Best guess re source of noise

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thejazzlord

New Member
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40
Got a freelander TD4 manual and I am getting a deep "du-du-du" rumbling noise from what feels like the front left wheel.

The frequency of the noise is related to the speed of the car / speed of the wheels and not the speed of the engine or gearbox (so that eliminates a large portion of the transmission I think). The best way to hear the noise is to get some speed up and freewheel out of gear down a hill. The faster you go the faster the "du-du-du"noise is.

Had the noise about 9 months and its slowly getting worse / louder.

My best guess is its a wheel bearing, front left. But that might be wishful thinking as the IRD is up there too (and terrifies me).

I'd be grateful of any wisdom/experience out there as tp what this might be and any way I do some sort of diagnostics ( I asked my wife to hang off the bonnet at 100km/h to see if she can locate the noise more precisely but she said no).

Cheers

M
 
Krystof is under the hood

[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhugg1pZTXs"]YouTube - ‪KryÅ¡tof - Du Du Du (t-music KryÅ¡tof tour 2010)‬‏[/nomedia]
 
can you get all the wheels off the ground and then run it up through the gears and have a wander round to trace the noise.
I think he prob`ly means up on axle stands, trolley jacks or similar so that the wheels can spin with no load on...maybe??
 
Thanks for the replies guys - I don't have the gear so reckon I'll have to go to a garage and throw some cash around so some half-wit can tell me my car is making a noise and I should replace all the tyres and the whole transmission (or something like that).

Not that I don't believe garages try really hard to help.

M
 
I've got exactly the same noise. One garage thought it might be a wheel bearing, but there was no real play in the wheel......another garage could not give any idea.

Still in the dark.
 
Perhaps a daft question but have you had the same tyres on for the past 9 months also brake pads discs etc?

If so it's worth swopping them out to see if that is the cause.
 
sounds like a tyre /tread problem.
try running your hand round the tyre and see if there are any lumps or bumps
or swop the tyres left to right and see if sound moves as well
 
Thanks for the replys guys. I did put the spare on the front left and it didn't make any difference, but the noise did start no long after I had new discs and pads on the front so that's got me thinking that maybe its related to that and not a bearing at all.

I might swap the tyres again and see. It also has a tracking problem (sorry it always has a tracking problem), so it might be worth me getting it tracked and getting some new tyres on before I try anything else.

Will report back!
 
I've got exactly the same noise. One garage thought it might be a wheel bearing, but there was no real play in the wheel......another garage could not give any idea.

Still in the dark.


Well, for me it was the nsf wheel bearing. As well as the repetitive noise (not a classic wheel bearing noise), it started to drone when load went on the nsf - that then pretty much confirmed to me the wheel bearing. Strangely for me too, I had also just renewed the front discs/pads, when the repetitive noise started, which put me off the trail of a worn wheel bearing. Only now just got round to getting the local garage to replace the bearing and what a difference - now much quieter.

Also now dont have to worry about it being the VCU bearings or worse.....
 
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Hi guys

I've got what sounds like the same noise. LH front corner, road speed related, more noticeable on slight RH lock, most apparent 30-40mph (though this may simply be natural resonance frequency), which makes me think wheel bearing. On the other hand, it seems more apparent when starting from cold, which seems more tyre.

I'll jack it up this morning when it stops raining and check for tyre lumps and wheel play.
I'll let you know what I find.

@bdd: just as a matter of interest, how long did it take to finally get it diagnosed?
 
This thread seems to have petered out, hope to resurrect it. Having the same problem my Mrs. freelander 2001 Y TD4. Fitted Reconn'ed IRD & VCU (world of Rover Preston), Gearbox bearings replaced, NSF drive shaft & wheel bearing, treid spare tyre which is nearly new. Stii noise from front left of FL when driving speed related drone, a friend who is a mechanic dropped IRD box oil, small flecks of silver, but World of rover say part of IRD unable to be washed out fully so probably remnant flecks of metal(??). Freind confused as we have tried EVERY THING. Any suggestions please??? We're desperate for any help/advice as been off the road 4 weeks now, and she's having to use her motorbike (she reckon shes saved £££ in deisel though LOL, as bike dows 60+mpg!)....HELLLP!
 
