whine, clunk clunk...

[Reesy]

I've been getting a clunk from around the rear left wheel when decelerating & accelerating - seemed to come on in the rain, for some reason. Anyway, it's been getting worse / more prevalent, & the occasional whine from the rear axle seems to be getting more frequent. This evening pulling off the car juddered for 20m or so before pulling off smoothly (in first gear). Wheel nuts are tight & it's years since I checked the diff oil.

Any ideas guys? Any tests I can do to diagnose it?

Thanks

Simon

[leamyj]

Wheel bearing??

John

[ger]

jack the back, spin the wheel listen for a rumble in the bearing. Hold both sides of the wheel and rock from side to side. A dodgy wheel bearing usually sounds worse going around corners. While you are there you could get a crow bar in to the wishbones and see if the bushes are worn. Also check the half shaft.

[Reesy]

Thanks Ger.

Bushes are OK I hope as they're only 7 years old, but still I'll check 'em. Lastest symptoms: everything comes & goes, but if I turn left when I pull off after parking up for a while, I get a squeal for maybe 20M. Hard to tell where it's coming from. When I'm at motorway speeds, some of the time I get a whine from the rear that's louder than it used to be.

The clunck from the left rear wheel on accelerating / decelerating / changing gear seems to be getting more persistent.

I like the idea of jacking it up & doing what you say - that's sth I can do at the same time. Might check the diff oil at the same time.

Simon

[Steve]

it does sound a bit diff/bearing related.. re the clunk, check your anti-roll bar bolts too, I had one of mine come loose and clunk about a while back

[Reesy]

Hmmm, I jacked the back wheels up & found no kinda rumble or anything else. A-arms seemed fine, visually. Wish I'd checked the nuts for tightness though they looked okay. Checked the diff oil level when it was back level & plenty in there.

<scratches head>

[mx5ash]

Maybe drain the diff oil and see if there is any sign of metal on the plug or as in my case big chunks of metal come out.

[Reesy]

Thanks for your help guys.

I am breaking it down into separate problems:
- The clunk from the rear left wheel is, I'm pretty sure, down to a slighly loosened bolt on the A-arm. I found one & tightened it. Now need to get wheels realigned.
- The moan from the rear comes & goes - it's weird - but on its own its own I'm not too bothered about it, partly because I don't know what to do about it & partly because it has been coming& going for a while. I'll change the diff oil one of these days as Ash suggests.
- Any ideas about the screech from the front driver's side wheel if I pull off turning left? It is pretty noisy but goes away after say 50 yards or when I straighten up, whichever is first.

Simon

[sidewaysreilly]

Power Steering belt????

[Reesy]

Hmmm, thanks!.

I'll test further to see whether it's caused by the act of turning the wheel (which I guess would support the PAS belt hypothesis) or the state of the wheel being turned to the left (which would mean it's something else, I think).