VW Polo N-reg drone at 70mph

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Mon 18 Dec 2006 14:28
VW Polo N-reg drone at 70mph - DozyG
My girlfriend has an N-reg VW polo that's started making a lot of noise on the motorway when you go above 70 (not that I ever do, being a law-abiding citizen etc...). The noise is best described as a droning noise, it sounds like an amplified version of the normal combination of road & engine noise. The car has 150,000 on the clock but has been in the family since new and has always been well maintained.

If you drop the clutch the noise is unchanged and it doesn't seem to depend on steering angle although obviously I haven't been able to test this much other than to note that it's fairly constant when changing lanes.

My first thoughts were that it's probably the wheel bearings, but having done a forum search here on HJ I've seen similar threads blaming tyre deformities and even inner CV joints. The noise certainly seems to be coming from the front, but I've heard that this can sometimes be caused by the rear wheel bearings?

What's the best way to determine what the actual cause is, other than the mechanic's favourite of changing parts until it stops?

G
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Mon 18 Dec 2006 15:45
VW Polo N-reg drone at 70mph - George Porge
Take it to an MOT testing station and tell him the symptoms, 5 mins on the ramp and a drink in his pocket should diagnose the problem.

Rear bearings are an easy fit and £10 each per side.

Front bearings require a press to push out / refit them,

Outer CV tend to knock on full lock, ripped boots tend to throw grease on to the inner side of the wheels.

Inner CVs need pushing / pulling by hand with the car in the air
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Mon 18 Dec 2006 19:44
VW Polo N-reg drone at 70mph - bell boy
i had a polo did this at 70+ it was the gearbox inner gizzards,most likely the diffy bits,i would suggest you get the oil checked for well oil and if its present then run the old thing until it either gets unbearingabley ;-0 bad or you can afford a recon without the con bit (plenty of cowboys that dont wear hats out there)
merry xmas
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Tue 19 Dec 2006 08:17
VW Polo N-reg drone at 70mph - braindead
id go with oldman on that as i find that wheel bearings tend to kick in at about 40 ish
diffs just past wheel wobble (50-60)



ps get a louder radio
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Tue 19 Dec 2006 14:02
VW Polo N-reg drone at 70mph - DozyG
I'll check the oil level this evening. Is the polo prone to gearbox oil leaks?
If it turns out to be the diff how much would you expect for a recon box? My girlfriend is quite attached to the car (not literally :-) so would probably want it repaired.
I'm quite handy at car repair but I'm assuming you'd have to either take the whole engine out or be able to lift the car high enough to drop the box out of the bottom to replace it, so it'd probably be a job for the garage.

Cheers for all the advice
merry xmas

G
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Tue 19 Dec 2006 18:32
VW Polo N-reg drone at 70mph - bell boy
no dozy g they dont normally leak but they also arent the best gearboxes in the world either
the box will indeed need dropping down
garage job yes ,get them to supply the box then job fully warranted
wont be cheap mind, thats why i would drive car at maximum 69 mph and never hear the noise
money saved? loads
merry xmas
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