Hey all

 

Since I got my Octavia (approximately two years and 30,000 miles ago) it's had a slight clunk/squeak when in first gear, especially obvious when coming on and off the throttle repeatedly (for example, descending at a multi-storey carpark, or slowing down for speed bumps). In the last six months or so it's been getting worse, so I asked my friendly local mechanic while having some other work done, and he said it could be the "dogbone" engine mount. I replaced it (parts cannon ahoy) and the factory one looked and felt fine. Sure enough, same sound and noise in 1st gear.

 

I now suspect it's the top engine mounts, as I can grab the top of the engine and move it backwards and forwards, but a pair of top mounts are about £100. Before I fire the parts cannon again, is there anywhere else I should look? Suspension? I thought it was the front suspension arms as they had tears in the bushings, but new ones didn't solve the problem. Subframe bushes? And if it is the engine mounts, are they universal between engines and boxes, or do I have to buy specific 1.9TDI manual gearbox mounts?

 

The noise is the only symptom, the car otherwise drives fine with no excessive noise or vibration, but I'd like to fix it before something worse happens.

 

Thanks in advance!
Joe

I had this recently and it turned out that it was, indeed, the dog bone mount. More specifically, the bolt going through the metal bracket, dog bone itself and into transmission had unwound itself and dropped out. It's a firmer aftermarket dog bone mount though and had done over 44k miles in the 3.5 years since I fitted it, in a modified vRS that wasn't always driven lightly.

 

But that's not you problem, as you say. Radiator mounts can squeak, but maybe not clunk. I'm breaking my car at the moment, so if it turns out that the upper engine and gearbox mounts are of use, let me know. A genuine upper gearbox mount from VW was about £100. Ouch.

If only! The bolts were torqued up fine when I removed that mount, and it squeaked on the test drive immediately so they haven't dropped out since. Flatmate has a gopro so I'm tempted to stick it under the bonnet and go for a drive and see if I can spot it visually. I did actually my mount with a used poly one from ebay (same price as a new 3rd party) so I'll keep an eye on the bolts.

 

If you could grab a photo of those mounts so that I could compare that would be fantastic!

 

Thanks!

Edited 6 April, 20188 yr by JoeofLoath

I'll check the part numbers in a bit but I can't imagine that the engine and gearbox upper mounts will be that different between models, save for any possible minor differences in rubber hardness.

I had the same issue with my 2001 1.4 16v Octavia and it was the rather large engine mount between the gearbox and the chassis (on top high up).

 

Engine rocked backwards and fowards and I could generate the noise doing so pushing the top of the engine backwards and forwards. I wasn't 100% sure so diagnosed by pushing the handle of a paint brush between the mount to fill the gap. Got rid of the noise but obviously added vibration though! 

 

It was replaced and all is well - infact much better as engine noise seemed to be reduced.

On 4/9/2018 at 23:21, bigjohn said:

I had the same issue with my 2001 1.4 16v Octavia and it was the rather large engine mount between the gearbox and the chassis (on top high up).

 

Engine rocked backwards and fowards and I could generate the noise doing so pushing the top of the engine backwards and forwards. I wasn't 100% sure so diagnosed by pushing the handle of a paint brush between the mount to fill the gap. Got rid of the noise but obviously added vibration though! 

 

It was replaced and all is well - infact much better as engine noise seemed to be reduced.

 

Sounds like I have some more investigation to do then, but it looks like my guess was right!

 

It's been getting a little noisier, any updates on your mounts @Mankee? The diesel and petrol lower mounts are the same other than rubber hardness, so it's probably the same, but good to check anyway.

 

Thanks guys!

I've got an upper gearbox mount that can be ready to send very shortly if you wanted to try one mount by one? But the upper engine mount (timing belt side) is still on the car and might not be off it for another week or two. Part number is 1J0 199 555, version AP.