ROLLING SOUND FROM REAR

[mubmoh]

Hi,

Hope you're well.

CAR: VW POLO 1.2L BMT 2016

I have a rolling sound which can very much be heard while driving the car. Best way to describe it is as if a ball is rolling around the boot constantly hitting the side walls. However... the boot is completely empty. The issue 100% only occurs when the vehicle is moving, I have shifted into neutral and revved the engine and the sound does not occur. If I was to pinpoint the sound it would be around drivers side passenger.

I have done the standard Google Search and the most common issue would be wheel bearing, however I jacked up the vehicle and span the tire and didn't hear anything abnormal when comparing the right wheel to the left.

Any insight would be great.

Thanks!

[hersh]

Hi
How does the sound change as you accelerate and brake, turning left and right?

[gtidriver]

Did you check the spare wheel area??

[mubmoh]

hersh said:

Hi
How does the sound change as you accelerate and brake, turning left and right?

Honestly, as I accelerate the sound does not become any louder, it just starts occurring after 15mph. I would say turning left does make the sound occur more frequent.

gtidriver said:

Did you check the spare wheel area??

Empty unfortunately! I even went underneath the bumper to see if something got caught there but nothing.



Thanks for the reply both.

[anonymous-user]

Could it be something in the hatch/bootlid that has come loose behind the trim panel.

Try opening it and moving it around?

[mubmoh]

lord trumpton said:

Could it be something in the hatch/bootlid that has come loose behind the trim panel.

Try opening it and moving it around?

Great suggestion will give it a look.

[TwinKam]

Check the tyres for roundness, it's very common to get 'faceting' of the tread blocks, which will sound very much like noisy wheel bearings as you drive. You can sometimes feel it by just running the palm of your hand over the tread, but it's best to jack it up and spin the wheel whilst feeling as above.

[anonymous-user]

TwinKam said:

Check the tyres for roundness, it's very common to get 'faceting' of the tread blocks, which will sound very much like noisy wheel bearings as you drive. You can sometimes feel it by just running the palm of your hand over the tread, but it's best to jack it up and spin the wheel whilst feeling as above.

Yeah but OP describes the sound of a marble rolling around in the boot, not a deep rumble like a shot bearing

[cuprabob]

As said previously, it's probably something came loose and rolling inside the boot lid. I had a silar issue a while back and you could hear it moving about when you opened and closed the boot as well as going round corners.

[mubmoh]

Thanks for all the inputs.

Took the vehicle to the tire shop today, and they confirmed everything is fine with the suspension components, shock absorber and wheel bearings included. The vehicle is only 20k milage and they said everything looks 'new'.

This noise is going to drive me crazy! Something is rolling around somewhere and I'm going to have to dig it out!

[Blackpuddin]

Another disappointing disconnect between the thread title and the content.

[mubmoh]

Quick update on this,


There is definitely nothing lost/stuck in the boot. After taking the wheel off the vehicle and the handbrake I have a rough idea on the sound. When spinning the wheel hub the sound occurs but it does not come from the wheel hub itself (or sounds like it comes from the wheel hub) it seems to be loudest in the rear axle.

I originally span rear right wheel hub and the sound occurs so assumed perhaps something was up with this wheel hub, but then the sounds also occurs when I spin the left wheel hub too! The sound however does seem loudest on the right side (even then spinning the left wheel hub).

Any ideas?

I am looking at some VW diagrams and potentially thinking rubber bush, but then how would a jacked vehicle with a manually spinning wheel hub cause this sound to occur?

Cheers!

[LennyM1984]

Ball joint or drop link.

[mubmoh]

LennyM1984 said:

Ball joint or drop link.

There's no drop link or ball joint in the rear suspension system of a VW Polo mk5.

[LennyM1984]

mubmoh said:

There's no drop link or ball joint in the rear suspension system of a VW Polo mk5.

Check for play in the rear suspension (might be a bushing or something). Knackered suspension can sometimes sound like a snooker ball rolling around.

[mubmoh]

LennyM1984 said:

Check for play in the rear suspension (might be a bushing or something). Knackered suspension can sometimes sound like a snooker ball rolling around.

Thanks,

My theory is that the wheel bearing has gone faulty. When spinning the wheel bearing I feel resistance at a certain point which is followed by a click. This click sound then travels through the rear axle beam (which I am certain is hollow) thus creating a larger echo sound, especially in the thicker part of the beam which much be such like a hollow chamber.

[GreenV8S]

mubmoh said:

When spinning the wheel hub the sound occurs

It's coming from a wheel bearing, then.

[mubmoh]

Problem solved.

Shock absorbers for both the left and right rear stopped functioning. Right rear was worse hence created more sound and made me belief the only issue was from this side. Quite surprising both shocks had gone on such a low milage car (only 20,000), great learning curve for me.


Thanks for the help everyone!