Grinding noises...PLEASE HELP!

[P Arkus]

So the mk4 is being an mk4 again, as much as I love it. I'm hearing some sort of grinding noise from the passenger front wheel (or area) and I dont know what it is. This grinding noise has no consistency of when it happens, its just random but every 10 seconds or so. Doesnt matter if i'm turning, going straight, or over a bump. It is really loud when the car is moving slowly, but seems to quite down (but its still there) when going at faster speeds?

Could this be bearings crappin out on me? is there anyway to check? Any help or recommendations are greatly appreciated! Thanks guys!

[stefan]

Re: Grinding noises...PLEASE HELP!

i'm betting a rock, by the sounds of it. Doesn't sound bearing-ish. Have you tried backing up and braking a few times?

[darkmanCANADA]

Re: Grinding noises...PLEASE HELP!

Hey, Hey, I got a rock in my drivers side front yesterday. The backup and brake worked.

[P Arkus]

Re: Grinding noises...PLEASE HELP!

Sorry to sound daft, but what do you guys mean by a rock??? I know what a rock is, but where would it be stuck? and should I back up fast and brake hard or........?????? Would it help if I took the wheel off and checked?

[stefan]

Re: Grinding noises...PLEASE HELP!

Sorry to sound daft, but what do you guys mean by a rock???

hard geological formation

probably in behind dust shield of brake rotor, or some equally awkward place. Sometimes a little motion in the opposite direction is enough to kick it out again.

[P Arkus]

Re: Grinding noises...PLEASE HELP!

hard geological formation

lol thanks. you learn something new everyday

I'll try backing up and braking and if that doesnt work i'll take the wheel off tomorrow and see if I can see anything. Hopefully I can get it out the easy way

Thanks for the suggestion!

[boostedmk4]

Re: Grinding noises...PLEASE HELP!

Get in there with the pressure washer if backing up dosen't work

[P Arkus]

Re: Grinding noises...PLEASE HELP!

So the back up and brake didnt quite work. Tracy took the car into her mechanics this morning to hoist it up and take a look. He said there is a bit of oil leaking from the right front strut and it might be seizing. This kinda pisses me off because the suspension was installed late april 2009 so its not even a year old. Is this likely to happen on new suspension? Anything I can do short of replacing the struts???

[Canadian Turbo]

Re: Grinding noises...PLEASE HELP!

You would think with a seized strut there would have been some ride issues? Not sure if that is consistent with the original grinding noise either?

[P Arkus]

Re: Grinding noises...PLEASE HELP!

thats the weird thing. Neither one of us feels any difference in the ride!!!

[jacktown]

Re: Grinding noises...PLEASE HELP!

Could this be a seizing brake calliper?
It would not have any influence on ride quality but would cause squeaking and severe vibrations through the steering wheel. This would be in keeping with your symptoms where it does not happen 100 of the time. Is it worse when your wheels are pointed in a certain direction?

[jacktown]

Re: Grinding noises...PLEASE HELP!

I just noticed that you said in your original post that it doesn't matter what direction that your going in so I'm sorry I asked that question. To be more specific, If you go extremely slowly and hard lock it in either direction, does the symptom become worse?

[P Arkus]

Re: Grinding noises...PLEASE HELP!

I havent tried going slowly and hard locking it, but when I go slowly, its definately the loudest, and even when I rock towards the passengers side, I can slightly hear it, so i'm leaning towards a seizing strut.

[D-BOMB]

Re: Grinding noises...PLEASE HELP!

Sound alot like when my gf seized a calliper on her mk3, at low speeds it was really loud bud at higher speeds it was quite and came in an out.

[P Arkus]

Re: Grinding noises...PLEASE HELP!

Brake calipers have seized on the car previously and it made more of a squeeling noise. The car also pulled to the side at extremely slow speeds. I highly doubt its the brake calipers.