Quality Engine Mounts for an ALH TDI?

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VWMatt

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 6, 2013
Location
Pennsylvania
TDI
2002 Golf TDI
I have a 2002 VW Golf TDI that started to shake at higher speeds (65+ MPH), especially up hill. Primarily in steering wheel it can be felt, at slower speeds it is non-existent.

Was told by a local VW guy that it sounds like the engine mounts but he couldn't recommend a quality brand.

Figured I would check with everyone here to see what a good quality engine mount brand would be. My TDI is also almost about to hit 300,000 miles.
 
V

VWMatt

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 6, 2013
Location
Pennsylvania
TDI
2002 Golf TDI
jokila said:
Sounds like it might be the inner CV joint of your drive axles.
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How can I determine if that is the real issue? Any test or method of checking the inner CV joint while it is still on the vehicle?

Thanks in advance.
 
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burn_your_money

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 16, 2012
Location
Missouri
TDI
99 Beetle, 96 B4V, 05 Passat wagon
Any bent rims? Tires well balanced? Road force is a much better balancing system than the other style that I forget the name of...
 
UhOh

UhOh

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Dec 24, 2014
Location
PNW
TDI
2000 & 2003 Golf GLS (2005 Mercedes E320 CDI)
Easy enough to rule out the mounts. With the car parked and the parking brake set (real well) and stepping on the brake put it in gear and lightly start stepping on the accelerator pedal. Look to see how much the engine moves/rocks (fore and aft). I believe that it should only move maybe an inch or so; more than that and it's possible the mounts are worn out. You pretty much can recognize it when you see it- the engine looks like it's flopping around. This is all best done with a helper: stand off to the front side of the car with the hood raised and observe.

i suspect, however, that jokila is likely right in that it's an inner CV joint. A bad inner should make itself known at other than high speeds. It's all about loading, torque being applied after no loading. Should be able to get noises (crunch) from a stop. Supposedly it can be possible to detect a bad joint with the car raised by rotating the axle(s): twisting the wheels forward and backward, though I don't believe that this is necessarily conclusive. First look for signs of torn boots. If you have torn boots then, yes, start planning on CV work.
 
V

VWMatt

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 6, 2013
Location
Pennsylvania
TDI
2002 Golf TDI
burn_your_money said:
Any bent rims? Tires well balanced? Road force is a much better balancing system than the other style that I forget the name of...
Click to expand...
No bent rims of missing wheel weights. Tires are at 75-80% good.

UhOh said:
Easy enough to rule out the mounts. With the car parked and the parking brake set (real well) and stepping on the brake put it in gear and lightly start stepping on the accelerator pedal. Look to see how much the engine moves/rocks (fore and aft). I believe that it should only move maybe an inch or so; more than that and it's possible the mounts are worn out. You pretty much can recognize it when you see it- the engine looks like it's flopping around. This is all best done with a helper: stand off to the front side of the car with the hood raised and observe.

i suspect, however, that jokila is likely right in that it's an inner CV joint. A bad inner should make itself known at other than high speeds. It's all about loading, torque being applied after no loading. Should be able to get noises (crunch) from a stop. Supposedly it can be possible to detect a bad joint with the car raised by rotating the axle(s): twisting the wheels forward and backward, though I don't believe that this is necessarily conclusive. First look for signs of torn boots. If you have torn boots then, yes, start planning on CV work.
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That is what I figured. No different noises while driving, no thuds, etc.

I looked at the inner CV joints and no torn boots or leaking grease.

When testing it this weekend, I did notice even at slower speeds that if I accelerated and then left off the accelerator I felt the car move slightly forward and backward a bit, same when I accelerated at higher speeds. Thoughts?
 
UhOh

UhOh

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Dec 24, 2014
Location
PNW
TDI
2000 & 2003 Golf GLS (2005 Mercedes E320 CDI)
OK, so it sounds like it's not necessarily speed-related, sounds like it's torque-related. Mounts, CV joints or, possibly, differential (not very common).
 
Windex

Windex

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 1, 2006
Location
Cambridge
TDI
05 B5V 01E FRF
oilhammer said:
Inner CV joints. Take 'em out, lube 'em up, swap 'em left to right. :)
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^This.

Engine mounts can cause vibration throughout the car, but won't affect the steering wheel.

You likely have worn inner CV joints. As Oilhammer says - replace them with some Raxles or disassemble and swap the inner joints from one side to the other to utilize the unworn coast surfaces inside the joint.
 
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VWMatt

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 6, 2013
Location
Pennsylvania
TDI
2002 Golf TDI
Thank you everyone!I will be taking the inner CV joints out and replacing them. Any idea what might have caused this besides mileage? Could be it be the crappy roads of Pennsylvania? lol
 
Windex

Windex

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 1, 2006
Location
Cambridge
TDI
05 B5V 01E FRF
Wear and tear. When you get the inner joints apart, inspect the wear surfaces and you will see the worn sections causing the steering wheel wobble.
 
Tdijarhead

Tdijarhead

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Nov 10, 2013
Location
Lawrenceville PA
TDI
2003 TDI Jetta Daughters Car, 2001 TDI Beetle, Wife’s car, 2005 Golf TDI Mine, all 5 spds
VWMatt said:
Thank you everyone!I will be taking the inner CV joints out and replacing them. Any idea what might have caused this besides mileage? Could be it be the crappy roads of Pennsylvania? lol
Click to expand...


You’re mistaken now that we have the highest gas and diesel tax in the nation, our roads are perfect from one end of the state to the other. Surely you noticed?
 
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