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.

I still think this is a Drive shaft / outer CV joint issue, certainly as you are now only getting it on turning, surely the garage can rule this out. Grease up the CV joints to see if it lessons the problems.

Right, the steering wheel now when driving straight is turned to the right. So the car will be going straight but the steering angle will be more towards the right. Thats why it aint making the noise on a straight now.

Also noticed the car skids very often when I am turning left above 25 mph or so, it wont do it when going right.

Could my car just need tracking done? I mean could it be so out of align that its causing something to hit when turning left?

How are the tyres wearing? This would gives clues to how accurate the tracking is. However if a new track rod end was installed then the garage should have done the tracking after too. Can you confirm this was done? The steering wheel can sometimes come out of line when the tracking is changed, this is rectified by taking the airbag off the wheel (ensuring the ignition is off) and using a large spline bit to take off the wheel and relocate it so that it's facing the direction of travel.

Edit: worth noting though, that as long as the tracking is done correctly, then the steering wheel direction itself won't make any difference to the actual driving. Just the comfort of knowing when the wheel is centred the car is going straight.

Edited 1 September, 201015 yr by Jcb.

Right, the steering wheel now when driving straight is turned to the right. So the car will be going straight but the steering angle will be more towards the right. Thats why it aint making the noise on a straight now.

Also noticed the car skids very often when I am turning left above 25 mph or so, it wont do it when going right.

Could my car just need tracking done? I mean could it be so out of align that its causing something to hit when turning left?

JCB listed the points very well to this response.

Steering wheel not straight would not effect the turning providing tracking was done correctly.

Also would not cause grinding noise.

As you stated that you get a skidding at a certain speed i still think your drive shaft/ cv joint needs looking at.

You should rule that out before you get a complete failure occur.

Edited 1 September, 201015 yr by Bowders1

How are the tyres wearing? This would gives clues to how accurate the tracking is. However if a new track rod end was installed then the garage should have done the tracking after too. Can you confirm this was done? The steering wheel can sometimes come out of line when the tracking is changed, this is rectified by taking the airbag off the wheel (ensuring the ignition is off) and using a large spline bit to take off the wheel and relocate it so that it's facing the direction of travel.

Edit: worth noting though, that as long as the tracking is done correctly, then the steering wheel direction itself won't make any difference to the actual driving. Just the comfort of knowing when the wheel is centred the car is going straight.

The right hand tyres outer thread has been wearing faster then the other tyres. Nah no tracking was done after the new rod end was installed.

So thats interesting what you've told me, so the position of the steering wheel has no impact on the driving. cool.

After they installed the new rod end arm, the noise now only comes when your turning left before it happened when you was driving straight. The only other difference was that the steering wheel is now when driving straight more to the right.

But from what your telling me that won't make a difference?

I'm confused now, but one thing can we all rule out the wheel bearing now?

The right hand tyres outer thread has been wearing faster then the other tyres. Nah no tracking was done after the new rod end was installed.

So thats interesting what you've told me, so the position of the steering wheel has no impact on the driving. cool.

After they installed the new rod end arm, the noise now only comes when your turning left before it happened when you was driving straight. The only other difference was that the steering wheel is now when driving straight more to the right.

But from what your telling me that won't make a difference?

I'm confused now, but one thing can we all rule out the wheel bearing now?

I'm surprised no tracking was calibrated after any tracking parts were changed! Perhaps this should be another port of call. Uneven wear on tyres also reaffirms this.

In terms of the steering wheel, you could unbolt the steering wheel, take it off and reattach it upside-down if you wanted to, it would have no impact on the steering system except for the fact it would damn well annoy me!! Once the spline bolt in the centre is taken off, the steering wheel literally slides off and back on the end of a shaft which in turn attaches to the steering rack.

In short, I would aim to have the tracking done and in the process, when you know the wheels are straight, take off the steering wheel and place it back on so as it is in the position you'd imagine for driving straight forward. (As I said remember to ensure the ignition is off, otherwise you'll get an airbag light on the dash)

Perhaps someone better can explain it, pictures of a steering column without the wheel on may help also.

But for now, get the tracking done and also as stated by Bowders, get the constant velocity joint looked at as you really don't want this fail on you when you're driving the car.

Edited 1 September, 201015 yr by Jcb.

Interesting so that means the new track rod end has definately lessened the noise so that it now only makes it when you turn to the left. Why this is I'm not sure, perhaps a mechanic could explain it.

Right, tomorrow gonna put it on the ramp and me and my mate are gonna take a look at it, see if we can figure anything out. He's pretty good with cars.

After that, ill probably get it tracked too.

By the way when you take a tyre off and put it back on, will that knacker up the tracking or will changing something like the wheel bearing hub affect it as I will probably end up doing this eventually too..

But from what it seems like, this noise is something catching or rubbing together when the car is turned left causing a grinding noise and vibration.

Changing a wheel or a tyre on a wheel shouldn't require any tracking changes. Changing parts of the steering or tracking system and changing suspension geometry (lowering for example) often will. However with lowering it will be an equal change on each side effecting the camber. By changing the track rod end and not then doing the tracking after, what you're more than likely experiencing is toe-in. This can vastly mess up handling and often produce the loss of control even at low speeds as you previously stated.

