[dann2707]

Hey. I've recently done a few things to the front of the car including new wishbones and bushes, new springs and a new shock absorber.

After fitting the new shocks and springs i'm getting a stupidly annoying knocking sound at speeds over 25mph from the o/s

I'm wondering if i've mashed up the wheel bearing when fitting the new shocker, I may have had to give the assembly a few hits from the persuader to locate the shocker properly. The noise is loud!

I've had the car on axles stands and removed the tyres and also the brake calipers to rule them out but it still persists. Heres a vid, the car is a mk4 Ibiza tdi sport.

Cheers!

 

[SteveTDCi]

I've not listened to the sound clip but the first thing that springs to mind is ... There isn't a splash shield behind the disc that's been bent ?

 

[possul]

Above or possible stones that have now been dislodged from the brake carrier, common with polo's

 

[dann2707]

I've not listened to the sound clip but the first thing that springs to mind is ... There isn't a splash shield behind the disc that's been bent ?

Checked all that mate, totally out of the way

Above or possible stones that have now been dislodged from the brake carrier, common with polo's

Can't see any stones visually, the noise was still very loud when the brake was removed.

It's such a pain this. Could the driveshaft not be in properly?

 

[Snowy172]

Could be a distorted tyre I had a similar sound on my old st170 I was sure was bearing jacked it up spun the wheel n the tyre was like an egg. What make tyres you got? Heard conti n pirelli are more common to it

 

[dann2707]

I'm not sure what they are dude but look like budgets all around.

My rear tyre is really dodgy at the back, the beading is nearly through on the inside. However when I spin the front o/s wheel it does feel smoothish then hits a tight spot. Not sure if thats the diff working though, but doesn't feel like that feeling.

 

[possul]

You won't see the stone unless you lift the caliper out.
Is it coming from the right? If so go for a drive and turn the wheel left slightly, if it gets worse it could well be the bearing. Vice versa if its the left.
Wheel should rotate freely, a little resistance is normal but no notch should be evident

 

[dann2707]

You won't see the stone unless you lift the caliper out.
Is it coming from the right? If so go for a drive and turn the wheel left slightly, if it gets worse it could well be the bearing. Vice versa if its the left.
Wheel should rotate freely, a little resistance is normal but no notch should be evident

Don't want to sound like an idiot here haha but i've had the brake off and the noise still persists even with the brake off and the car being revved in the air

Thanks for the reply mate

 

[possul]

Ok so you have had the wheels turning via engine with the wheels off the ground?
So it changes with speed? Video with the wheels and brakes off maybe??
As long as nothing is touching the disc and the disc is flush with the hub the I'd check for any marks on the driveshaft to see if something has caught it.
Check the inner face of the disc for any scores or marks.
Be looking at bearing and driveshaft after that.

All I can say as a forum diagnosis

 

[SteveTDCi]

Have you triple checked all bolts and that everything is in the right place ? Try swapping a tyre over to see if the noise moves.

If you spin the wheel by hand can you feel or hear anything ?

 

[Sh1ner]

Did you remove the driveshaft when changing the shock?
Is there any wobble/vibration through the steering wheel?
Is the hub nut correctly tightened. I have seen them left loose and the hub wears on the inner bearing ring. You get a noise like a wheel bearing failing but is actually the hub wearing away.
You might have something trapped between the driveshaft flange and the hub inner flange which is tipping the bearing and pulling everything out of line when the hub nut is tightened.
You would need to take it apart again to check. Which to be honest is probably the best thing to do and check each component when it is not connected to anything else.
It should not be difficult to find.
I can't remember but is the inner joint a tripod/roller or ball bearing cv type? I have just repaired a ford where the guy had done it himself. he didn't remove the shaft and left the hub in place unfortunately he had pulled on the hub assembly and the the inner tripod joint had dropped a bearing so the tripod was only working on two bearings and the other bearing stub was free to move where it liked in the inner joint. The faster he went the worse it got.

 

[dann2707]

Have you triple checked all bolts and that everything is in the right place ? Try swapping a tyre over to see if the noise moves.

If you spin the wheel by hand can you feel or hear anything ?

