tires on front?
the tread could possibly be chopped causing the condition.

rotate them back, adj. and check the brake covers and road test it again and see if the noise changes.

I did not notice the noise until AFTER I had the alignment/ball joints done. I was thinking if its possible that the wheels weren't balanced.

Reason I say this is because I had the existing REAR tires put on front and the new ones put on the back. The new tires were mounted and balanced.

The front alignment was all messed up when I bought the car. The tires were toed-in causing uneven wear on the outer 1/2 of the tires. Also the ride height was off too. I think he told me the passenger side was lower. He made all the necessary adjustments.

I'll have to check the brake dust shield. If the humm/flutter still persists, I can only assume that it's either an unbalanced tire (but it doesn't effect my steering/driving) or the hub bearings are starting to wear which is causing the noise.

I'm by far a mechanic, so I am unfamiliar with certain sounds to pinpoint the problem. At the moment I'm guessing, that's why I posed the question here.

Thanks for the tip. I'll probably check it out Tues/Wed which are my days off.

I think an unbalanced tire would be “feel” rather than noise; vibration and/or shaking.
I think bearings would be more of a grinding sound than flutter.
If we know Year, 2 or 4 WD, mileage, any mods to your X it might help in a diagnosis.

it's a 2002 XE/V6 4X4, 104,845miles. ALL STOCK. New rear tires, standard, nothing oversized and new ball joints, . I believe the tires are 265 70R16 General Grabber HTS. Just had the Steering Coulmn replaced which was a Nissan Recall.

It almost sounds like a piece of the front plastic fender is flapping in the breeze or the mud flap. I had that happen on my Path. But I did a quick check from the outside and I didn't see anything loose or hanging. I'll know more when I jack it up, get the wheel off to take a better look to see what the problem is.

Thanks for the help

If the tire wore incorrectly for a long enough period, the tread could become "cupped" as we would say; creating unpleasant noise and/or vibrations

Ok, here's the latest on my "noise" issue. I took off the passenger side tire. I took off the brake caliper and pads. Used Brake Kleen on the rotors and pads and wiped them down from dust. I took a screwdriver and gently bent the dust shield back from the rotor. Replaced the pads and calipers. Checked for any loose plastic parts that may have been flapping in the breeze. Put the tire back on. Dropped the X back on all 4's. Now I take it for a test drive.

The fluttering noise still exists!!! Ugh!!!

So, I went to the self car wash and gave it a bath. Soap, rinse, wax, rinse and blow dry. Drove it back home. As I'm listening to the radio, I had to turn it off. What's that I hear?? SILENCE!!!! Holy crap!! The fluttering noise no longer exists!!

Ok, now I'm confused. The only logical answer I have is that there could possibly have been a leaf or leaves in the air vent duct that would flutter as I drove. I have no other clue but that.

Any other educated guesses?? I think mine is far fetched. Lol

The tires that are now on the front are in "like new" condition. Otherwise I would have replaced all 4 tires. There was uneven wear on the set I replaced and had the new tires put on the rear and the original tires on the front. So it wasn't tires, alignment, etc.

Ok, problem still exists. I think I've narrowed it down to the exhaust heat shield. It's a fluttering/rattling noise. This heat shield is right off the exhaust manifold near the firewall.

Anyone fix the problem with a hose clamp or did you just cut the welds and tear it off? If that shield is rather important, I'd rather use hose clamps and lock it down. What size hose clamp did you use?

Thanks

Ah, yes - those famous heat shields. I have a few on mine (2006) rattle and they can be very annoying. A couple have been removed, and one other was locked down with a hose clamp. I can't remember which one was "fixed" or what size clamp, but they should be cheap enough to pick up a few different sizes.

Sounds good. Guess I'll be hitting SEARS Hardware or my local Home Depot on my day off. LOL