Front wheel noise starts at about 17 mph

[ipacketeer]

I have a 2006 Jetta TDI DSG with 102000 miles, started making thumping like noise coming from the right front of the car and starting at about 17 MPH and accelerates in harmony with the wheel speed. While traveling at a speed of 40 MPH I put the Gear Shift into neutral and noise is still there. So far I changed the right wheel hub which did not solve the problem. Most rescently I jacked up the car and ran the engine in gear up to 40 MPH with no sign of noise or vibration from the front. The cv joints look good, boots look like new and no grease leak. I need advice

Don.

 

[compignition]

Rotational speed sensitive thump

Look very closely at the tire.

 

[MyAvocation]

Rotate all 4 tires... A quick and dirty way to further isolate things like bent rim and internal tire damage.

 

[ipacketeer]

Sorry I did not mention in my post, I already rotated the tires, and my tires have very low milage on them, brakes and rotors are in excellent condition as well.

 

[nord]

Some noises are really a tough call. From your description I'd still suspect either a bearing or half shaft. Usually (but not always) a front wheel bearing will make more noise in a turn. It will most likely be the bearing opposite the direction of the turn and for some reason I'd suspect the right one over the left.

If the noise is constant whether turning or not, then I'd place the car on stands and do the following:

First feel for any bearing chuck. There should be absolutely none. If you find none...

Remove the tire and wheel assembly along with the caliper assembly on both sides. Place the transmission in neutral with the steering locked straight forward. Gently turn the rotors and feel for a slight hesitation or grinding. I had a Mk4 play this game on me and it nearly drove me crazy.

If you find nothing, then cramp the wheel right or left and do the same thing. My guess is that you'll find a "tight spot" occuring at a predictable point of rotation. If so, then a bad CV joint. Just be aware that CV's can appear to be good while they've actually failed.

The last resort as my A5 forced me to do was test under power. If you go this route make doubly sure the car is blocked and properly supported and be very careful of your person. My experience was that only under power did the failure present itself. In fact it presented itself so well that there was no guessing needed.

The result of my test under power was a failed wheel bearing. Other than what appeared as a slight nick in the race (can't remember which one) there was no other evidence. Grease was clean, rollers seemed undamaged, and no noise when not under power.

Bear in mind that either the inner or outer CV's can fail and that visual inspection is only the first step in determining failure. Rotate the shaft(s) at 90* stages and test for any free play. (In other words chuck the daylights out of them.) If you feel anything, then the component is suspect. Also look for a slightly bent shaft.

Think of the quality time you'll get to spend with your VW. The two of you will bond as you lovingly address her problems... Or not.

 

[McDiesel]

I often read on the forums here but have not posted much so if this qualifies for hijacking a thread I will apologize in advance.

I had searched on here several weeks ago concerning our 2006 Jetta TDi and had ended up just certain that the noise we have been experiencing was a front wheel bearing. I found this write-up http://www.golfmkv.com/forums/showthread.php?t=110256 and ordered the new bearing/hub assembly- actually two, one for each side.

To back up just a few steps, our Jetta makes a sound much like rumble strips as so many other posters said and their fix was the new bearing(s) in the front. I did the driver's side first based on the "outside tire" theory in a turn and which seemed to create more noise. There was no bearing "slop" but some posters from threads I read said they had no perceivable play but theirs was fixed by replacing it? After reassembling the driver's side and having no difference in the noise at all I just did the passenger's side on Saturday. My logic was "I have the parts and if I don't install them they'll just lay around" along with "if you don't try something it won't get fixed". Anyways strike two- two new front bearings and no change. The one point I did not originally notice; the noise on our Jetta is only experienced when the engine is pulling (as opposed to coasting) although it only takes a very slight load AND it is really only a factor as you come over a crest where the weight of the vehicle rises on the suspension. It is very hilly around here and many back roads are one rise after another so the car just groans along. Performance and economy do not seem to suffer as a mix of local travel and hwy mileage is still at 45.9mpg (according to the car itself).

After reading the posts above I will rotate the tires just to see but I don't expect that to solve the problem.

 

[sohccammer427]

I have a 2006 Jetta TDI DSG with 102000 miles, started making thumping like noise coming from the right front of the car and starting at about 17 MPH and accelerates in harmony with the wheel speed. While traveling at a speed of 40 MPH I put the Gear Shift into neutral and noise is still there. So far I changed the right wheel hub which did not solve the problem. Most rescently I jacked up the car and ran the engine in gear up to 40 MPH with no sign of noise or vibration from the front. The cv joints look good, boots look like new and no grease leak. I need advice

Don.

It's the tires. If you have just rotated them and put the rears on the front then that's your problem. The rear tires become cupped and when put up front make an awful racket. Pretty common.

 

[curovo]

If you've rotated the tires and replaced hub & bearing and it's made no difference, there isn't much left except the CV joints. A boot in good condition doesn't automatically mean a good joint. Do you get any knocking or clicking under moderate to heavy load, or when you turn the steering wheel hard one direction or the other?

 

[ipacketeer]

Thank you all for replying to my post, i really appreciate your time and effort.
It seems the consensus are focusing on the drive shafts, specificly the CV Joints and I will concantrate my search for the problem in this area. In addition should i be suspicious of the struts or their componants.

 

[curovo]

In addition should i be suspicious of the struts or their componants.

No - if it's tied to the wheel rotation speed then it's something that is itself rotating and connected to the wheel. Struts would make noise going over bumps or maybe in hard turns but wouldn't be tied to wheel speed.

 

[McDiesel]

Thank you all for replying to my post, i really appreciate your time and effort.
It seems the consensus are focusing on the drive shafts, specificly the CV Joints and I will concantrate my search for the problem in this area. In addition should i be suspicious of the struts or their componants.

I just got our car's noise issue resolved and wanted to post back in case anyone else has a similar problem. I had sourced axles from RockAuto.com made by SurTrack but they turned out to be complete garbage made in China. My mechanic attempted to install them but found that they were improperly ground / sized wrong (both left and right axles but wrong in different ways from one side to the other). They went back and we got our money back. Checking all local autoparts we came up empty for axles for the 06 TDI. The dealer has them but I forget the price they quoted me- it would have been funny if we didn't really need them.

I had come across another couple posts on TDIclub while researching this problem and had found references to Raxles.com

I called Marty at Raxles and ended up buying from him. When you talk to Marty (even the first time you EVER talked to him) he makes you feel like you have a friend in the business. The order arrived here in 4 days from FL (to PA) and he even included the tools necessary to do the job (on loan of course- not to keep) but he provided the 27mm socket for the axle bolt plus the triple square drive... new bolts as well

Gee there was even a map to the closest UPS store location to drop the cores to get them back to FL.

The axles have a lifetime warranty- If this sounds like something you are interested in, check it out here http://www.raxles.com/

I got a similar price from 1st VW Parts for new OEM axles (way cheaper than the dealership) but with the standard 1 year warranty- the originals didn't make 120k mi so to me the lifetime warranty was more attractive