generic wheel bearing winge or is it

[aj1983]

when driving about in higher gears i seem to get a strange noise which i first thout to be a wheel bearing but cannot pin point the noise , also a wheel bearing is a constant drone where as this is a wub wub wub noise and isnt speed dependant but does get louder . admittedly my rear dampers are shot and wearing the inside edges of the tyres but not in a saw tooth pattern and would say the noise is front of car .

[CRC]

You can pin down a wheel bearing noise by jacking each front wheel up in turn and spininning the wheel as fast as you can by grabbing hold of the outside of the tyre.

 

If it is a wheel bearing, then you will hear it without a doubt ..... there's no mistaking the noise.

[icyd]

Mine is making the exact same noise.but it's speed dependant. It starts wooing at 35mph,always.not very loud but enough to spoil a relaxing trip

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[Gaz]

Are your wheel arch liners fixed properly at the front - wind pressure can push them back onto the tyres.

 

Also, the smaller plastic liner which sits over where the driveshafts goes past the inner wheel arch can sometimes move out of place and rub on the driveshaft.

 

Just a couple of things to look at.

 

Gaz

[icyd]

Ok I'll have a look.thanks

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[giandougl]

Uneven tyre wear could cause drone, as I experienced with one of my rear tyres.

As soon as it was exchanged for my new tyre spare wheel replacement, drone was gone..

[icyd]

My mechanic says it the driveshaft.how probable that this is accurate?

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[Carloski]

Just returned from caravan holiday in France and this noise is driving me crackers. There is much discussion on the vwaudiforum website under Passats. The noise is caused by unusual tyre wear - a bit like a threepenny piece on the inside edge of the rear tyres, the cause of this type of wear is uncertain but it may have something to do with VW having given the incorrect camber angle setting on this model. My rear tyres show wear on the inside edges but no sign of threepennybitting and this may possibly only be evident once the tyre is deflated.

Regardless of cause it seems that the only known cure is to replace the rear tyres. Whilst it galls me to throw away tyres with life left in them, I reckon that if I have to replace my rears every 20k. miles or so then it is small price to pay to be able to discard the ear defenders and listen to the radio again. My Superb saves me money in so many other ways (eg reliability & fuel economy). My mark 1 has only done 27k miles but over 80% of these are spent towing with a boot half full of vino ( on the return leg at least).

[dieselV6]

For several years now, I found the best way to avoid uneven tyre wear in Mk1 Superb is to keep them on front axle until they wear out, then swap rear wheels to front and put new tyres to the rear. That way any possible sawtooth rear tyre wear disappears before it becomes a nuisance, as front tyres wear out on my car considerably faster than rear ones.

 

Also, for anyone towing or carrying heavy loads, excessive camber can be addressed quite easily by fitting uprated springs, either towing ones, or taller ones from HD suspension. My car has front "sport" springs from a 2.8V6 Auto (or is it 2.5V6 Auto, basically the hardest "sport" springs in ETKA selection), and rear "HD" springs from "rough road package" suspension that came with the car.

So front is -20mm, and rear is +20mm compared to stock. This actually provides better handling at high speeds, plus even fully loaded boot with 75kg towbar box attached still results in acceptable camber, the boot floor is not dragging on the road, and the car still appears moderately loaded up.

 

Finally, do keep in mind that for a fully loaded Mk1 Superb, you need rear tyres pumped up right to manufacturer limit, for 16" ones that is 3.4bar, or 50psi (some tyres let you go further, to 55psi or so). I suspect a lot of these uneven rear tyre wear issues is caused by hauling large loads with under-inflated tyres, because for unloaded car 35psi-40psi is the correct pressure.

Edited 12 July, 2014 by dieselV6

[Carloski]

Thanks for your interesting comments DieselV6 particularly regarding replacing the rears first and then moving them up to the front later.  I also note your comments on tyre pressures.  I am about to replace my rears and see that there are two options R16 91W (615kg) and 97W (730kg).  I have 91's on at present and it seems like a good idea to up-rate these to 97's due to the fact that most of my mileage is done towing.  'Better handling at high speeds' is no longer an issue for me but a comfortable ride is and so it looks like I should consider 'taller' springs.  You mention 'from HD suspension' but I cannot find these on the net, perhaps they have changed their name?.  I also have some concerns that taller springs will make the car sit at an odd angle when solo.  Cheers.     

[dieselV6]

HD suspension was part of the "rough road package", that was not sold in the UK, I imported my Superb from Ireland, and specced it there.

 

Still, the springs are/were available separately, part numbers were 4B0511115C, 4B0511115D, and 4B0511115DC, C are softest, DC are stiffest. load rated at C:590, D:620 and DC:650kg

 

I'd guess any of these will be better than stock. Yes, the rear will be higher, it's barely noticeable, <20mm when compared to new stock springs, more like 40mm-50mm if you compare to old sagged ones.  Though it actually does not look half bad on the Superb thanks to very long wheelbase, I guess in carhack's speak "it gives the car a dynamic stance". For towing anything sizeable, it also provides better airflow around the whole setup (car + trailer), and as I mentioned, better stability at high speed (I know you do not need it). 

 

I'd get the reinforced tyres, if anything just to get a comfortable safety margin on the inflation pressure. Quite a few 91 rated tyres that have max inflation pressure right at the 50psi that you need to pump them up to (e.g. my winter Pirellis allow 51psi max). Reinforced ones usually allow 58-65psi max.

Edited 15 July, 2014 by dieselV6

[CRC]

Just adding my experiences to the posts already made.

 

I was also convinced that I had the Passat "rear wheel saw toothing noise" a while ago as the noise was speed dependent and "seemed" to be coming from the rear, however, my mechanic mate (Skoda main dealer trained and  VAG indy for the last six years) said that while it was very common to find this on Passats, he had never once come across it on a Mk 1 Superb, and when he jacked the offside front wheel up and span it by hand, it was immediately apparent that the noise was coming from a grumbling  bearing on that wheel. A new bearing cured the noise completely.

 

The noise was only really audible above 30 mph but could be made to change pitch by driving at around 35 and swerving from left to right ..... obviously on a deserted road.

 

Regarding shock absorbers, I changed all mine to Bilstein B4s last year at an average price of £40 per corner and the car is much, much better at handling now. Initially I thought they were a little stiff, but a year later they now seem perfect, though that may be something to do with summer temperatures that will naturally thin down the oil used in the shocks.