Squeaking/Rubbing/Clunk front area (right wheel area) ??

[andy15star]

Hi guys,

Need a bit of help.

Today as i was driving back home i had the window down for a few minutes. I noticed a kind of metallic squeak coming on for a few seconds every few minutes (sounded similar to a dinner being scooped off a dinner plate with a fork !) and every so often a metal clunk (although the clunk has only happened a few times).

Squeaking seems to be happening once every few minutes and lasting a few seconds, tends to be more at lower speeds (40mph and less), but it might be coming on at faster speeds, it's just that i can't hear it with the road noise at higher speeds etc.

It comes on whether it's in gear or not, and it seems to me to be coming from the front right hand side. It's fairly random in that turning doesn't seem to make it any worse, and being in or out of gear doesn't seem to make it happen any more or less either.

The squeaking actually sounds like light a pattering of pebbles in the drum, but not sure what the clunk is every so often.

I'm a novice, but me and my dad have had a good look under the car and nothing is trailing and there's no obvious signs of anything abnormal there.

I went into the SEAT garage and they told me they couldn't look at it till next Friday as they had a few mechanics off sick ! and i wondered if it was safe to drive it till they can have a look at it.

The car seems to be driving normally, braking seems fine.

I did get 2 new front tyres for it a week ago, but cannot really link it to that either.

Any help would be much appreciated !


Regards,
Andy

 

[Graemeb_dj]

Hey mate,

What car do you drive ?

I have the same problem although mines is only when accelerating, my cars been in and out the garage and still no results.

 

[andy15star]

Hey mate,

What car do you drive ?

I have the same problem although mines is only when accelerating, my cars been in and out the garage and still no results.

Hi Graeme, It's the Ibiza mk5 Sport 1.6

Cheers,
Andy

 

[Graemeb_dj]

aw kool,

I drive a bocanegra, i have reason to believe my problem may be with the supercharger,

Is your squek only heard when accelerating or just when the wheels are turning ?

 

[andy15star]

It's pretty random actually!, it isn't related to accelerating or braking, or even being in or out of gear. It has done it accelerating around 40mph, and free wheeling, braking doesn't particularly bring it on either. But it definitely is only happening when the wheels are spinning.

It seems to be around the lower speeds (40mph and less), it was doing it quite a bit around 20mph. The squeaking doesn't really phase me too much, it's like a scraping of a fork on a dinner plate!, it's the clunk i'm worried about. I'm frightened to keep on driving it, although i know how sounds can seem louder and more serious than they really are when it comes to cars!. It seems to drive perfectly normally !

Andy

 

[FR_POWER]

Squeaking brakes?

 

[andy15star]

I wouldn't be too concerned if that's all it was. But what would the metal clunking be ?? it's not as often as the metallic squeaking, but still very noticable when the window is down.

Regards,
Andy

 

[FR_POWER]

Hmmm don't then? Did u bend the wheel going over pot holes lately?

 

[andy15star]

Hmmm don't then? Did u bend the wheel going over pot holes lately?

Not recently, went over one at Xmas without any issues, went over one a few days ago although nothing too bad, just a bit of a pothole. What could that have done then ?, do u think it's a serious safety issue ?. I haven't noticed any difference in driving it.

We've had a look and we cant see anything trailing/dragging/detached etc.

Plus, it doesn't do it all the time and i would have thought it would have if it had been caused by something like that. It only does it maybe once in 3 mins at lower speeds.

Regards,
Andy

 

[FR_POWER]

Basically if u go over a pot hole pretty fast it bends the wheel inside, which can make a mess of the ESP and wheel balancing ovbs won't notice if the car is stationary, see if the car pulls to left or right and check when u brake car pulls left or right. Hmm Should be ok but I'm not sure, take it back to garage or take it kwik-fit they do a check on the spot.

 

[andy15star]

Cheers FR ROWER, yeah i've checked all that out and there is no pulling to the right or left on braking or when driving straight. Slight vibration to steering wheel, but i mean very slight and that seems to have gone now. To be honest my dad's Toledo has a worse steering vibration.

Last week i had 2 new front tyres fitted and they said they would do a free tracking test. They never said anything to me when i paid so i assumed that tracking was okay.

I suppose all i can do is keep an eye on it, see if it gets worse and book it into the garage.

I was just a little worried using it, but i need to in order to get to work otherwise it's 6 busses a day.

Like i was saying i can only hear it at around 40mph or less, and it's only every few minutes, and sometimes doesn't really happen at all, but it's annoying when it does. It could have been happening a long time before now and i just haven't heard it. With the windows up and radio on it's impossible to hear it. It's just since i've noticed it for the first time that i'm now driving round with my head out the window trying to fathom where it's coming from!!! (yeah a little dangerous i know!). The clunking has happened 3 times today on a 20 mile trip approx.

