Since buying my '89 VDP about ten months ago, I've developed a ticking noise while driving. I only hear it at about 20mph+, and it's very rhythmic. I am certain it isn't engine noise, and to verify I can put the car into neutral while driving and the sound doesn't change. My first thought was front wheel bearings, but after replacing those, there's still no change. The old bearings looked pretty good and the grease was still nice and clean, so I assume this was fairly recently done. I could have sworn the noise was from the front drivers side, but now I'm not convinced. Any ideas on what this could be, before I tear into the rears? Thanks for the help!

 

I just went out and lifted the rear to check for bearing play. The passenger side rear had no side to side play, but definitely had a degree or two of movement if I push in, on the top of the wheel. The driver side barely moved at all when I did the same thing. Is it safe to assume the axle u-joints are worn, one worse than the other?

 

Sometimes noises like this are from something like a bit of loose wire you've picked up which has wrapped itself around a moving part, (drive shaft etc) - you probably checked that already though, right?

Annoying though, I just replaced drivers side front wheel bearing due to humming ...grrrr


Larry

 

Hi Civicalized,

Does the frequency of the ticking change with engine speed or with road speed, or is the frequency constant regardless?

The '87-'89 cars were known for an issue we all called the "helicopter sound," which was caused by hardening of the fuel line and/or failure of the damper in the rubber fuel line near the fuel rail. It was only audible in the passenger compartment and could not be heard when standing outside the vehicle, even with the hood raised. But that sound was usually most audible at idle.

Let us know whether the frequency of the ticking changes with either engine speed or road speed so we can help ponder your mystery.

Cheers,

Don

 

Larry, I was underneath earlier and didn't inspect the driveshaft THAT closely, but never did see anything. I'm going to head back out while I still have daylight and look around some more.

Don, It definitely seems to be based on road speed. I never hear it at idle, and only once I hit 20+ mph does it start, and speeds up as I speed up. While cruising on an empty road, I've put it into neutral and the noise stayed constant while the revs dropped. I'll try to record it with my phone when I drive it next.

Thanks guys!

 

Here's a clip of me driving. I showed the speed for reference.

 

A few crazy questions off the top of my head:

1. Could the sound be coming from the instrument cluster?

2. Could the sound be coming from the radio speakers?

3. Could the sound be coming from the audio speaker in the steering column that annunciates the turn signal clicks?

4. Could it be related to a climate control blower fan?

5. Could it be a brake splash shield bent just enough to rub on the rotor?

6. Is your car equipped with the Self-Leveling Suspension, and if so, could this sound be related to the hydraulics? Now that I think about it, your '89 would have the mechanical pump on the front of the engine and not the electric one on the firewall, so this is probably moot.

7. Thinking of Larry's suggestion, a few months ago I found an entire halloween witch's wig on the rear axle of a BMW that had run over it and wrapped it around the axle so tightly I had to cut it off with a knife. Perhaps you have something wrapped around a rotating component that doesn't extend far enough to tick against anything until you reach 20 mph, when centrifugal force causes it to stretch outward far enough to come into contact with something. The driveshaft speed is proportional to road speed....

8. It might be worth checking your transmission mount to see if it has excessive play. The U-joint could come into contact with an exhaust heat shield, for example.

9. Are you sure a child hasn't attached playing cards to the spokes of your wheels?

Cheers,

Don

 

1-3 I don't think it's inside the car, because I can hear it slightly louder when passing cars or close to a wall/building.

4. I doubt it's the blower fan because I haven't been running it at all, but that being said, I will mess with it wile driving and see if there's any change when it's on. I have hot air seeping in through the defrost vents while driving (which is just great during Idaho summers), and maybe it's spinning the fan somehow.

5. I thought about the dust sheilds when I had the wheel off last night. Only one got checked so I will check the other three. I had dust shields between the wheel and hub (I guess to keep brake dust off the wheel?) but took them off with no change to the sound.

