I have put this in general maintenance because I think the suspension & driveline on my Yeti is common to all the MQB platform vehicles.

 

I have ears with a high degree of mechanical sympathy and can identify anormal noises or vibrations often before they develop into something that can be diagnosed.

 

I have always thought that I could hear an intermittent rumble from the NSF of the Yeti but it could be the rear, hard to localise, it sounds like a wheel bearing but is not constant, cant be exaggerated by twitching the wheel to load the suspension on that side (my usual test) and as its not constant it could be small amplitude suspension displacements, in the cabin you are not aware of driving over a rough surface but it could be minor undulations and the frequency does seem to be proportional to speed.

 

After driving 10k miles (92K on the clock now) its a little more noticeable/frequent but it could also be the colder weather or the winter tyres, in fact I cannot rule out that it could be tyre noise other than I can only hear it on the nearside.

 

Any suggestions of what to check and how?

 

My first thoughts are the anti-roll bar drop links, I never had cause to change them on the Octavias so dont know what they sound like when the ball joints wear.

 

Console bushes? On my MK1 Octavia they made more of a knocking squeaking and was only evident in freezing conditions.

 

Anything else?

You could try this:-

 

Rotate the tyres to see if that makes any difference. Does the noise move after moving the tyres?

 

When the wheels are off the ground grab the ARB drop links and push / pull them.

One that has play in it will knock.

 

When the wheels are up off the ground spin them by hand.

At the same time put some fingers on the coil spring.

If a wheel bearing is poor you can feel it in the spring

 

Thanks, AG Falco

Noise was always present but less noticeable before the wheel swap, the different tyres may amplify it or the 3k kms I have done since the winter tyres may have worsened the condition.

 

I always do the spinning wheels check as part of my maintenance checks whenever the vehicle jacked up but to be honest with disc brakes and all 4 wheels turning a drive shaft and rotating a crown wheel and the other wheel or the planet gears the wheel stops dead before you can get your hand anywhere near the springs, without a ramp you also need to be lying on your back leaving only one arm with partial motion to spin the wheel, it really is impractical/impossible.

 

Will check the drop links.