Hello

54 plate vRS Octavia Estate

Short saga version - my car was clipped by white van man on the OSF corner. Nothing major, just a big scrape and a broken lamp. Went to body repair shop. Came back but lamp units not fitted back properly, other bits had been broken as they took the front air dam etc. Went back to body shop again. They fitted replacements for the broken bits. Car returned. So, all's well you'd think? No.

I now have a really annoying squeak coming from the front end somewhere. I'd love to blame the body shop but I'm starting to think it's just a horrible co-incidence. The noise is being generated by relative movement between the engine and the chassis. It happens as you start the engine (torsion kick), as you let the clutch out and take up the drive, going along rough surfaces and of course over bumps like sleeping policemen (of which I am surrounded).

Manually bumping the front suspension produces nothing but I can create the noise by heaving to & fro on the engine. It sounds like it's more on the driver's side and from down the back of the engine somewhere. So, likely candidates are an engine mount, a torsion stabiliser of some sort etc.

Does anyone have experience of any particular parts that give trouble like this? Mountings that tend to fail? Anything like that?

Thanks. Any help appreciated. Can't keep turning the radio up. :think:

Check your anti roll bar bushes as a start.

Sounds like it could be dogbone mount if its engine movement related,

Did bodyshop do any paintwork

Try the radiator rubbers if some of the fronts been off new rubbers or some spray grease

I tried these before doing a broken exhaust mount under the car and arb bushes it turned out all three were shot

Hello

Thanks for replies.

The anti roll bar bushes were replaced about 5 years ago under warranty, with a modified type. Never been a problem since.

Yes, they did paintwork. Had to remove/refit the front air dam bumper completely. When it came back after the first body shop visit, there was no squeak. However, they subsequently had to replace the 3 piece under tray because it had not been refitted correctly and came adrift at motorway speed It was after it came back from the second visit to the body shop that the squeaking was evident. However, I'm struggling to see what they could have done (or undone or altered) in fitting those 3 sections of plastic under tray.

Have tried spraying various places with a rubber lube spray but may not have "hit" the right ones.

I'll have to get a local garage to put it up on a ramp and have another look.

Thanks again.

plus one for rad mounts

Hello again

Finally got this fixed at a local garage. Turned out to be a mounting on the inter-cooler pipe. It had been taken off during the recent body repair and refitted incorrectly leaving metal to metal contact. Very annoying that the body-shop couldn't see or rectify this. Now got to have an argument with them about the bill I've got for somebody else to fix it! :(

Still, no more squeak. Great.

We were close then!!!