Hi,

 

Noticed a creaking noise coming from the NS rear on my 65 vRS TDI Estate. I can rock the car on the driveway and replicate it. 

Also, noticed that the NS is around 15mm lower from floor to top of wheel arch than the OS. 

 

There is nothing obviously leaking, and everything looks intact (no broken springs etc). 

 

The car has done around 55k so not massive mileage but I know rear shocks can be a common problem on cars built at the same time. I'm not sure if the symptoms above may point to this though? Would the drop in height be indicative of a knackered shock? 

 

Any info appreciated.

 

Thanks

it's springs which determine the height of your car.  A shock is there to slow the speed with the spring compresses / rebounds.

 

But having said that, if the shock hasn't extended after being compressed that could be a cause. If it's stuck compressed, the ride would be noticeably awful.

 

Carried anything of significant weight before this issue started? Or hit any kerbs?

 

Also when you did your checks, did you jack the car up and take the wheel off?

Nothing of any significant weight carried, No kerbs hit,  yes jacked it up wheel off, nothing obvious. My first though was something with the spring for the reasons you mention but looks it looks fine. 

 

The ride is not noticeably bad, just the occasional creaking. 

 

May drop the shock off this weekend and see if sheds any light on the situation but if i'm doing that may aswell just replace them anyway i guess?!

Ok so an update incase others stumble across this thread in future.

 

Mystery creak is solved, after spending a while checking over every joint by moving the suspension up and down I’ve tracked it down to what I think is the suspension level sensor for the xenons. 
Removed the arm and  cleaned up the ball studs. Put a small amount of silicone spray in the cups, reassembled and now the squeak is gone! Glad it wasn’t anything major!
 

Still not really been able to track down the discrepancy in ride height compared to the OS but took the shock off, removed the boot and it is leaking (not noticeable with the boot on) and feels a little “notchy” through its travel. So at the moment can only put it down to this as everything else looks fine. Will get some B4 shocks on order so will see soon. 

Edited 21 June, 20205 yr by steve-l

I had 3 broken springs on my Mk II octy over 11 years ownership. Not doubting your mechanical ability but I failed to spot one of the broken springs after looking long and hard and had an MOT failure😕. I did spot the other 2😇

Coil springs usually break at one of the ends, perhaps the last half coil turn or so. It sounds like the break is hidden rather than worn shock absorbers causing the problem.

 

Sachs do four coil springs for the Octavia MK3 RS. Two for the front depending on whether it's a manual or automatic gearbox, and two for the rear depending on whether it's a hatchback or estate. Whether the Octavia MK3 RS is a petrol or diesel doesn't seem to matter, as the same Sachs coil springs come up for either. Each Sachs spring is about £35 each on autodoc.co.uk plus about £9 postage for the total order, ie. not per spring. It's also best to pay their £3 or so extra charge which lets you return the items if they don't fit. Without the £3 or so extra charge, they won't pay the return postage even if they send you the wrong parts, ie. their mistake!

Edited 21 June, 20205 yr by Carlston