Ok my car needs aligned i allready know that so i wanna fix the problem before i get that done. Im hearing this rubbing, grinding more like noise from the front passenger side tire. I will also hear a kinda drone at higher speeds which leads me to believe needs wheel bearing too. Im not sure on my 95 mustang i had when the wheel bearing was bad it had the drone all the time and would change pitch as u turned the wheel. This doesnt do it all the time but this grinding noise does this at any speed and when come to sudden stop and the car moves with momentum it will make this very same noise.

Its not a squeak like associated with common worn struts and if u press down on the car u will hear the noise but it doesnt bounce anymore then it should. Im guessing im have to do the whole strut but is there any other part possible down there that when the car is moved will make this sound?? Its not the brakes i allready checked that. Is it possible since it needs aligned its just rubbing on something? There is no play in the wheel when its jacked up and moved around.

So not brakes, doubting its whole hub and doubt that make a noise when pushed down on front fender. Its not the popping like a bad cv joint. Im guessing its just worn strut or is there something like on the ends of the strut that could be worn down ?

 

Forgot to mention...if the car is parked and u just plop down in the seat u can hear this sound as well. And its pretty much constant except on highway where its a smooth ride. I never taken one of these cars apart for a strut, im wondering if there is other parts on top of or below the strut.

 

Possibly two issues at work here --- drone could be a worn tire (from bad alignment). Swap your tires front to back, and see if the drone moves too.

As far as your crunching/rubbing/grinding ... a defective bushing on the sway bar could cause that, in fact, you should check all your bushings in the steering/suspension areas for wear or cracking. Don't know the mileage on your SL2, but it could be time for strut replacement all the way around. Good luck.....

 

Thanks for the info. I have only owned the car for a week so i dont know its history. It does have 159k on it so im sure something is worn out. The tire is def not worn down to the point of the rubbing sound, but who knows. I just bought it to save gas and sell my GTP which is killing me in gas for what i drive now days. I had a 92 Saturn SL1 and a 99 Saturn SL2 so i knew they were good cars. Just looks like im fixing some small stuff someone else neglected. Cosmetically car is in good shape and engine and transmission are solid. Just fixed couple small things so far, this only thing stiff bothering me. Because i know saturn road noise is always kinda loud but not this bad. I think ill take it to get aligned and then when they tell me they cant for whatever reason ill know what it is and then fix it then take it back lol

 

I was doing some searching on this forum..when im at a stope with clutch in and foot on brake i get a slight vibration and i read the passenger side top motor mount can make abad noise when worn out, sound almost sounds like its coming from there too..gotta check this out as well

 

Took it to get aligned. Its alot better now as almost every spec was off before. But its still not perfect, because i found out, have bad bearing, strut bent and spindle bent. Someone before me must hit something hard with that side...hence the reason i noticed i have a 99 rim on a 00 car and the rest are the stock 00 rims. So gotta get all these parts and have it re aligned again then be set.

 

Since you have all that going on, it's hard to believe the tires haven't been affected. Have a competent tireman look them over for problems