This thread seems to have petered out, hope to resurrect it. Having the same problem my Mrs. freelander 2001 Y TD4. Fitted Reconn'ed IRD & VCU (world of Rover Preston), Gearbox bearings replaced, NSF drive shaft & wheel bearing, treid spare tyre which is nearly new. Stii noise from front left of FL when driving speed related drone, a friend who is a mechanic dropped IRD box oil, small flecks of silver, but World of rover say part of IRD unable to be washed out fully so probably remnant flecks of metal(??). Freind confused as we have tried EVERY THING. Any suggestions please??? We're desperate for any help/advice as been off the road 4 weeks now, and she's having to use her motorbike (she reckon shes saved £££ in deisel though LOL, as bike dows 60+mpg!)....HELLLP!

I had the same symptoms / noise which pointed to the NSF wheel bearing - but wasn't.

Local independant garage diagnosed VCU support bearings. (I didn't believe them - at first)

Easily checked - support the vcu - remove the 2 bolts holding each support bearing - lower the VCU just enough that you can spin the bearing on the shaft.
The front one of mine was was obviously 'rough' - seems it's usually the front one that goes first. Of course one always replaces them as a pair.

£32 + postage from Foundry4X4

Good luck.

Singvogel. :cool:
 
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When doing the above be careful not to drop the vcu and rip the props off their connections. :eek:
 
Sorry folks, forgot to mention speed related drone/noise happening with prop shaft & vcu removed. Noise definitely coming from front left hand side of FL.

Spent £££'s now, so any advice really appreciated....thanks.
 
Is it definitely not the tyres out of shape? It happens a lot, sounds like a wheel bearing, and no one believes you cos it's made of rubber!?!? Plus you'd be amazed how many people simply cannot locate a noise accurately. So don't assume it's there look at other options? Recently done a soft roader that had a noise from the osf, he replaced that tyre, no change, replaced NSF tyre, no change, complained about the tyres, got two new ones of a different type, no change, took it to his garage, they changed osf driveshaft, no change, changed it again under warranty, no change, swapped wheels front to rear no change, then decided it was the front diff, he couldn't afford it!!!! Then he phoned me! Doh! Explained his woes:( I went for a drive with him and told him I thought it was his nsr cv joint, he didn't believe me cos it was the osf! So I jacked it up, the nsr outer cv boot was split, the joint had gone dry and was knocking which got worse as it got hotter! That was a BMW X3. Also done a merc the guy was told he needed four wheel bearings! Yes 4!!! Drove it, agreed sounded like 4 wheel bearings, checked it, all 4 tyres out of shape! Told him to change them, he brought it back four times insisting it wasn't the tyres, eventually we borrowed a set of wheels swapped em told him to bugger off for an hour and make his own diagnosis, he put 4 tyres on! They were avons!!! Do you see where I'm coming from? You may have swaped one wheel with the spare, was it the right one? Is the spare any better? When a tyre goes out of shape to make a bearing noise most people can't spot it because they don't know what they're looking for! You get a saw tooth shape around the edge as the blocks wear unevenly, it's often not really visible, you have to feel it, go one way you can't feel it go the other and your hand catches the steps. Something to ponder:)
 
I didn't feed back my results.
I replaced worn Synchrones (with Bridgestone Duellers), which reduced noise level considerably, particularly the temperature-dependent bit; noise was then a lot more recognisable as wheel bearing. Replacing LH wheel bearing removed noise.

BTW when I used to drive Citroen BXs with Michelin tyres, they used to reach a critical level of wear where suddenly they would get very noisy and vibraty: is this a particular Michelin thing?
 
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