Noisy Favorit...

[warwound]

Hi all, i'm back with another question about my Skoda - a 1995 Favorit LXiE.

It's been running well since i got it in June this year - apart from needing a new clutch cable a month or so back.

Well i now have what sounds to be a major problem!

Been out today and done about 30 miles before tea - all ok.

Then 9ish tonight i need to give my sister and nephews a lift home - a round trip of 20 miles.

I drop them off and get about halfway back then notice the steering was going through 'sloppy' periods.

I pulled over and took a look at the wheels - no probs there - tyres all well inflated.

So i resumed my journey home.

Steering still going through patches of feeling very loose and sloppy so i took it easy at 30mph.

After about another mile or so i hear a noise....

A regular knocking/mechanical noise which seemed to be coming from the direction of the front left wheel.

At 30mph the noise started and stopped a few times until i found a layby to pull into.

Again i check all the wheels and tyres - nothing loose or flat and nothing else that looked like it could have been the source of the noise.

I pulled away and continued home at 30mph, all ok for about 800 metres then the noise starts again.

This time louder and decidedly unhealthy sounding.

I pulled in at a garage about 1 mile from home and again examined around the car - having a look under the bonnet this time.

Couldn't see anything that looked amiss so headed for home.

In that last mile i was wondering if my prized Favorit was going to throw a wobbly and leave me stranded.

The knocking noise was getting louder again and more regular. Stopping at some lights and pulling away, the noise took about 800 metres again to resume.

At times the steering was very bad and it felt like i was driving with hardly any air in the front tyres - they should be ok as i checked and topped them up on Tueday at the garage.

One thing i did was to apply the clutch when the noise was at it's worst - freewheeling along.

The noise immediately stopped and the steering felt as solid as it usually is, releasing the clutch and the noise and steering problem come straight back.

Anyone got any ideas or recognise an obvious symptom?

Thanks for reading my long(ish) post!

Martin.

[Tom_vRS]

Possibly a CV joint? Driveshaft? Difficult to know without hearing it I'm afraid...

[ugluk]

My first guess would be cv joint, a wheel bearing isnt impossible though, a severly knackered bush could cause it or a worn Track rod end. Very difficult to track down such things without seeing the car in the flesh :(.

To test a CV join go to a big empty car park turn the wheel full lock left and try pulling away sharpish and note the amount of knocking noise you are getting then do the same with wheel full lock right and see if there is a difference in the noise level. If it knocks one way but not the other CV joint is first suspect.

Wheel bearings you have to check by setting your steering straight ahead get out of the car go to each of the wheels in turn and grab the tyre and attempt to shake it, you have to be quite firm with it. If one wheel appears to "wobble" easier or more than the others that could indicate approaching bearing failure.

Knackered bushes and track rod ends you need to get underneath and start taking a good look and leavering things around to notice. Track rod ends can be especially difficult to diagnose on the car.

[warwound]

Thanks for the replies.

I'll leave it til after teatime and head for the car park just around the corner to try some of the tests - it'll be more or less empty by then.

Will post back with more info later.

Martin.

PS Would a cv joint or driveshaft just 'go' like that?

[Tom_vRS]

Thanks for the replies.

I'll leave it til after teatime and head for the car park just around the corner to try some of the tests - it'll be more or less empty by then.

Will post back with more info later.

Martin.

PS Would a cv joint or driveshaft just 'go' like that?

Yes.

HTH!

It won't cost much to fix either, the beauty of the Favorit!

[ugluk]

Yep CV joints have 3 stages

a) Perfectly good

Clunking

c) dead

they can last at stage a for many many years however stage b only lasts so long before you're stuck at the roadside with no drive. stage c lasts until you fix it

[warwound]

Well it's Sunday and i took my Favorit to the carpark around the corner to give it a spin...

Drove around for about five mins and there wasn't a single noise and none of that sloppiness from the steering either.

Unfortunately the car park wasn't completely empty so i couldn't really do much more than crawl around in first and second gear.

Anyway, inspired by the lack of any noise, i took a drive around the one-way system and then half-way down the bypass to a carpark which was empty.

Slowed to stop with steering on full lock right and pulled away, drove a loop three or so times and it was as smooth as ever - no noise and steering normal too.

Did the same with steering on full left lock and it was the same - no problems.

I drove home and stopped at the local garage and had a chat with the owner. He said he'd take a look at it Tuesday midday and see if he could see anything out of order.

Will keep this thread updated.

Martin.

[warwound]

Monday 18th Dec and it's now 10 days since my Favorit developed the noise.

My Favorit has run perfectly all week - done about 100 miles - no problems.

With xmas ahead i decided to postpone the garage inspection til next year.

