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CV or wheel bearing?

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Recently Ive noticed that when I reverse with left hand down full lock I get a single clunk noise. Ive also noticed a humming noise when turning left and the car is a little skittish when turning out of junctions (although this could be down to not having the geometry set up yet). The clunk sounds like its coming from the right hand side and I can feel a little play in the steering when stationary.

 

I only really noticed this after changing my front struts and at that time I didnt notice any grease from the outer CV boot. Initially I was thinking wheel bearing but looking at previous posts it looks more like a CV.

 

Any thoughts, does this now point to the inner CV joint?

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does sound like cv, I used to get that occasionally reversing off the drive when the car was cold on a coldish day with a fair bit of lock on, removed, cleaned and repacked all four CV joints with fresh grease and seems fine now, the grease does go off over years of use, even if the boots stay intact, the bearings and races were polished and marked from wear but not grooved or scored so I didn't replace any.

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I don't think you'll get a clunk from a bearing, they'd literally have to break up and they make loads of noise well before that happens, probably for thousands of miles.

I have recently done both front bearings, they were still quite tight when the hubs were removed from the car, no play in the bearing I could feel, but they did make quite a roar when you spun them by hand. Unfortunately the only way to tell is to remove the brakes and driveshaft from the hub and spin the outer part of the hub.

A worn bearing will start to make itself known by a droning noise, usually worse at about 60mph on a smooth winding road surface. They can be totally quiet on the straight but get quite loud when loaded up on a bend. Eventually the noise will get worse and be there all the time.

I guess a very badly worn CV can make other noises, but they generally wear a groove in the bearing races and when you put the car on full lock and drive slowly the bearings jump in and out of the grooves making that clunk.

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Could be a worn driveshaft spline. I had a similar "clunk" when reverse was engaged a while back and that was the root cause. Best get it checked over because if it fails you'll require a tow.

 

The 'clunk' comes from the shaft splines shifting inside the hub splines.

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Could be a worn driveshaft spline. I had a similar "clunk" when reverse was engaged a while back and that was the root cause. Best get it checked over because if it fails you'll require a tow.

 

The 'clunk' comes from the shaft splines shifting inside the hub splines.

 

i have a friend who works for VW who told me how he has also seen what you've described before - quite surprising this would happen i thought when you consider what it does/where it is...

 

liking your new signature by the way John - very apt! :D

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The clunk is top mounted related I'd say. I always get that just after I change the top mounts when reversing off my drive (full lock action). So I just take it for a 30 minute drive, let every settle and then nip up the strut retaining nuts with an impact driver and the knock goes.

 

Humming sounds like a wheel bearing. Outer CVs rumble on tight turns and inner CVs click when loaded up.

 

You could have a couple of 3 things going on at once here....

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Well I couldnt get a look at the car as Im back at the flat so I put it into a garage round the corner that Ive used once or twice.

Turns out that one of the inner bushes on the wishbone had effectively "popped" out and was also worn. Picked it up tonight but not had a chance for a proper drive however it does feel better/tighter now. Couldnt here any humming either but I'll check tomorrow.

 

Quite funny as the guy did ask what the hell I done to to the car as he didnt remember it being that fast before and that it sounded a lot nicer than before. :D He said "too much torque for FWD", fuel saver tyres and greasy roads dont help mind you.

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Inner wishbone bush, as in the front one? Blimey, you did well knackering that as they rarely ever let go! The rear bush does though, very easily. Always worth uprating those with R32 / TT bushes.

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Humming sounds like a wheel bearing. Outer CVs rumble on tight turns and inner CVs click when loaded up.

 

I think i have all 3 going on plus a little bit of

 

Could be a worn driveshaft spline. I had a similar "clunk" when reverse was engaged a while back and that was the root cause. Best get it checked over because if it fails you'll require a tow.

 

The 'clunk' comes from the shaft splines shifting inside the hub splines.

 

thrown in for good measure.

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Humming sounds like a wheel bearing. Outer CVs rumble on tight turns and inner CVs click when loaded up.

 

I think i have all 3 going on plus a little bit of

 

Could be a worn driveshaft spline. I had a similar "clunk" when reverse was engaged a while back and that was the root cause. Best get it checked over because if it fails you'll require a tow.

 

The 'clunk' comes from the shaft splines shifting inside the hub splines.

 

thrown in for good measure.

 

nice - treat yourself! it is a corrado after all! :?

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Yea im thinking she may get her oil pressure and temp gauge working, should keep her happy for a month or so, then its back to turning the tunes up to fix all the problems.

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Well I drove down to my mothers today and the steering feels tighter but the rumbling is still there. Its more noticable at higher speeds and is only on the RHS.

If the rain stays off I'll take a look tomorrow. Now Ive never had a bearing go on any other car before so when I jack up the wheel to check for movement Im assuming any movement is not good? Will check the rears as well I think.

 

Ive only noticed this since changing the suspension I I would have noticed it before I think. Im going to swap the wheels round and give it a try then maybe alter the camber as its running a tad too much at the moment.

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not really possible to check play in a front bearing as the steering, top mounts, bushings etc can all move, like I said before, you'll only know the bearing is shot for sure when you have the driveshaft out and can spin the hub with no brakes or driveshaft on/in it.

rears are totally different, they should have a small amount of movement as the bearings should not be tight,but not too much.

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No play at all from front and only a small amount from rear. I only hear the noise at around 70+mph. Beginning to think it might be rear end now. PITA trying to tell where the noise is coming from though.

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a front bearing will tend to fade in and out as you corner and load it up, a rear will usually be there all the time

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Thats what I thought. The noise can be heard in a straight line and when turning left however it clears when turning right and by turning Im sepaking about moving from one lane to the next on the motorway i.e. not a lot of steering input.

 

Could it be anything to do with the gearbox? Just trying to eliminate everything before I start replacing things, again.

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you should be able to rule that in or out by, coasting with the clutch depressed or in neutral and using 4th and 5th to see if it's speed or gear/engine speed related, Whines from the gearbox and wheel bearing noise are usually fairly distinctive, but without actually hearing it, it's a bit hard to say! A whine from the box shouldn't change as you turn the car though?

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Well Ive spun the wheel, then removed it and rotated disc, there doesnt appear to be any rumbling and no movement. Checked the outer CV and it has plenty of grease but added some more just to make sure. Still getting the single clunk noise and went out and the rumbling noise is till there. There is very slight movement in the top mounts. Ive still not changed wheels back to front just in case thats the issue but I doubt it.

 

I might just get the wheels bearings replaced as a matter of course and thought it was a good time to fit the 288mm brakes i have but Im finding out that most garages now wont fit supplied components. Will have to wait till the weathers better and do it myself I think.

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Front right wheel bearing replaced and it still there, no change. Took of rear outer bearing, repacked and its still there with no change. Struggling with what else I can do.

 

When the snow fecks off and I get time I'll change the rear set up completely.

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