Without the proper equipment yourself, there's not alot you can do about the tracking for the time being save for taking to a garage. But when you have it on the ramps tomorrow, be sure to check the CV properly. Any perishing or splits in no matter how small are not a good sign. The only other thing I can suggest albeit gingerly, is to sit it on axle stands and spin the wheel by hand while the car is on left hand lock to see if you can locate the noise or vibration easier without the engine running (you previously said the noise is there whilst towing/free wheeling) Failing that, being very careful and ensuring the car is VERY secure, you could start the car and get someone to bring the wheels up to the 15 mph mark you mentioned on left lock and carefully try to locate the source then.

Just a thought, but if you use a torch and look right through to the back of the wheel arch liner, there aren't any tell tale marks of the wheel fouling the plastic anywhere are there? Furthermore, could the vehicle have previously been accident repaired? It's not unheard of for cars to be repaired without the insurance company's knowledge and not to a higher standard as most would like. If you look at the nearside of your car square on, does the front wheel sit dead centre in the wheel arch? I.e. the gap between the wheel and the arch should be equal right the way round until the arch runs off to form the body.

Got it tracked, it drivers nicer but still the noise. Also one thing ive noticed when my steering wheels full locked to the right somtimes it makes a strange noise. I dont know how to describe it really. Like its been over tightened and somethings unwinding, kinda clicky.

If the CV boot is split and the grease has leaked out that clicking is the CV joint gone dry.

Got it tracked, it drivers nicer but still the noise. Also one thing ive noticed when my steering wheels full locked to the right somtimes it makes a strange noise. I dont know how to describe it really. Like its been over tightened and somethings unwinding, kinda clicky.

You might benefit to get your CV joints checked out as been mentioned a number of times,

You don't state anywhere you have done this,

CV joints can start with a very low level noise at turn of a steering wheel to a very high level clicking noise.

CV joints can wear due to a number of reasons and also become dry if the rubber boot is damaged and will then result in permanent damage and clicking noises.

You may of been able to confirm this when or if you had the car up in the air when you were going to check out the hub and track rod end using the good suggestion's again from JCB, by turning wheel on full lock and rotating wheel and also feel the play in the joints. (inner and outer)

Your mechanic could also of damaged a CV when doing the wheel bearing

Edited 3 September, 201015 yr by Bowders1

Guys, what would cause it to vibrate? Because aswell as the noise there is a hell of alot of vibration you can feel through the floor.

Right its definitely not the front left wheel bearing, as just had a brand new one put on there today.

The person who did it for me done it in a couple of hours and labour was £35, quite reasonable I think as he had to put the bearing on to the hub then attach the hub to the big assembly thing.

He said he'll look at this problem for me next week, am hopeful now have found a decent mechanic who has time. (my dad is too busy lol).

At the weekend am gonna get the coolant changed and check why my engine management light is on.

Next week, will give the car to this mechanic again to find out what the noise is. But I can now finally rule out the wheel bearings.

Bowders1 & chicken_eyebrow have both told you to check the CV's out. Mysteriously you don't seem to have followed their advice.They both know what they're talking about.

Clicking noise on full lock is a classic sign of a worn out or dry CV. In extreme cases of wear to the CV internals it will start to grind & vibrate too. Any decent mechanic should know this!!!

Replace the near side outer CV & get the tracking done again, but this time make sure the steering wheel is dead straight before they adjust the track rod arms.

Edited 7 October, 201015 yr by pauldazzle

Bowders1 & chicken_eyebrow have both told you to check the CV's out. Mysteriously you don't seem to have followed their advice.They both know what they're talking about.

Clicking noise on full lock is a classic sign of a worn out or dry CV. In extreme cases of wear to the CV internals it will start to grind & vibrate too. Any decent mechanic should know this!!!

Replace the near side outer CV & get the tracking done again, but this time make sure the steering wheel is dead straight before they adjust the track rod arms.

I gave up stating this.

wait maybe another bearing change.......

Well I told you my dad and another mechanic had a quick look, secondly the bearing had to be changed as the abs rings were smashed.

My dad is too busy with his own work, so i'm taking it to this other person come monday. CV boots sound like a cheap fix anyway at around £10 a piece.

Well I told you my dad and another mechanic had a quick look, secondly the bearing had to be changed as the abs rings were smashed.

My dad is too busy with his own work, so i'm taking it to this other person come monday. CV boots sound like a cheap fix anyway at around £10 a piece.

CV boot does sound like a cheap fix, if it was the CV boot. But we are talking CV joint. no good replacing a CV boot on a knackered joint.

Hopefully this competent mechanic will sort it and the saga will be over.

Edited 7 October, 201015 yr by Bowders1

As Bowders1 has stated a CV boot isn't going to solve it. You need a complete CV joint.

100% Fixed!

It was the right hand side wheel bearing all along...

Good thing the person off here sent me that side bearing as had it changed today and all noise is gone.

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.

Hello

I have the same situation on my skoda,

Whrn i accelerate and turn left i hear noise , right or straight, no problem.

Changed left front bearing.

The noise doesn t hear if i don t accelerate.