davemar 16 Posted March 20, 2008 In the past couple of days when driving the 1.1 205, I've noticed that a kind of wooooo / humming / whistling sound is coming from the front of the car sometimes. Could this be a wheel bearing on its way out? Not sure whether it from the left or right side, as it's not a very directional sort of sound. Could anything else make this sort of sound? The pitch of the sound seems pretty fixed. I'll jack up the fronts and wiggle the wheels tonight to check. I've replaced wheel bearings on other cars in the past, and apart from removing the bearing from the hub itself, it's not a difficult job. Is there anything unusual I should look out for when doing this? I get the impression wheel bearings are one of the more bomb-proof items on 205s. I've certainly never needed to change them on my GTi in 11 years (now they are bound to fail now I've said that!), I don't see many people mentioning them on here. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BuD 0 Posted March 20, 2008 Check for rubbing\something jammed (wheel weights etc between caliper and wheel) If it is the bearing I think a hub from the scrappy is the easiest as they are pennies. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
davemar 16 Posted March 20, 2008 I'll check for the rubbing possibility. I had my front tyres changed this afternoon, so hopefully having the wheels off and tracking done may have dislodged the problem. The drive home was too short, wet, and noisy (exhaust blows a bit at the moment) to really notice if the sound was still there. I'll have a rummage around if it ever stops raining ever tomorrow. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
johnnyboy666 195 1 Cars Posted March 21, 2008 any possibility that it could be the gerarbox? in my old 306 the previous owner put some strange oil in the gearbox and after a while it started making a whurring kind of noise so i took it to the garage assuming it would be a wheel bearing, turned out the gearbox was pretty much eating its self, it looked like tinsel inside! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
davemar 16 Posted March 21, 2008 I hope not, I just got rid a spare gearbox for it that was using up space in my garage! I would expect a gearbox whurr to vary in pitch, this noise seems constant. It didn't make it so much today, and I'm struggling to identify when it likely to start, but it feels more steering related. When it happens I think I can feel something through the steering wheel. It's almost like a resonance where it only makes the sound when something is vibrating at the right rate. I did munch a gearbox many years ago on my 205 GTi, after the diff blew and it lost all its oil. I kept driving as I knew the gearbox was going to die anyway, so I thought I'd go as far as I could on it. I'm pretty sure the sound just before I gave up on it wasn't like this one. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
davemar 16 Posted March 22, 2008 Drove some more today, and it only really starts the noise after 20 mins of driving or so. It only seems to do it on right hand bends, but I haven't really spotted a typical speed or steering angle where it always happens. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
davemar 16 Posted April 9, 2008 The pitch of noise has now increased to quite a whistle. It seemed to occur more when driving in a straight line now, and steering off this line makes it go. I also found by just even slightly touching the brakes makes it go too. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tom Fenton 1,582 Posted April 9, 2008 Are you sure it is not the brakes dragging ever so slightly? But more to the point if you haven't jacked it up yet to investigate, please do so ASAP in case a wheel is about to fall off....... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
davemar 16 Posted April 9, 2008 I jacked it up a few days ago and the wheels felt solid enough, and I've had no steering problems. I ought to try again to double check. Recently had some new front tyres fitted (it made the noise before that too) and they didn't comment on finding anything unusual apart from the tracking needing doing. Given that most tyre fitters try to get you to change the brakes even if they've got no wear on them at all, I would have expected to notice a wobbly wheel. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
davemar 16 Posted April 9, 2008 I tried wobbling the fronts and one rear (I didn't do all four after a little incident which I've mentioned in General Chat...) and they all felt solid. Maybe the problem one just isn't that badly worn yet to exhibit any noticeable movement. I would have whipped the front wheels off to check further, but I got rather diverted with some unplanned bodywork jobs...oops. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tom Fenton 1,582 Posted April 9, 2008 I've had wheel bearings that although displayed no play were very noisy, play and noise are not necessarily both present. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
davemar 16 Posted April 13, 2008 I decided to take off the front right wheel just to check if anything else was looking iffy. The wear on the two brake pads was very uneven, the outer one was half the thickness of the inner one. I removed the pads to check the caliper, and while the piston retracted easily enough, I couldn't budge the caliper itself on its sliders. I wonder if this could be the source of noise? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tom Fenton 1,582 Posted April 13, 2008 If a dab on the brake pedal was enough to shut it up for a bit, then undoubtably, YES Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
davemar 16 Posted April 14, 2008 I put a dash of copper ease on the back of the pads and the noise didn't occur in the way into work this morning. I'll fit a new caliper as soon as I can. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
davemar 16 Posted April 21, 2008 Put a new caliper on over the weekend, and it hasn't made the noise since (done about 40 miles in it so far), so looks very promising. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
