Tire noises

A few questions. Does it seem to wobble or bump? Does the noise change when you go around a bend? Does the pitch change with the speed of the car? To me, a flat tire sounds more like a humming/roaring sound than a whine/whistle sound.

If it is wobbling or bumping, you likely need a new tire over there. A steel belt inside the tire (under the tread) has broken and the tire has developed a bump in it.

If the noise changes as you go around bends and changes with speed, and sounds more like a roaring/humming sound, then you probably need a wheel bearing -or- hub assembly. Generally, when I have a bad wheel bearing, I change the whole hub assembly. Because to me fixing a part with 187,000 miles on it to save maybe $40.00 just does not make sense.

Here is a guide on checking the tires: https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-car-tires-work - it does not include broken belt checking, but does have other potential issues in there.

Here is a YouTube video on checking for broken belts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGAIXwXGZ_g

Also, feel free to take lots of pictures and post them here. I will gladly look and see what I can see. Make sure to get good, detailed, close up shots from as many angles as you can.

Willie, try mounting the spare and see if that helps any. Also, while you have the wheel off, inspect the wheel studs.

Here is a google search that I did concerning stripped wheel studs. Take a look at the images and compare them to yours when you take the wheel off. https://www.google.com/search?q=stripped+wheel+stud&client=firefox-b-1&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjJzJzEyfrYAhXOuFMKHduAA6MQ_AUIDCgD&biw=1366&bih=619

Keep us posted.

Yeah the tread is low on that tire, which made it a little weak. When you hit the bump, it appears that was enough force to break one of the aforementioned steel belts, which made your car ride badly. To confirm, put the spare on and take it for a ride.

Oh boy you are lucky that thing did not come completely off while driving. I have been there in a mail truck. Not even a little bit fun. And very dangerous if it comes off at high speeds. Glad to hear you have a handle on it though. Just beware, the tire shop is likely going to try to sell you unnecessary work at a ridiculous price. Just have them do the bare minimum to make it safely driveable and then take it to a trusted independent mechanic and have them inspect it. They will generally give you an honest appraisal of the ball joints, control arm bushings, tie rods, and other such things.

As a general rule, I avoid Jiffy lube/quick lube places, Midas and other brake service places, tire shops, and pretty much any chains. Most of them pay their mechanics a commission for up-selling jobs. At least they do around here. I stick to my own driveway as the primary place I go to get it fixed, and one of two shops with mechanics that I have known for about twenty two years and trust with my own kid's life. I know a great deal about cars, but do not always have the time to fix it myself.

Frankly, I'm not sure why that axle would break like that. Only thing I can think of is if maybe the big axle nut wasn't tight enough it could've loosened up and had too much room to wiggle around, causing it to break. But that sounds like a long shot to me. Or maybe since it was an aftermarket axle it was just not built correctly, and it broke on it's own. Again, seems like a long shot. Go ahead and start a new thread concerning the broken axle and hopefully one of the other experts will be able to chime in with their experience.