I had a chat with the chap at the garage and he couldn't suggest what the noise may have been.

My thought is maybe that el cheapo oil i topped the engine up with 2 or 3 days before it started making the noise...

I usually use 15W/40 mineral based oil but decided to save a few quid and used some 25W/50 cheapo oil that didn't even state if it was synthetic or mineral based.

Anyone care to comment on whether real poor quality oil could cause such a problem?

As for the steering going sloppy - my only idea is that the night it started to make a noise was an extremely windy night and i maybe underestimated the effect of the wind on the steering?

Martin.

[ugluk]

more likelly cause of noise if its gone and not came back is a small stone from the road getting on top of the brake pads at the front they can make a hell of a noise before bouncing out. it would effect the steering to a degree as well as the stone would be acting as a small brake on one side only.

Engine oil wouldnt effect steering at all. And Ive never known any type of oil make an engine make loud noises.

[H Bomb]

Awwww

This thread brings back memories of the first Skoda dad bought, it was a red LXiE Favorit! It was noisy for a different reason - it had tappets that sounded like a castanet cabaret act in full swing lol!

Good luck sussing out the problem, I miss our old Favorit!

[MrBump]

Awwww

This thread brings back memories of the first Skoda dad bought, it was a red LXiE Favorit! It was noisy for a different reason - it had tappets that sounded like a castanet cabaret act in full swing lol!

Good luck sussing out the problem, I miss our old Favorit!

Same here - mine sounded awful when above 35mph. Dealer suggested using super unleaded. I thought she was a cheap tart but she had expensive taste!

Would have her back in a minute. Fabia was nice but not the same as the favorit and felicia

[warwound]

Well 2 months later i hope to have finally found my noise and iradicated it.

My skodas had a small hole in the exhaust back box which i only discovered because of some recent frosty weather vaporising the leaking exhaust fumes.

I tried to patch it up with some exhaust repair putty but then found more rotten rusty areas so today......

Kwik-Fit fitted a new back box and it only cost me

[pinkskud]

she still going ok???

[Tech1e]

Cant see what an exhaust has to do with the steering feeling odd???

Hope it is sorted though.

[warwound]

Well it's not quite a week since i had the rear box replaced but so far the mysterious noise hasn't returned.

Prior to getting the new rear box i'd have expected the noise to have returned at least once in that time, so i'm keeping my fingers crossed that it's all now fixed.

As for my original reports of sloppy steering - i think that was a combination of the very strong winds when the noise first appeared and my panic at being a few miles from home and thinking a wheel was about to fall off!!

Half real and half imaginery...

(I've had the Favorit about six months now and it's the first car i've had for many years - so my experience of driving and the effect of strong winds is/was somewhat dusty i think).

MOT's next on the list of stuff to do - it expires 2nd March and i'm hoping the Favorit will pass without needing any major work done....

Martin.

[warwound]

The noise is back! :(

After nearly a week of no noise it has returned.

Just an occasional noise to start with on Monday, then Tuesday it was back as loud as ever.

Driving with the windows down i think the noise is coming from somewhere other than the engine compartment .

I suspect something is loose - maybe a part of the exhaust (not the rear box).

I'm going to have a pre-MOT check next week so plan to leave it til then and ask the garage to have a look underneath for anything that could be knocking and causing the noise.

Martin.

[warwound]

Bit by bit i'm getting closer to establishing what the noise is...

It's been playing up - on and off - for the past few days so i jacked up each front wheel in turn and tested for any free play.

Passenger side front wheel seemed ok - so i then tested the driver side wheel.

Lots of movement in the '3 and 9 o'clock' horizontal plane but none in the 12 and 6 o'clock vertical plane.

By lots i mean there was definate free play there but not that it seemed like imminent failure was looming.

Also seemed to be a bit of uneven wear on the outside of the driver side front tyre - but again nothing excessive.

The local garage is going to take a look this Wednesday - they're also doing a pre-MOT check for me at the same time.

Will update this thread when i have more news.

Martin.

[warwound]

Well diagnosing the noise was no problem for the garage...

They soon found the cause.

Passenger side CV joint and driver side front wheel bearing both in need of replacement.

Not a cheap job but at least it'll be money well spent once it's all done.

Martin.

[ugluk]

Amazed the driveshaft has held together that long once its making noise. Its sometimes very hard to diagnose faults over the net when you cant jump in a car and give it a spin and shake bits yourself to help with diagnoses :(.

[warwound]

Good news to report - all fixed!!

(Barring acts of god)

New driver side front wheel bearing and a recon cv joint on the passenger side.

The garage did a pre-mot check too and founds a few other minor jobs to do.

All ready for an MOT on 3rd March - hope it passes..!

Martin.