Hi Guys,
I'm the proud new owner of the highly coveted VW Touareg.
(Also new to the forum, glad to be here.)
I just bought a used 2004 V6 3.2L, with a laundry list of problems.
(This thread will only focus on one of those problems).
(about 150,000 miles on it, all around New Orleans, Louisiana, USA).
I hope this first post saves some time, money and busted knuckles for others.
I'll do my best to be clear and make it relevant to others, and I am committed to finding/ posting the final solution.
The main problem I want to solve so I can use this awesome Touareg confidently, is this nerve-racking low Grinding noise that is most pronounced at 40 Mph's. (Sounds like its in the front to me, but most people think it's in the rear, acoustics can be deceptive, I need help). It doesn't seem to shake the steering-wheel, but it is audibly noticeable with upping temperature, and travel speed, loudest at 40Mph.
Before agreeing to purchase this Touareg for a steal, I brought it to the nearest shop with an "Open lift on a busy Friday" (AKA, Tire Slingdom), with the Touareg seller's permission. I had Tire Kingdom Techs drive it up to 40mph and put it up on the lift to diagnose the noise I described to them.
I was very impressed with the guys they had there, I wanted my real mechanic to look at it, but he was too busy, and these kids swarmed all over it, hard-core. The seller of the Touareg showed up and got involved by the time it was up on the lift. All three guys, one an ASE certified mechanic, confidently showed a metal scraping noise coming from the rear-right wheel. (Also both rear CV axles have 1/2-inch+ Lateral play, this might be normal on a 4x4 with adjustable height). The wheel didn't wiggle, but made a noise as they spun the wheels by hand and listened in spots as a team of three intense technicians.
They said "For sure" the symptom is a compromised wheel bearing, and "You'll want to replace those rear CV Axles soon too, but that noise is from this Rear-Right wheel bearing".
Against their strong advice to buy ONLY Japanese vehicles, I felt ok with the knowledge of "wheel bearing needs replacing" and purchased the damn thing anyway.
(It's a Touareg, I couldn't help it.)
So I replaced the Wheel bearing with an exactly identical new bearing. Fairly challenging, took a few hours each of three days. (9 hours total w/ limited tools, but I'm confident it was done carefully and correctly.)
Successful wheel bearing replacement at home, but same noise persists!!!!
'Must be the rear brakes, CV Joints, or differential bearings. (I had the wheel bearing & hub professionally pressed into bearing carrier buy a local machine shop, the rotor looked like sh*t, pads looked new, shoes looked old, but OK-ish, again, the Disc Rotor had black rings on the inner side. I don't think it is warped, no noise or wobble/vibration when braking, just ridges and rings on it, certainly warn down, but no audible symptoms of rotor warpage.)
I jacked the rear-end up, off the ground and spun the rear wheels by hand, laying on my back to listen for any clues with a naked ear (I will get a stethoscope and an inferRed video thermometer if need-be), I can't turn the wheels fast enough to reproduce the grounding noise. It happens most pronounced at 40 MPH's after warming up, or in warm weather. After driving while in warm weather, it can be heard at 25 Mph's and less pronounced even up to 85 Mph's.
The noise can be described as a low grinding/chewing/whirring with a foot on the gas pedal (cruising or accelerating), BUT a different higher-frequency when not touching the gas pedal, coasting, decelerating, not connected to engine speed (nothing to do with RPM's), but determined by pedal play and Mph's.
Ruling out the wheel bearing, how would I tell if it is related to the brake system (pads, shoes, rotor, park-stomp-cable), or the power train, (I am thinking it could be one of the rear differential bearings, or a drive shaft, or even something in the the trans, or front end, but I don't want to just throw parts at it. How can we decipher the root problem?
Has anyone else had these symptoms with any Touareg model?
Any V8?, TDI?, any 4x4? Where should I look, What should I check? How can I verify with out changing unnecessary parts?
Any info, at all would be greatly appreciated and valued by others who might have this problem next.
