WH noise update

[salty]

Hi folks.

I thought I'd crank this new thread out to start with fresh info.

In the end of doing a front wheel bearing, new front brakes and a diff oil change my mechanic said that the rest of the noise I was having was because I had shit cheap tyres and needed a wheel alignment.

I just got in from getting $800 worth of new Firestones put on.

In terms of road noise it sounds absolutely gorgeous now...so quiet, no rattles and hums and vibrating. So great.

BUT the noise that I was trying to get fixed at the start of this whole journey is still there.

When I'm cornering around a left turn and I accellerate off, it sounds like something is rubbing in the back. Now I'm a hefty lad...so I no doubt weigh the drivers side down a fair bit, and I noticed that when I look at the wheels in the arches from outside, the drivers side is sitting a little lower than the passenger side. So I'm wondering if maybe something is going (shocks/something else) that's making it sit lower in the back...add my weight to the drivers side and maybe as I'm powering off of those corners it's leaning low enough to just be rubbing.

One thing I've noticed though is that it doesn't happen when I first get in the car...it takes driving for about 5 mins or so before it starts doing it.

I'll be calling the mechanic again on Monday to ask for his advice, but tyres and wheel alignment was his advice and I'm not SUPER keen on just pouring more money into his poket if it's not going to just get fixed!

Does what I've described sound like I might be close to a possible cause? Low ride height leaning too much and the tyre rubbing?

[DanVN]

Check your auto-leveling isnt FUBAR'd and leaking if its fitted try pulling the fuse and see if it still sits higher on 1 side

[salty]

I was thinking about this earlier. I'm not sure if I have auto-leveling suspention though...a search for WH Statesman Auto-Levelling suggests that it probably does. Is there an easy way to check for sure?

Suspension is what I was thinking it may be though, and sitting too low with my weight in the car as well as cornering with accelleration making the car lean even more.

Just looking at the car it sits lower on the drivers side with noone in the car. I took this photo of the rear wheels to compare -

The top photo is just desaturated and levels corrected to make the tyre stand out more in the dark wheel arch. It's only sitting slightly lower, but with my considerable weight in there it sits a bit lower than that (had another photo taken).

I'm going to call my mechanic again tomorrow and see if he can check it out.

[kniever]

its a bit off topic but can you put a whole photo of your car up so i can see what it looks like with the internationals on? still looking for a few different choices for the wh

[salty]

Man I wish I could find a photo of my car...I took a whole bunch when I first bought it but can't for the life of me find what harddrive they're on...they may have been backed up. I'll have a look around and/or will take one tomorrow when I get to work.

[DanVN]

Auto leveling should prevent the ride height issues your having. Check the fuse panel for the relay.

[accentstencil]

I was thinking about this earlier. I'm not sure if I have auto-leveling suspention though...a search for WH Statesman Auto-Levelling suggests that it probably does. Is there an easy way to check for sure?

Stick your head under and see if you have air shocks at the rear, if not then you don't have level ride suspension. Also, the noise of the compressor is pretty hard to miss and I'm sure you would have heard it at some stage, so I'm guessing you don't have it.

[salty]

OK so my mechanic is officially stumped by this noise.

He got under the back and poked, pulled, prodded, shook, pry-bar'd and jiggled everything he could think of to see if it was naffed and couldn't find anything. No sign of anything wearing, said the bushes in the back end all look nearly new. The auto leveller isn't connected because I have aftermarket shocks in, but he said the suspension and springs are fine.

I left the mechanic's none the wiser and with no real course for action now other than finding another mechanic to listen to the noise and try and find what it is.

What a pain in the arse!

For the person who wanted to see the whole car with the internationals on, here's a couple of photos I took today at work.

[ACEMonkey]

I know this is going to sound silly, but perhaps the noise you're hearing may not be from the suspensions or coming from the rear at all? I'd suggest either your steering pump and steering rack or your wheel bearings. Even your belt pulley could be making that noise when you hit a certain rev as you accelerate. When you say it doesn't start making a noise until 5 or so minutes suggests something was warming up or heating up in that time, which causes that something to expand enough to start making contact and giving you that rubbing noise. Hope this gives some fresh ideas on what else could be causing the problems you're having =)

[salty]

Thanks dude. Everyone who rides in the car hears the noise in the back, which is why I've been concentrating there. Mechanic has previously checked my steering rack and pump for leaks as I was losing fluid but found a loose hose that was pissing it out everywhere and I don't seem to have had the problem since then. He said both things were fine at the time.

What stumps me is that it's only happening accellerating out of left hand corners. There's no way of re-creating it in the actual repair bay at the mechanic, so it's hard to just go "there, that nose" you know?

I might check out a couple of the mechanics near work (Albion) and see if anyone will take the car off me for the day and give it a good look over and sus it out top to bottom and try and find it.

Thanks for the suggestions though, I'll add them to my growing list of "could be"s hah.

[Commydoor]

What sort of rubbing noise is it? Does it sound like a rubber on metal rub....or a tinny rubbing sound? things to possibly check is the backing plate isnt close to the disc and rubbing or the pads being pulled against the disc due a small amount of play in the rear wheel bearing when theres load applied on that side or even the handbrake shoe on the inside of the disc might be too tightly adjusted