TheSamba.com :: View topic - Can someone diagnose this sound? Rear brakes or worse?

Sat Jul 11, 2020 10:05 am

Hello,
Can someone help me diagnose this sound? It is metallic clicking from the left rear wheel on my 1973 Bus. It only happens when I turn the steering wheel to the right. Pressing the brakes doesn't seem to stop it as long as the steering wheel is turned to the right. It begins the instant I deviate from straight ahead to the right. I have had the brake drum off twice to try to find the source and everything looks fine, just rusty. The clicking is intermittent on the video, as I slowly swerve all over the road.

https://youtu.be/COGBZYQ4Gns

Thank you!
-Paul

Sat Jul 11, 2020 11:00 am

Yikes! Sounds like a kid banging on a frying pan. If that isn't it check for loose wheel bearing... then a bad cv joint.

Sat Jul 11, 2020 11:10 am

are the backing plates original or new.

Sat Jul 11, 2020 11:12 am

Sounds kind of tinny in the video. A CV tends to be a harder deeper sound than what I can hear. Does it still make the noise if you depress the clutch and throw the tranny into neutral?

Sat Jul 11, 2020 11:12 am

Sounds like a rock or a wheel lug bolt loose inside a hubcap.

Sat Jul 11, 2020 11:51 am

Danwvw wrote: Sounds like a rock or a wheel lug bolt loose inside a hubcap.

Getting out and shaking the wheels hard is always a good thing to do when odd noises in the suspension suddenly show up. All those fancy tires and brake upgrades do you little good when the wheel and tire decide to go on their separate way down the road. Not sure why a lug nut or bolt would make a different noise with slight changes in steering pressure though, but loose lugs should always be suspect.

Sat Jul 11, 2020 11:52 am

Thank you for the replies! To answer some questions:

I checked some things based on Muir's description on pg. 25 "How to Buy a Volkswagen":

The play on the differential seems normal. Wheel only moved an inch or so. The axle bearing test (hands at 6:00 and 9:00) showed a tiny bit of play. Maybe 1/16"? I tried the other rear wheel for comparison and the play wasn't there. So, maybe it's an axle bearing?

SGKent, I think the backing plates are original. They are rusty.

Wildthings, it still makes the sound in neutral.

Danwvw, the hubcap was removed for the filming of that video.

Sat Jul 11, 2020 12:56 pm

Does the speedo work or bounce when this happens? Have you pulled all the hub caps off when testing?

Sat Jul 11, 2020 1:23 pm

It really does sound hubcappy -- were ALL the hub caps removed for that video?

Sat Jul 11, 2020 1:35 pm

Paul Deatherage wrote: Danwvw, the hubcap was removed for the filming of that video.

A single hubcap or all four hubcaps? Why not removal all four and torque all the lugs well, just because?

Sat Jul 11, 2020 3:50 pm

Hey guys,
Thanks again for all the comments. I removed all of the hubcaps except for what I thought was the original offender. I retorqued the lug nuts. I noticed the front driver side wheel's nuts were not quite as tight as the others. Also, the grease cup had slid out by about 1/8-1/4". I also grabbed both axles to test for any horizontal play and there wasn't any.

I drove it around with the 3 hubcaps gone and the sound seemed to have vanished. I retorqued again after I got home and made sure the grease cup was in all the way. Then I reinstalled the hubcaps.

So, I guess I thought I was hearing the rear wheel when I was hearing the front wheel. I still cannot figure out what the sound was unless maybe the tip of the speedometer cable was scraping past the VW logo of the hubcap. But then, why did it only happen on right turns?

I drove it some more and then noticed a very faint sound was there. It's possible that the faint sound was always there but I never noticed it because of the louder sound happening at the same time.

I'm gonna call it fixed for now because the loud sound seems to be gone. Thanks so much for encouraging me to check the other wheels!

Sat Jul 11, 2020 5:04 pm

Why not drive by a tire shop and have them torque your lug nuts for you. I think the specified torque is something like 94 ft-lbs.

Sat Jul 11, 2020 6:10 pm

A long time ago I had a weird noise on the rear wheel of my bus. Robbie was with me and got out and pulled the hubcap off and the sound went away. I couldn't believe it.

It wasn't that loud though.