Wheel Bearing maybe??

Hi all....
I have a 2010 Golf Wagon TDI.


For the last few months I have been hearing/feeling a pulsing sound coming from the front end. Knowing that the car needed pads and rotors I did not worry much about it.

Well this past weekend I finally got around to changing the front pads and rotors. All good right?....wrong. Thumping noise still there. So that rules out the rotors.

It only seems to do it at certain speeds. Decelerating at about 40 -50 Km's per hour. I kind of hear it when I tug the steering wheel to the left as well.

My next guess is the (right side?) front wheel bearing. When I called up my local dealership with the symptoms he immediately ruled out the wheel bearing saying that if it was the bearing the noise would be different and more constant.

Now he wants to set up a 1 hour appointment for road test and distinguish the problem.

Just wondering if anyone else has had this pulsing noise coming from the front end and what the outcome was?

Your symptoms were the same I had perceived with my car for the past two weeks.

Had the right front bearing replaced. Car is back to the state it was in when I drove off the lot, May 2011.

May I ask what they quoted you for the repair?

How old are the tires, and when were they rotated?

Rotate the tires front to rear/rear to front, and see if the noise moves
or goes away.

I had tires that still had good tread, and when I rotated them, I started
to get a rumbling noise from the front. Replaced both wheel bearings,
and the noise did not go away until I replaced my tires.

Tires have about 20k on them, still about 70% tread. I rotate them every spring when I remove my winter tires.

Interesting though.... maybe I will try to rotate them

It could be your cv joint- probably outer. When you have your wheels off to rotate them, have a look at the condition of the cv boots. If you see spattered grease and/or gaping holes then dirt has probably damaged the bearing races. If this is the case then you can wait and schedule the replacement when time and funds allow.

B

bshapperd said:

It could be your cv joint- probably outer. When you have your wheels off to rotate them, have a look at the condition of the cv boots. If you see spattered grease and/or gaping holes then dirt has probably damaged the bearing races. If this is the case then you can wait and schedule the replacement when time and funds allow.

B

Click to expand...

+1 A bad wheel bearing usually creates a constant drone, not a clunk/thump

OK....

I moved the wheels last night. Put the 2 front on the back, kept each on the same side.

It does sound/feel better, but not completely gone. I am assuming it is because the tire that is casing the problem is still on the rear.

But it is at a point now where I don't mind driving it the way it is. I thank you for the suggestion.

I had a good look at the tires when I had them off. I could see no imperfections, nails, bulges or anything. Maybe a belt inside?

giovanni1 said:

May I ask what they quoted you for the repair?

Click to expand...

It came in at $700. [The price was not a concern for me, for I wanted only the tech who has worked on the car, since I drove it off the lot.] The 'value' to me was that I had a tech with whom I had total faith---that car is his 'thing'.

CT_Gman said:

+1 A bad wheel bearing usually creates a constant drone, not a clunk/thump

Click to expand...

...and the noise will often change with steering inputs.

Sounds like the wheels/tires are out of balance. Worth rebalancing if they still have good tread.

See my post here I hope it helps.....Slight Rhythmic Thumping Sound but no Flat Tire

I had a bad wheel bearing that made a thumping sound. Clocking the wheel would make it go away for a few hundred miles. got tired of it, and fixed it by replacing the wheel bearing.

The problem was caused when the bearing peened itself by an impact on that side that also bent the tie rod. After the tire rod was fixed, it seemed OK until about 10k miles later when this started showing up.

So bearings can make a thump.

Bad outer CV joints will click in turns to show their displeasure.

And yes, usually wheel bearings howl when they go bad, but as my experience has shown, there can be other causes and other presentations.

Cheers,

PH