6. My self-leveling suspension was gone when I bought the car, and I've converted it to vacuum boosted brakes so it couldn't be that. Plus, as you mentioned, it was mechanically driven.

7. That's kind of funny about the Halloween wig, Albeit probably frustrating. I crawled underneath last night and got a good look at the driveshaft, and it was free of anything like this. There was a little wire cable that looked like a support for the exhaust, but I don't think it could get close enough to the driveshaft to touch.

8. I have not checked transmission mounts but I will today.

9. I wouldn't be surprised if my son did something like that (he's six). I'd be impressed if I found something at this point that he'd done and I haven't been able to find it.

Thanks again for your help! I try to find these things before turning to the forum, but I was coming up empty on this one and don't want to just throw parts at it and hope something fixes it.

 

I have the dealer installed brake dust shields on my '92 an have had issues with them securely sitting in the wheel, so I've attached thin adhesive foam weatherstripping to four spots around the shield before setting them into the wheel. If they aren't sitting just right, they will make noise with each rotation of the wheel. (As an aside, my Jaguar indy who worked at the dealer for 20+ years told me that new owners who opted for the shields had to sign a waiver as either the dealer or Jaguar were concerned that it would effect brake cooling, and didn't want the liability. I've never had any issues, especially with those big brake cooling ducts at the front, and they make a big difference, so I've kept them.)

To me it sounds like a tire/wheel/brake/driveshaft noise, being so rhythmic. Stone lodged in your tire tread? Loose center caps or bad center cap O-ring? Brake pad or rotor issue? Does the noise change or go away while turning at speed? Does it go away over bumps? Does it go away in neutral at speed? Has it been constant or intermittent? Does it change with temperature/humidity outside?

You could try to support all four corners of the car on jack stands, and spin each wheel by hand and listen and feel for strangeness. You can also try to have an assistant put the car in gear with the rear raised safely, and making sure they don't let the drivetrain over-speed (it's easy to do), carefully listen for the noise from outside the car.

Nick

 

It stays pretty consistent regardless of turning, driving straight, outside conditions etc. I always start hearing it after about 20 mph or so. I checked all my tires, to ensure there was nothing lodged in there. Aside from the rocks (which I removed) from all the chip sealing in my area... The noise remains. I have accelerated to 40-50 and put it into neutral, with now change to the rhythm. I did lift the rear up and set it down on some wood blocks to keep it stable and lifted. I had no noise from the rear with the engine running and the car in gear. Unless it needs pressure on the hubs from the car's weight to make the noise, I'm back to thinking it's up front. I think i may take the hubs back off and check the stub axle to make sure it's not damaged. I didn't pay that close of attention to it when i did bearings, aside from cleaning it really well.

There is a spot on the inner dust shields where they barely touch the knuckle. I will try putting a piece of foam in there to see if it helps. I could see the air coming through the ducts and vibrating them just enough to be noisy. I guess to test this I could plug up the vent and take it for a drive.

Thanks again to everyone for their help. It's nice to have outside opinions so I don't get hung up on one thing.

 

If it's anything like my dust shields, I was able to tap any high spots in with the handle end of a hammer, or something similar, to give a little more clearance. After swapping them to my snow wheels and back, they wouldn't fit quite right. That's when I used the foam on the outside lip of the shields, which contacts the inner surface of the wheel. That foam allowed for a tighter press fit, to keep the shields sitting far enough into the wheel to prevent any rubbing.

I would agree about checking the front stub axles and wheel bearings now.

Nick

 

SOLVED!
After replacing my front wheel bearings again and being very meticulous this time (double checking that the races were seated all the way, bearings were completely packed, etc) the noise was still there. BUT I discovered the weight on my driver's side wheel was loose. I wedged a sliver of cardboard in there and took it for a drive. Quiet as can be... For a 30 year old car. Thanks again to everyone for their help. You guys made me pay attention to the little things more.

 

A balancing weight? Jeez!

Larry