Kerbed :(

[Beddo88]

Hiya, so as the name suggests, recently kerbed my poor scala :( Front left at about 30mph.

Had a check of the running gear etc and al seemed fine. She then developed a rather disconcerting 'rubbing' noise with each rotation of the wheel. Initially thought this was bearing, but this has been replaced now to no effect.

A friend has mentioned it could be the driveshaft bent? Also is there a chance this could be the CV joint?

There isnt any vibration through the steering wheel so i think i've got away with damaging the wheel.

Any advice greatly appreciated!Cheers Dan

[GTXTRA]

driveshaft may be coming into contact with boot or (possibly) some part of the anti roll bar attachments?

[Beddo88]

The noise had been getting progressively louder so if it was the driveshaft i gues being out would have bent it further with rotation. Will be going back home wednesday so i'll be having a look at it then. Just trying ti figure out which part to replace :(

[fonzooorooo]

mate of mine's just bent his suspension arm on his [corsa - sorry!] doing a similar thing...

just a thought that if you've done anything like that, it could have effectively shortened the bottom of the suspension assembly and hence have taken all the end-float out of the driveshaft (ultimately, it'd end up in compression)

can you raise the car up (on ramps or something, so the car sits at its ride height) so you can get your head under, jack the suspension arm up so the wheel'll turn, take it out of gear and spin the wheel... you might hear/see something.... you'd have more chance this way than jacking the car in the usual way, as the act of jacking it up'll shift the relative alignment of everything. (if you see what i mean)

[tinkerbel]

Change your wheel first, and then check for any sound, sometimes you can get a bubble on your tyre when it gets warm.
and will give you a rubbing noise.

[Beddo88]

Not entirely sure what you mean with the ramps suggestion? I only have access to a pair of standard ramps, so could get the front end up fine, but surely by jacking one side up it'll have the same effect as just jacking tht one side in the first place?

I could pop axle stands on both of the suspension mounts? That'd then allow everything to move freely and thus allow me to check stuff. Where is it best to put axle stands by the way?!

[Junglist]

He means use ramps so that the wheels don't drop lower than they are when you're driving. If you jack it, the springs/gravity cause the wheels to lower about 6 inches away from the wheel arch so your wishbones and driveshafts are at funny angles.

[Nate]

diff bearing

[Beddo88]

Yea with you now on the jacking etc. I'll get it on ramps today and look.

Nate, how can you tell if its the diff bearing? If it is is it a diffcult job to replace? (Doesnt sound like a fun one...)

[Nate]

jack up the front end and get someone to turn the front wheel whilst you listen. if you're having trouble identifying where the sound is coming from then put the handle of a long screwdriver on your ear an probe the suspect component. it works like a stethoscope

[Beddo88]

Ok jacked the car up, got the wheel to a normal ride height. Tried spinnning the wheel and couldnt really feel/hear anything different in forwards direction. Tried spinning the wheel in the other direction and it stopped very quickly. preseumably at the point at which this (grind) noise was occuring. Added a bit more force, heard a click and the wheel span.

Any idea what the click (EDIT: More of a bang than a click) could have been? It was quite loud... I have now removed the outer Cv, driveshaft and inner cv all as one, but due to uni commitments havent yet had a chance to properly check them. If something is up with them what should i be looking for?

And if it isnt these.. is it likely to be the diff?

[Funky Diver]

Daft question time... it's not the brakes binding on is it?

[Junglist]

If it's clicking and sticking it'll be the cv joint. It was exactly the same on mine. I just changed the drive shaft for the one on my scrapper. Did the trick perfectly. Is it driver's or passenger's? If it's driver's i can send you the other driveshaft on my scrapper if you like. Cheaper than a new one for well over £100 and a straightforward swap now that you're halfway there.

[Nate]

standard test to check for cv problems is to drive briskly on full lock in both directions and listen out for a knocking noise

[Beddo88]

Would binding brakes cause a grinding noise? Its been getting progressively louder in the car, could it be warped discs?

Doesnt sound like its gunna be the CV's then as they've been fine whilst i've been driving it. (had them go on other cars and it doesnt sound simlar)

The sound is like a deep grinding noise, happens at teh same speed as the rotational speed of the wheel. Ie. once per rotation.