Everything is definitely in the right place, I had no spare bolts when I was done. The wheel feels fairly loose, it doesn't spin around freely like the rear wheel but its also not completely jammed on if that makes sense.

Did you remove the driveshaft when changing the shock?
Is there any wobble/vibration through the steering wheel?
Is the hub nut correctly tightened. I have seen them left loose and the hub wears on the inner bearing ring. You get a noise like a wheel bearing failing but is actually the hub wearing away.
You might have something trapped between the driveshaft flange and the hub inner flange which is tipping the bearing and pulling everything out of line when the hub nut is tightened.
You would need to take it apart again to check. Which to be honest is probably the best thing to do and check each component when it is not connected to anything else.
It should not be difficult to find.
I can't remember but is the inner joint a tripod/roller or ball bearing cv type? I have just repaired a ford where the guy had done it himself. he didn't remove the shaft and left the hub in place unfortunately he had pulled on the hub assembly and the the inner tripod joint had dropped a bearing so the tripod was only working on two bearings and the other bearing stub was free to move where it liked in the inner joint. The faster he went the worse it got.

Yes there is! A judder on the wheel.

I didn't remove the hub nut in the process. The latter part of your post sounds interesting and would explain a lot if thats the case! As I would have been pulling and pushing on the driveshaft lots trying to locate it in the shock absorber.

I don't think its the tyre as I hadn't swapped them over and it only started doing it after I changed this shock.

I'm not really sure what I'm looking for when I take the wheel off though, as the CV boots are on and cannot be removed? Confused! haha

 

[Sh1ner]

With the wheel off the ground. When you try to turn it does it feel easy then stiff easy then stiff easy then stiff three times in 1 revolution?
Or, this is easier with the wheel off, the car jacked up with the other front wheel still on the floor, handbrake fully on etc and engine running put it into 4th or 5th and slowly let the clutch out. If you watch the driveshaft does it spin true or wobble around as though it is loose? Does it make the noise then, you will hear and feel it as a bonk bonk bonk that gets faster as you slowly raise the speed. It is very likely that the steering wheel will move slightly left and right indicating a wheel wobble.
Obviously safety first and don't get anywhere near rotating parts have someone else with you ready to hit the brake and switch off if necessary.
Is the problem near or offside, two or single element driveshafts? Ie two same length outer shafts and an extension shaft, bolted to the engine, from the gearbox to the outer driveshaft or one short and one long that go directly into the gearbox?
Some pictures might help to be able guide you to certain areas and checks.

 

[dann2707]

With the wheel off the ground. When you try to turn it does it feel easy then stiff easy then stiff easy then stiff three times in 1 revolution?
Or, this is easier with the wheel off, the car jacked up with the other front wheel still on the floor, handbrake fully on etc and engine running put it into 4th or 5th and slowly let the clutch out. If you watch the driveshaft does it spin true or wobble around as though it is loose? Does it make the noise then, you will hear and feel it as a bonk bonk bonk that gets faster as you slowly raise the speed. It is very likely that the steering wheel will move slightly left and right indicating a wheel wobble.
Obviously safety first and don't get anywhere near rotating parts have someone else with you ready to hit the brake and switch off if necessary.
Is the problem near or offside, two or single element driveshafts? Ie two same length outer shafts and an extension shaft, bolted to the engine, from the gearbox to the outer driveshaft or one short and one long that go directly into the gearbox?
Some pictures might help to be able guide you to certain areas and checks.

Nope it feels easy easy easy stiff. Rather than alternate.

The procedure of lifting the wheel off is what I did the other day in fourth gear and the noise is still definitely present with the wheel off. I can get a video tomorrow if it would help diagnose the problem.

It is a short and a long one. The shorter one being at the other side whereas the longer one being towards my problem end (off side)

Thanks so much for your help mate I really appreciate it!

I'll post a link to my thread it might show some pics of the set up. (on my phone and it's broken so my reply isn't magnificently coherent sorry haha)

 

[dann2707]

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?p=4322040#post4322040

 

[kh904]

I had a failing wheel bearing on the rear drivers side.

