Hi, when I drive my VRS in a straight line or towards the right it's fine. But as soon as its turned even slightly to the left then I get this grinding noise, its loud, annoying and always there when the steerings even slightly to the left. Oh and it happens only above 35 mph.

Thought it was the front left wheel bearing, but we've changed that and it's still there . The track rod end arm bolt was slightly loose, we tightened it but it still made the noise.

What can it be, the arm, the driveshaft?

It's really p***** me off, the abs/traction and handbrake lights have come on also now due to installing the new wheel bearing.

But the noise is the main problem, its been happening for a couple of months now.

Hi, when I drive my VRS in a straight line or towards the right it's fine. But as soon as its turned even slightly to the left then I get this grinding noise, its loud, annoying and always there when the steerings even slightly to the left. Oh and it happens only above 35 mph.

Thought it was the front left wheel bearing, but we've changed that and it's still there . The track rod end arm bolt was slightly loose, we tightened it but it still made the noise.

What can it be, the arm, the driveshaft?

It's really p***** me off, the abs/traction and handbrake lights have come on also now due to installing the new wheel bearing.

But the noise is the main problem, its been happening for a couple of months now.

possible brake disc backing plate if it has em?

If your getting ASR and a brake fault light you may have dislodged or damaged the wheel speed sensor or cage thingy it reads from.

Right, changed the front left wishbone rear bush which was cracked and it still makes the noise :(

The handbrake light was on because the pas fluid was open, the ABS and traction light are probably on because a) the abs sensor might be damaged or it needs to be reset by the machine

Im not too worried about the codes I can sort them out, either a new abs sensor or just a reset with the launch machine.

It's this bloody noise that's got me p***** off. Now the mechanics saying its the shackle/arm, this thing here: http://www.vwspares.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=256

Well im gonna buy one tomorrow and see if it does the job. If not then f*** knows.

My dad says gearbox? Any other ideas.

Basically the noise only happens when your to the left, even by just a tiny amount and when above 35 mph. 100% straight is fine and its perfect when your turning right, no matter how fast you go.

try swapping the wheels side to side as 1) its free ..2) sometimes tyres will wear funny and make noise that sounds like a bearing going..

defo sure its not the rear wheel bearing?

its not going to be the drop link making a noise like that

Edited 29 July, 201015 yr by felicia16v

How can I find out if its the rear wheel bearing? Also, someone said it could be the driveshaft?

lay under the car and just make sure that both drive shafts are still secure to the gearbox, ive never heard of them coming loose but its possible,

Right took it to another mechanic who took it for a drive, he said it's either the wheel bearing on the left side (which has been changed now) or the CV (dunno wot this).

Now when the mechanic who changed the wheel bearing didn't use a press to take it out so he took it out with heat and brute force, somebody suggested he put it the wrong way around but he's adamant he's got it the right way around.

Any other opinions....

just a thought as u say its above 35mph u sure the wind aint catchin the inner wheel arch or sumit and pushing it towards the wheel ,sounds like sumit loose , jack it up and turn the wheel to the left and see if anything is catchin might be worth puttin it axle stands and run it in gear and see if you can locate it lol, dangerous o yes but problem solved pmsl

Edited 30 July, 201015 yr by borris

It could be the passenger side inboard or outboard driveshaft CV joints as has been suggested. The clips come loose on the rubber gaiters or the rubber gaiters perish and you lose the grease so the joint goes dry however this is more of a clicking noise than a grinding.

Another wierd noise I had recently was a kind of clonking or bonging that sounded like a snapped coil spring and it was actually the bearing in the top mount had gone. The skoda mechanic only figured this out when he noticed he could grip the coil spring and turn it in it's seat which you shouldn't be able to do. From what you've said about the noise I'm not sure if that could be your problem but it's something you could check just by jacking that corner up.

Edited 30 July, 201015 yr by chicken_eyebrow

have you swapped the tyres round yet???

yeah got a new rim and tyre on it.

steps done

1) changed tyre

2) changed pass side wheel bearing

3) changed pass side wishbone rear bush

4) changed pass side anti rollbar linkage arm

Noise is still there, its like a loud humm/grinding sound (id say deffo loud humm more then nething else). happens when straight or to the left. never there when its at the right.

A mechanic who sat in the pass seat said it came from right under the floor..

Mystified here, dont wanna spend nemore on it yet.

I would put money on Drive shaft there buddy. CV joint has either become dry due to rubber gatter splitting and grease falling out (as stated ealier) or is worn.

I started to get the very same noise on mine and jacked car up and noticed rubber gatter split. I then replaced gatter and regreased and noise went away

You have 2 CV joints on the Drive shaft one at the gearbox end and one at the wheel hub end. If you are getting more noise when turning then i suspect the wheel Hub end is either dry or worn..

Edited 1 August, 201015 yr by Bowders1

Right, the old man put it on his ramp and looked at the driveshafts, wheel bearings (both sides) and said everything seemed fine. :S

Passengers say the noise comes from just below there feet, vibration too...

Right, the old man put it on his ramp and looked at the driveshafts, wheel bearings (both sides) and said everything seemed fine. :S

Passengers say the noise comes from just below there feet, vibration too...

