Passenger rear wheel rubbing

[General Madness]

I have a big standard Clio 172 ph2,

Over the past few weeks I have noticed a noise which has gradually got worse.
Today upon investigation I have found that the rear passenger side tire is rubbing against the inner arch.
I do not know how to upload pics from my phone so imagine the wheel is a clock face, there are marks on the inner arch liner at approximately 1 o'clock. It shows that the tire is connecting here and slowly wearing away at the plastics.
There is no visible damage to the wheel or tire, there is a slight mark on the shock absorber which looks like there has been metal on metal contact.
I cannot figure out why this is happening but I'm getting a tad concerned there may be damage to something structural, there have been no impacts only hard ish cornering.

The car drives exactly the same as it has done and the only thing I notice is this noise.

Any ideas folks?

Cheers.

[General Madness]

The Wookie said:

If the car hasn't been in a shunt and isn't ridiculously rusty then it's unlikely to be anything structural.

No shunt and no rust.

First thing I would look at is the trim itself to make sure nothing has dropped and restricting space.

All trim seems perfect and looks identical on both sides.

Then I'd check out the bump stops, if these have disintegrated or disappeared then you might be getting a lot more suspension travel than you should be

This is something I am unsure of, they are definitely there but do look quite small.

Finally I'd be looking at bushes, if something's perished it might be allowing excessive lateral movement during cornering

I gave everything a good shake and there appears to be no movement. I must point out that the rubbing is there when travelling in a straight line.

Also i'm not sure how easy it is to adjust the rideheight on a Clio, I know it is generally relatively easy on torsion beam hatches, so it might be worth making sure it's correct as it may have been changed by a previous owner, or might have just sagged. Having said that, the bump stops should still prevent excessive movement.

I have no idea about this, I did not know it was adjustable. What should I look for?

[General Madness]

curlie467 said:

It will be the rear torsion beam bushes causing the wheel to sit with negative camber. Peugeot 306s are notorious for it along with saxos etc.

I have thought about this.

How would I check them?

[General Madness]

Krikkit said:

Jack up the rear, give the wheel a hefty shove in any direction - if it's got problems you'll feel it.

I didn't think the Clios of this age had torsion beam stspension, I thought that was a PSA favourite! Either that, or it could be a wheel bearing, but chances are it's the bearing in the end of the arm on the suspension.

Would I not need rear wheels of the ground for this? And if so then I don't really wish to give it a good shove incase I knock it off the axel stands.

[General Madness]

Blown2CV said:

why are you letting your passenger rub your rear wheel?

Debateably only funny if you haven't read the actual post

don't worry, it's still quite amusing.

Any helpful input though?

Cheers

[General Madness]

I have been back outside, removed the rear wheels and unbolted the shocks from their lower mount and an axel stand on each cill.

There does not seem to be excessive play in the rear beam/axel and the two bushes look to be still in one peace, although I do not know if there is anything missing as it looks the same on both sides.

Each disc/hub spins relatively freely, I think there is a slight bit of friction due to the pads. There is definitely no noise or play in those.

As far as I can see there is what I would call negative camber on each rear wheel, not excessive and there is definitely only contact with the arch on the passenger side.

I'm stumped and the only noise when driving is a sort of whirring sound which gets louder and worse when I corner left aggressively.

Any ideas folks as I'm a bit lost now???

And thank you for everybodies input so far.

[General Madness]

The car is an 02 and on 57k.

When I was pushing and pulling on the rear beam the car was moving around on the axel stands. I think any more pressure would result in it falling.

I need to try and DIY this along with spending as little as possible so just replacing parts without knowing is too risky.

Any other ideas?

[General Madness]

I haven't had it from new, been mine for over four months now and this definitely has only began making noises within the last 4 weeks.

As far as I am aware there have been no knocks or bangs to this car. Underneath certainly looks perfect.

My gut said it would be a wheel bearing but i really cant feel any play in it. I can't throw money at it. I think I will have to see if it gets worse over the next few weeks.
Obviously I will keep a very close eye on it for safety reasons.

Any other suggestions that I can do to check things?

[General Madness]

davebem said:

Its possible that you have had the rear discs replaced and the deflector spacer behind the disc hasnt been refitted. Or the hub nut has been overtightened which has damaged the spacer/and or bearing, I'd check this before checking the trailing arm bushes as these rarely go where there is enough play to cause this problem. There is a stict tigtening torque rating for the rear hub nut, which I think is 175NM from memory.

The rear discs have been replaced yes.
Not during my ownership though so that is definitely something I will check.

Thank you!

[General Madness]

Faust66 said:

Just a thought, but are sure you have got the correct size wheel & tyre on there? A tyre with a profile that's to high may well catch on your arch liner.

You've been given some good advice so far, but if I was in your position I'd be taking the car to a local garage and asking them to have a look - most decent indie places will put your car up on their ramps and give it a check (once you've described the symptoms) FOC. You can then only replace the parts necessary, thus saving your hard earned cash.

As others have said, to find dodgy suspension bushes you really need to get under the car with a pry bar and have a good poke around... sadly this is not a good idea when you've only got your car supported on axle stands.

Thank you.

I will do as suggested and get it to a garage.

Should I take it to and indie or will a specialist be advantageous?
Will probably DIY the work though.

Wheels and tires are standard sizes.

Cheers

[General Madness]

I am in Edinburgh so I have a couple of places in mind but I am always open to suggestions???

Someone mentioned checking the spacer behind the disc and bearing, I think I will whip them off on Friday and have a look.

There is an owner over on the Cliosport site who is having the same issue looked at by Renault tomorrow so I am hoping that I have the same issue and can repair/replace based on what they have needed.

If anyone has any other suggestions then please say.

Cheers
Dave

[General Madness]

aw51 121565 said:

When the car is parked up, does the nearside rear wheel have "negative camber" (ie the top is leaning in towards the car) and the other rear wheel appear to be more-or-less vertical?

If so - based on no play in the wheel bearing from your previous posts - it's yer radius arm bearing 'gone' as others have mentioned . When it's properly 'gone' the camber is very noticeable!

You could always check with a mini (6") spirit level held top-to-bottom across the centre of the wheel (or a full-sized one across the height of the tyre vertically with the axle in the air but allowing for the bulge in the bottom of the tyre wall!) - if the bubble is in a different position relative to the car itself for each rear rear wheel, then that would indicate a problem as above.

Let us know how it goes?

Hello,

Yes when parked up there would appear to be negative camber. However is this not dependant on the surface and positioning of the parked car?

Could you please explain what a radius arm bearing is and where it is located?

Thanks you for your help.

[General Madness]

I am contemplating just spending some money on a rear end refresh.

I am looking for opinions on where my money would be best spent ? What components would be the greatest benefit?

Cheers for all the help so far.

Dave

[General Madness]

This product has come to my attention www.pure-motorsport.co.uk/details.php?itemid=120

Would this be overkill for a road car? I believe the standard bushes are around this price.

[General Madness]

Sorry, forgot to add that I am willing to take a risk and just replace these to see how I get on. It would be an improvement even if it doesn't solve the issue.

[General Madness]

Krikkit said:

Looks like a good kit, but can you weld?

If not I'd just get new bushes, these ones have lasted 10 years.

I cannot personally weld but I do have at least 3 acquaintances who can.

I do see what you mean about the standard bushes. I guess these bearing ones would require some sort of maintenance in a ten year period.

Cheers