Thank you!
I'm the proud new owner of the highly coveted VW Touareg.
(Also new to the forum, glad to be here.)
I just bought a used 2004 V6 3.2L, with a laundry list of problems.
(This thread will only focus on one of those problems).
(about 150,000 miles on it, all around New Orleans, Louisiana, USA).
I hope this first post saves some time, money and busted knuckles for others.
I'll do my best to be clear and make it relevant to others, and I am committed to finding/ posting the final solution.
The main problem I want to solve so I can use this awesome Touareg confidently, is this nerve-racking low Grinding noise that is most pronounced at 40 Mph's. (Sounds like its in the front to me, but most people think it's in the rear, acoustics can be deceptive, I need help). It doesn't seem to shake the steering-wheel, but it is audibly noticeable with upping temperature, and travel speed, loudest at 40Mph.
Before agreeing to purchase this Touareg for a steal, I brought it to the nearest shop with an "Open lift on a busy Friday" (AKA, Tire Slingdom), with the Touareg seller's permission. I had Tire Kingdom Techs drive it up to 40mph and put it up on the lift to diagnose the noise I described to them.
I was very impressed with the guys they had there, I wanted my real mechanic to look at it, but he was too busy, and these kids swarmed all over it, hard-core. The seller of the Touareg showed up and got involved by the time it was up on the lift. All three guys, one an ASE certified mechanic, confidently showed a metal scraping noise coming from the rear-right wheel. (Also both rear CV axles have 1/2-inch+ Lateral play, this might be normal on a 4x4 with adjustable height). The wheel didn't wiggle, but made a noise as they spun the wheels by hand and listened in spots as a team of three intense technicians.
They said "For sure" the symptom is a compromised wheel bearing, and "You'll want to replace those rear CV Axles soon too, but that noise is from this Rear-Right wheel bearing".
Against their strong advice to buy ONLY Japanese vehicles, I felt ok with the knowledge of "wheel bearing needs replacing" and purchased the damn thing anyway.
(It's a Touareg, I couldn't help it.)
So I replaced the Wheel bearing with an exactly identical new bearing. Fairly challenging, took a few hours each of three days. (9 hours total w/ limited tools, but I'm confident it was done carefully and correctly.)
Successful wheel bearing replacement at home, but same noise persists!!!!
'Must be the rear brakes, CV Joints, or differential bearings. (I had the wheel bearing & hub professionally pressed into bearing carrier buy a local machine shop, the rotor looked like sh*t, pads looked new, shoes looked old, but OK-ish, again, the Disc Rotor had black rings on the inner side. I don't think it is warped, no noise or wobble/vibration when braking, just ridges and rings on it, certainly warn down, but no audible symptoms of rotor warpage.)
I jacked the rear-end up, off the ground and spun the rear wheels by hand, laying on my back to listen for any clues with a naked ear (I will get a stethoscope and an inferRed video thermometer if need-be), I can't turn the wheels fast enough to reproduce the grounding noise. It happens most pronounced at 40 MPH's after warming up, or in warm weather. After driving while in warm weather, it can be heard at 25 Mph's and less pronounced even up to 85 Mph's.
The noise can be described as a low grinding/chewing/whirring with a foot on the gas pedal (cruising or accelerating), BUT a different higher-frequency when not touching the gas pedal, coasting, decelerating, not connected to engine speed (nothing to do with RPM's), but determined by pedal play and Mph's.
Ruling out the wheel bearing, how would I tell if it is related to the brake system (pads, shoes, rotor, park-stomp-cable), or the power train, (I am thinking it could be one of the rear differential bearings, or a drive shaft, or even something in the the trans, or front end, but I don't want to just throw parts at it. How can we decipher the root problem?
Has anyone else had these symptoms with any Touareg model?
Any V8?, TDI?, any 4x4? Where should I look, What should I check? How can I verify with out changing unnecessary parts?
Any info, at all would be greatly appreciated and valued by others who might have this problem next.
Thank you!