How did your old man check? seemed fine or were definatley fine. Did he wind back the the gatters to check for grease? This would involve cutting the tie wrap or metal clip on the large end. Did he check for play on the CV joints. Sorry if i am telling you to suck egg there, but I did the same and initially checked drive shafts and ruled them out until i inspected better, and this was the problem for mine.

Next on the list is possibly check engine / gearbox mounts for wear as with increased speed would amplify the noise

Edited 1 August, 201015 yr by Bowders1

Right, bought a new driveshaft the guy said measure the length of the old one before you put the new one on, its 103mm at the wheel end is that the right size? Cant jack it up now, will have to wait till the weekend when dad is free.

UPDATE:

My starter motor died today and the car was towed back to the garage whilst I was in it.

Now the engine was obviously off all the time, but this same 'grinding noise' still happened exactly like it normally does.

So what does that rule out? I'm guessing the engine or the gearbox/steering is not the source of the problem?

Edited 16 August, 201015 yr by sc0rpius

Just out of interest - does the frequency of the noise change depending on your speed, or just appear above 35mph and then stay exactly the same?

You say the mechanic who fitted your wheel bearing used "brute force & heat" NOT a press to remove old bearing........how did he fit the new bearing? he may of damaged the new one fitting it if used this method,i always use a press to remove & fit wheel bearings,also how did he remove the old bearing race off the hub? he may of damaged the hub any of this could of damaged your new bearing & causing the noise. Only other item that could be causing a noise like this could be cv joint(as already mentioned) or possibly the diff.

Just out of interest - does the frequency of the noise change depending on your speed, or just appear above 35mph and then stay exactly the same?

About the same, from 15-30 it progressively gets louder. At about 30-35 it stays the same.

You say the mechanic who fitted your wheel bearing used "brute force & heat" NOT a press to remove old bearing........how did he fit the new bearing? he may of damaged the new one fitting it if used this method,i always use a press to remove & fit wheel bearings,also how did he remove the old bearing race off the hub? he may of damaged the hub any of this could of damaged your new bearing & causing the noise. Only other item that could be causing a noise like this could be cv joint(as already mentioned) or possibly the diff.

He didn't use a press.

You say the mechanic who fitted your wheel bearing used "brute force & heat" NOT a press to remove old bearing........how did he fit the new bearing? he may of damaged the new one fitting it if used this method,i always use a press to remove & fit wheel bearings,also how did he remove the old bearing race off the hub? he may of damaged the hub any of this could of damaged your new bearing & causing the noise. Only other item that could be causing a noise like this could be cv joint(as already mentioned) or possibly the diff.

think you are probably right, sounds as if his mechanic damaged the original hub battering the old bearing out so it is not seating properly causing the grinding noise for the guy, id definitely suggest checking the bearing is seated correctly

Problem solved...

Right I gave my dads garage the car for the whole week so they could work on it when they were free, he had to sort out an ABS sensor and rear brake pads.

Well he put a new track rod end on it and the noise is gone...

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Skoda-Octavia-Track-Rod-End-BRAND-NEW-/390124480728?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM

Could have saved £70 odd pound if he had done it earlier instead of me taking it to other mechanics...

Good thing I gave the driveshaft back! Otherwise I would have wasted more money.

Glad you have got it sorted,hopefully you wont have any more problems for a while & you can start to enjoy your car!

Spoke to soon, drove it for myself. The noise is not there when in a straight line, its only there when you turn left. And that is because the car needs balancing/tracking when im driving straight the steerings slightly to the right....

So its still there. :(

They've change tie rod end arms, changed the rear caliper (which was seized), new rear brake pads, top mounts on the front suspension.

So the car is smoother and better to drive now, plus less annoying due to the noise being lessened.

The ABS problem is still there, light comes on when above 65 mph and ABS gets disabled...

I can live with all of this for know, dad dont want the car back in the garage he's had enough of it. When I have some money, ill see if i can sort it.

Right, im not gonna give up will fix this.

My mate at the garage at work is gonna put it on his ramp tomorrow and we will both take a look at it.

To summarise: loud grinding noise/vibration coming primarily from the pass front side floor when steering is left or straight, also happened when car was towed and engine was off. never happens when steering is turned right. Noise starts at 20 mph and progressively gets louder upto 30-35 mph, after that it will stay the same. When car is slowing down, noise slows down in the same manner it increases.

Things tried: new front left wheel bearing, ARB link, rear wishbone bush, tie rod end, top mounts, new rim/tyre

The ABS thing, either damaged ring or dirt on the sensor, either way this will get sorted too.

I'm not giving up on this car, apart from these two faults it runs really good. Spent money on it too, so it's gonna be kept. I also intend to tint it and mop/polish the body.

One good thing from all this, I have gained a knowledge of cars I did not have beforehand. Also learned to tinker and try to experiment with things by my self. For example there was a broken pipe, literally it had snapped off (one of the breather ones) know the mechanics left it in the same place and put a new pipe thingy on it with jubilee to secure it.

It lasted about two days lol because the pipes angle was all wrong, it was being forced at 90 odd degrees to stay in one place. So I routed it around the engine bay so it was at no angle and got some more pipe and put it in between the pipes and re tightened the jubilee clip. And so far its worked a treat and im well chuffed with it because first mechanical 'fix' ive really done lol.

So I intend to fix it and learn more.