The clunking just sounds like how you'd imagine a loose heavy metal bracket would sound knocking against the underside (a bit like the sound you get when you chisel at a brick). But we've looked under and there's nothing obvious. But i don't think it's the exhaust because the squeaking just doesn't sound right for it to be an exhaust issue.

Having said that, sounds do seem to travel weirdly in cars, i've had experience of that before !

Andy

 

[andy15star]

Hi,

Just a bit of an update.

Got in the car this morning, pulled away and the metallic scraping was happening more frequent. But i think it could be due to the car still being cold because it seems to get less frequent after driving a few minutes.

Didn't hear any clunking though.

But now i've found out that when the metallic scraping/squeaking comes on, as soon as i brake it goes off !. Which leads me to think it's brake related because i've never heard the noise during braking yet, and braking seems to interrupt the noise.

Each time i heard the noise i braked, and this seems to stop the noise. Then when i release the brake pedal it comes back on for a second or so, only to be stopped again when i press the brake.

As i pulled into the car park at work (about 10mph) i did hear a heavier scrape/slight clunk. Not as loud as i heard last night.

If this is brake related what could it be ??.

The pads look okay to me, discs seem smooth enough. Could it be simply dirt or grit making such an annoying scraping ??

As i mentioned earlier, it's fairly random. It's not made any worse by turning or accelerating, but seems to go as soon as i brake. Driving feels the same, no pulling to the left or right when accelerating, driving straight or braking, no major steering wobble or anything like that.

PS Booked in for Monday. I told them what issues i'd been having and as they have lots of mechanics off sick the earliest they can do anything is Monday. I will have done another 100 miles by then, but i think it should be okay as there's no other issues apart from the random squeaking/scraping and the odd clunk !

Best Regards,
Andy

 

[cupra_ahhh]

Hi,

Just a bit of an update.

Got in the car this morning, pulled away and the metallic scraping was happening more frequent. But i think it could be due to the car still being cold because it seems to get less frequent after driving a few minutes.

i have this on my cupra R, dealer reckons it could be the sterring rack, but when i took it to a power steering specialist they confirmed my rack was fine.

 

[andy15star]

Yeah could be, but sounds unlikely if the specialists have said otherwise!.

Well mine is in the garage hoping they can get a slot to have a look at it. Failing that then it will be looked at on Monday (when it's actually booked in for).

I don't think it's anything serious due to the fact that the car continues to drive perfectly well, and has done around 50 miles since i noticed all this happening. It could have been happening well before i'd noticed it because i usually have the radio blasting away all the time from start of journey to end!. It was only because i had pulled up at traffic lights and wound the window down (no radio on) that i noticed it !

Anyway i'll keep you guys updated as soon as i know what they say it is, just incase it happens to anyone else out there !

It's all under warranty so hopefully it shouldn't cost me anything unless it is the discs which have worn down or something like that !

Andy

 

[Nath.]

Could be a stone stuck between the disc and pads, or it could be a sticky caliper causing the pads to bind a little.

Remove pads and clean the calipers and sliders and refit. If it's still under warranty take it to Seat.

 

[andy15star]

Could be a stone stuck between the disc and pads, or it could be a sticky caliper causing the pads to bind a little.

Remove pads and clean the calipers and sliders and refit. If it's still under warranty take it to Seat.

Would that cause the rather loud metallic "clunk" ?

Yeah it's currently in the SEAT garage for them to have a look at so fingers crossed it's something simple !

Regards,
Andy

 

[ibizasc-chris]

not long after getting my SC i heard some creaking noises under acceleration in first gear and if i was going over speed bumps etc... sounded like it was coming from the suspension, i took it to the SEAT dealer and it needed new gearbox mounts (replaced under warranty of course)

hope this helps.


Chris.

 

[andy15star]

Ah right!, this isn't made any worse by accelerating, or turning, or whether i'm in gear or not. It's fairly random, but tends to only do it at speeds around 40mph or less (at least i can only hear it at those speeds!). All i know is that braking (even light braking) stops the noise !!. I'm now thinking that Nath might be right about the sticky caliper!

Regards,
Andy

 

[andy15star]

Well got the car back last Monday. They told me it was a stone chip stuck on the disc. They cleaned it out and all seemed fine.

Got into the car on Thursday and although the screaching noise (stone chip) had gone, the metallic clunking came back with avengence, everytime (and only when) i had full right lock on.

Took it back to the garage and they got it up on the ramps. They said the metal shield/guard which protects the disc from debris had been slightly bent intowards the disc and it was rubbing and clanking on full lock. The mechanic "tweaked" it by bending it back into shape. All seems fine now !. Cost me nothing, which is always a good thing !

Just incase this happens to anyone else, i thought i'd update you all !

Best Regards,
Andy