I tried doing the push & pull test on the wheel when it was jacked up, but there wasn't any play but the weight of the car made the symptoms appear.

It was a droning sound (like a failing/hole in the exhaust system) when going above say 30 mph and would quiet down if i turned right at speed (shifting the weight of the car off the right hand wheels/bearings.

I'm not saying 100% that yours is a failing wheel bearing but it does sound similar to mine.

See if the noise changes if you go around a large round about/bend at a reasonable speed!

 

[Sh1ner]

It is not uncommon for wheel bearings to exhibit no signs of play or wear but still be knackered/noisy. It only takes a rusty mark or slight defect on a ball or bearing track to make the most terrible noise but as you have a stiffness as it rotates I don't think it is the bearing. If you did not loosen or remove the shaft there is no reason for anything to have changed.
I would carefully try to feel through the rubber boot where the shaft goes into the gearbox and see if you can feel any loose objects or bits through the rubber.
There might be one large loose part and lots of very small needle roller type bits.
If it is a tripod type you can remove the clip and pull the boot back and see. A lot of the time if you are careful you can remove the boot and clip intact and just push it back on when you have checked. They do no steering like the outer joint and only have a very limited up and down movement so tend to be more secure than the outers.
Is the flange where it attaches to the gearbox flange just circular with holes for bolts or is it a cylinder with a flange with shaped sections with a hole in each section to take the bolts?
It looks to me like the standard VW type fitting was used as well as the tripod. The VW joint is much shorter than the tripod. The tripod joint boot fits over the joint and has a large retaining clip on the outside whereas the VW joint the boot is secured inside the joint if that makes any sense.

 

[dann2707]

Thanks again for the replies!

I've got the car jacked up atm with both wheels off and taken 4 pics. It looks like the o/s shock absorber doesn't look like it's seated corrected in the hub? You can see a sort of metal lining that is coming out more so compared to the other pic if you can see? The offside pic is first followed by the nearside. It doesn't look like it is rubbing at all on anything though and the locating hole on the shocker itself is correctly lined up to the pinch bolt on the hub.

Offside where noise is coming from:

Nearside:

I have also taken pictures of the driveshafts, there isn't any thing loose within the rubber boot (I know the nearside boot has split but it isn't the cause of concern as it's been like that for a while. And the noise is coming from the other side for sure.

Pics:

Offside:

Nearside:

 

[Sh1ner]

Thanks for the pictures The inner joints look like the standard VW inner CV arrangement so I doubt the problem is there.
I would sort the inner joint on the nearside though. It is very easy to do.
It is possible but in my experience, unlikely, that in all the twisting and turning you have dropped a ball in the outer joint.
Had you disconnected the track rod end?
Is the noise there right away from very low speeds or does it start at around 25/30 mph?
I would remove the caliper and disc and check/see what happens as it spins. It is what is causing the wobble that I am wondering about.
Is it definitely a tightness and not an all round roughness you feel when you turn it by hand?
When it spins is it a grr, grr, grr that gets faster as the shaft speeds up or a continuous drone from the off?
Is the anti roll bar touching the shaft anywhere when the car is on the ground? Sometimes they can be moved an inch or two from one side of the car to the other.
I would think a local mechanic would find the problem in a minute or two.
I know you did not undo it but the hub nut is tight isn't it?

 

[dann2707]

I've had another spin of the disc and it actually seems to spin pretty freely. I think what I was experiencing yesterday was the differential working and making me assume something was stiff. I've taken a video of the car when revving however the noise doesn't seem to be that loud compared to when driving.

The noise tends to start at around 15mph. Hopefully the video will show a bit more, seems like the discs are spinning smoothly as are the driveshafts?

And the noise gets faster as I drive faster, and louder as I drive faster too. The antiroll bar doesn't appear to be touching anything either, I can't check the hub nut im afraid as we have every single socket size but the one required

Heres the vid although it doesn't really seem to show the problem, can you hear anything different to normal?

I've been for a test drive after swapping the tyres around and its still there. I may may be imagining it but the noise seems to reduce when I go around a round about but maybe its just in my head as i'm hoping that its just a wheel bearing?!