Rumble in a Polo?

star-pants · 07-02-2008 11:19am #1

Hi - I'll try my best to describe what I'm on about (my cars a 00 1L VW Polo)

It's a rumble/vibration noise, coming from in front of me (when I'm at the wheel driving) - perhaps a little to my right. It's mostly when I'm at 2k revs, can get it in 1st when I'm below 2k revs too. Also if I'm in higher gears and slow down - it rumbles around the 2k rev mark (I would obviously be going down in gears when I'm slowing but if I have to slow suddenly or anything it will make this rumble). It's quite loud, it's not just me that can hear it.

When I dropped it into a VW garage back in Oct to get the ignition coil replaced (and they replaced a cracked breather pipe) I told them about it & they'd said all was fine when I got my car back. I wasn't happy with this place anyway so wouldn't go back. But the noise is still there. I'm going to try and get my dad's mechanic friend to take a look but just wondering if anyone here might have any ideas?
Thanks

Seth Brundle · 07-02-2008 11:40am

Does it happen when braking?
Does it hapen when you depress the clutch?
What are your tyres like in terms of air pressure and overall condition?

star-pants · 07-02-2008 11:44am

Yeh it can happen when I'm braking (when the revs drop)
The noise stops when I press the clutch.
My tyres are in pretty good nick - pressure was only checked a few weeks ago and they were fine. Overall condition seem good.

monster1 · 07-02-2008 11:48am

could be engine mounts, cousins golf made vibration when she drove it, had to replace the mounts

star-pants · 07-02-2008 1:13pm

monster1 wrote: »

could be engine mounts, cousins golf made vibration when she drove it, had to replace the mounts

did it happen the whole time she drove it or at certain times? I can ask someone to check that though thanks

monster1 · 07-02-2008 1:18pm

only certain times, certain engine speeds i think.

star-pants · 09-02-2008 7:13pm

Just incase anyone gets the same problem - I had my dad's mechanic friend have a look at it. I revved it for him and he pressed on the air box & it seemed to stop the rumble.
So he took off the airbox & it sits on 4 rubbers, one of which wasn't attached properly because the plastic around it had snapped a bit. He pushed the rubber back into the airbox & put it back on the thing it sits on (lol if any of this makes sense).

And w00t the vibration has stopped, because that's what was vibrating.

Jeanious · 09-02-2008 8:05pm

cool happy days. One question though....what/where is the airbox? clueless over here!

meathstevie · 09-02-2008 8:28pm

OP probably means airfilter housing

crosstownk · 09-02-2008 8:41pm

star-pants wrote: »

Just incase anyone gets the same problem - I had my dad's mechanic friend have a look at it. I revved it for him and he pressed on the air box & it seemed to stop the rumble.

Probably not related to your problem, but some 1990s VWs had vibrations from the airbox due to the fact that spurious air filters were fitted which were slightly smaller in size to the OE spec. As a result the filter 'vibrated' in the housing. IIRC this was more prevalent in diesel models.

If the symptoms have disappeared since the airbox was correctly refitted, then I reckon you've nothing more to worry about.

star-pants · 09-02-2008 9:51pm

meathstevie wrote: »

OP probably means airfilter housing

That could be it - sorry I don't know all the names of stuff under the hood

crosstownk wrote: »

Probably not related to your problem, but some 1990s VWs had vibrations from the airbox due to the fact that spurious air filters were fitted which were slightly smaller in size to the OE spec. As a result the filter 'vibrated' in the housing. IIRC this was more prevalent in diesel models.

Mines a 2000 model petrol - I think my air filters are ok as I had them replaced in a service before but thank you

This isn't mine but it's similar to my one - this is the air box filter thingy I was on about

pic

crosstownk · 09-02-2008 10:08pm

star-pants wrote: »

I think my air filters are ok as I had them replaced in a service before but thank you

The filter itself could be slightly smaller than it should be. The fact that you had it replaced begs the question as to whether the replacement was genuine VW filter or another brand that is 'suitable' for a VW Polo.

What I'm trying to say is that (see illustration below) item 2 (air filter) vibrates inside item 1 (air filter housing).

The illustration is not specific to your car - when I tried to download the air filter assembly for your model the illustration was incorrect. But the principle is the same.

If the noise persists, remove the filter (temporarily) and see if that makes any difference.

star-pants · 09-02-2008 10:23pm

I had the air filters replaced, and my oil filters & sparks & brake pads in the service, all parts were purchased from a proper VW dealership/garage.
Once the air filter housing thingy was fixed properly to the rubbers, and I revved the car, the noise had gone away, as the housing was vibrating because it wasn't secured properly.
But I will keep your info in mind - thanks

Jeanious · 10-02-2008 12:56am

eh excuse the ignorance again, but any chance of a cheeky pic of your actual motor star-pants?!

Mines the same model and it vibrates at pretty much spot on 2k revs aswell.

Ya reckon i could sort it out myself by the way?

edit: sorry i should say i havent a clue which bit is the air thing, and apologise for thread hijackery!

star-pants · 10-02-2008 1:52pm

Hi Coyle, I'm not sure if you want a picture of my car? or my engine?
I've attached a picture of my car (note, I've a full license now! lol). Can't upload pics to my comp at the moment so I can't go out & get you one of my engine.
But the pic I included in a previous post is similar to what you'd be looking at on your own. When you pop the hood its the big large squarish box that has the VW symbol on it. Your oil dipstick is to the left of it and there's 4 wire like things crossing the bottom right corner. You can't really miss it.

If you don't know about engines - I'm not so sure you'd want to mess about with it. My dad's friend is a mechanic and he had a look - plus you need socket wrenches to unscrew the housing. And there's breather pipes coming out of the side of it that you might have to loosen so you can lift the housing up.

It may or may not be the problem with your car also, my dad's friend said that anything that's mildly loose can cause vibrations. Although, if you pop the hood, turn the car on (be in neutral with handbrake on), get someone to rev it to 2k, til you hear the noise, and then press on the air filter housing and see if it lessens/stops. That's how we figured out what it was.

Jeanious · 10-02-2008 10:38pm

cool thanks for all the info.
yeah i was lookin for a pic of your engine/(under your bonnet in general) just so i could see exactly where that airbox thing is. Saw your other post but i just thought that was a picture of the engine and the VW thing was like a nameplate or something....duh!

So after demonstratin my complete lack of knowledge of engines i reckon your right and i'll just get someone to check it out rather than destroyin it altogether!

Rumble in a Polo?

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