GothingNC

Has a noise that occured while making a left hand turn and sounds like it's coming from the front drivers side wheel.
After coming down a hill and then hitting the brakes to make a sharp left turn while going up another hill I sometimes hear a loud groan. It actually sounds like a "honk" from a dying goose

This has only occured three times since I've had the car after one year of ownership and only occurs on this type of turn.

Brakeswere serviced 18,000 miles ago (2 1/2 years) with rebuilt calipers, rotors,pads,brake lines, brake lines and new wheel bearings. Brake fluid was changed about 18months ago-ATE Super Blue stuff. Rear bearings/CV's also replaced at the same time.

I checked for wheel bearing play and there was none. Wheel also spins freely.

Do the calipers need to be rebuilt every cpuple of years or could they be sticking a little since I have not driven the car much in a last couple of weeks?

Thanks !

John

madmmac

Check the rubber on the edge of your tire for scrapes or smoothing and your inner fenderwell for a nice clean shined up area......sounds like the tire is rubbing the fender or body somewhere.

GothingNC

The tire does have some wear marks on the outer edge but did not lok up at the fender edge..

I was thinking the Poly bushings were making the noise. The PO installed Zirk fittings to lube the bushings. Is there a partiuclr type of grease I should wil any OTC tube lithium grease be fine?

Thanks !

John

flatsixnut

This is exactly what I was thinking. When I lowered my car (too low) it would make that sound sometimes.

KRA993tt

Like madmmac said - Pull the left front wheel off and look inside the wheelwell it could be inside or outside of the tire. You may also want to look at the other wheelwells, sometimes these sound things are tough to locate from the cockpit. Either way it does not sound like a real issue if it is not tearing up your tires.

Oldtee

Find the source or elimenate a few. If the tire is hitting the front fender it could pull the fender off the car. Car should be no lower than euro specs. Remove the wheels and make sure the calibers are firmly secured, check the bolts for tightness. I had a bolt come out of one. Put silicon on all your bushings. Push on the fenders and check the shocks and struts for noise. Make sure the rear wheels are not on the front!

Mike Murphy

You know, I actually think this sound is coming from the brakes, because my car does the same thing. The girlfriend said it sounds like the power steering pump, but as we all well know, there is no power steering pump in our cars

I'm pretty sure that your calipers are sticking a little. When you turn the wheel, you are also turning the brake line and that causes flex - sometimes just enough flex to cause that honking goose noise. It's annoying, I know, but you can pull the pads out and make sure that the backings are clean as well as the inside of the calipers. You might have to take an old toothbrush and get into the crevices. If no anti-vibration lube was placed on the back of those pads during replacement, you might want to get a small tube and apply it. Finally, check to make sure that when you turn your wheels to the extreme right & left, there is the right amount of slack on those short-run brake lines right next to the wheels.

BMWDavid

Well, I was just about to post the same thing. My 3.2 makes a low groaning sound at low speeds while turning the steering wheel slightly. Sounds just like a P/S pump noise.

I don't see any tire rubbing marks. At first thought it was the brakes but now I can bring on the sound with steering wheel.

Not sure what it is yet.

David

Peter Zimmermann

I decided, after being confronted with this noise on a large number of Carreras, that it was more like a moan. It can occur with steering input, or very low speed operation - either after you have stopped, then start to roll, or during very slow stopping. It varies with the type of pad, and the cure is to (1) reseal the front calipers, or (2) replace the front brake hoses. Of course, these "fixes" are for daily drivers, garage queeens might need more service than typical. Another way to cut down the noise is, when washing the car, blast the brakes (cold car only!) with a strong stream of water, and after you finish washing the car always take it for a minimum 2-3 mile drive to dry everything off. Never wash the car and pull it into the garage for short or long term storage!
Pete

GothingNC

Thanks for the replies everyone

The Porsche moans going forward, My Jetta GLI moans going backwards
(All GLI's do it for due to the Audi TT Calipers, pad material and the harmonics from the BBS rims)

Looks like I got some work cut out for me.

John

madmmac

Just another thought........Low speed turning and groaning can sometimes be attributed to LSD's....no, not that.......limited slip differentials.

GothingNC

I was able to feel it in the steering wheel.

GothingNC

I jacked up the car yesterday and there was no play in the bearings and caliper bolts are secure.

No marks on the fender or iner wheel well from tire contact.

I tried to re-create the noise on the same corner at about a dozen times and nada.

The lady in the corner house must have though I was crazy passing by her house so many times with the windows down on a 35 degee day

I think it's probably the caliper sticking once in a while after sitting for a week. Just waiting form my Motive brake bleeder to arrive in the mail to complete the "Fleet" brake fluid change. I picked up the "Black-Label" model.

John

MTBGUY

Mine does this also- I've had it less than a week and it made me think something was really wrong with it.

I DO know it was recently serviced right before I bought it for a sticking front pad, and its been a low-mileage garage queen for most of its life.

Looks like its time for some new pads and hard driving!

Mike Murphy

FYI - hard driving did not help my groan.