Ive put some 18 wheels on my car (which shouldnt be a problem because I know people with bigger ones on a golf) as soon as they went on, the car makes a howling noise from the front, a bit like a wheel bearings gone, or they are catching on something? There are no scuff marks on the wheels or tyres and I got a mechanic to check the bearings and they are fine, It sounds worse when the car is slowing down, ive also had the wheels checked and balanced, there is nothing wrong with the alloys but one of the tyres was slightly mis-shapen but ive been told thats not the problem, any ideas please? Dont feel safe driving it until I know whats causing itThanks
Hi, the front wheel bearings on the golf's are not a tapered type and are very hard to check for freeplay / wear when car is jacked up...I have worked for VW for 30 years and changed many of the front pressed in type bearings....the only sure way of testing which side bearing is noisy is to spin the wheel up to a high speed with car jacked up and feel the bottom of the shock behind the wheel hub were the hub is bolted to it, if the bearing is worn you will feel a grinding sensation through the hub. This can be very dangerous if you are not careful....we used a mobile wheel balancing machine to spin each wheel up while, it was jacked up on one side... I would not try this if I was you with no training...Get a 2nd opinion from your local VW specialist or come and see me if you are in NW UK...
