Funny noise coming from lower front end

[esse10]

My car makes a funny; whup,whup,whup,whup noise coming from my lower front end when I come up to a stop sign or red light. I thought it was the ball joints, but they tested okay when I lifted the car and did the push pull test.
The tires are balanced as best as discount tire can do. The brakes look good with lot's of padding still. Could it be the Rotors warped or bad tires from discount tire ???? front struts maybe? What do you beetle experts think?

Question#2 Is there a mileage point/Year where you expect to replace the ball joints?

Let me know if you experience this before, thank you.

[SixChuter]

I hope someone has an answer to your question. I just took our '08 in for her 30K maintenance. Part of the service was tire rotation and now she is making the same noise you describe. I agree that it sounds like tires or brakes. Only hear it at low speeds.

[esse10]

still have not found a clear answer, but an ex-mechanic here in our shop mentioned that it could be the CV joints in the driveaxeal. He has heard something similar like that before in other fron wheel drive cars..fyi

[Smileybug]

Wheel bearing maybe? Do you feel any vibration in the wheel when you are stopping? I know with my warped rotors, I felt it as well as heard it a bit.

[esse10]

I don't think it's the front rotors cause I lifted the car and spin the wheel as best I could with the car in neutral and could not hear/feel any brakes rubbing. I could replace the brakes and turn the rotors and see just to remove that from the equation. They need to be done in the near future anyhow.
The steering wheel vibrates a little when I'm driving down the road, but does not vibrate/pulses when braking.

[IndyTom]

I had a lot of noise up front but it was mostly when going over any sort of bump. I had worn out Front Sway Bar bushings and when I replaced those the clunking sound was gone. Also check your Lower control arm bushings. The Rear Front control arm bushings tend to fail prematurely and should be replaced with some heavy duty TT bushings. They give you better handling and should last longer. Stay away from Poly bushings for the control arms, they squeal and don't last as long as the heavy duty TT bushings. If your rotors are warped you would feel it more rather than hear it. It's like a pulsating sensation whenever you come to a stop. My wife's brand new Maxima rotors warped at only 6 months and less than 10k miles. So anything is possible. I would never turn a rotor but rather replace it. They aren't all that expensive anymore. I replaced all my rotors, front and rear with EBC Rotors and EBC pads all around for less than 200 bucks, shipped. They are not slotted or drilled but I really don't need that on my 12 Year old Beetle. The EBC rotors are GREAT and the Unimax EBC pads are a great OEM replacement. Come with a special Break in coating on the pads which make the breaking in period a breeze. Good Luck to you and I hope you find your cause.

[Mutato]

I'm getting a tink sound when moving from a stop. Sound like a rock hitting the inner fender? The best way to describe it. Only on take off and in a straight line never on on a turn. 87K on the car so I guess doing the bearings wouldn't be a bad idea.

[esse10]

Originally Posted by Mutato

I'm getting a tink sound when moving from a stop. Sound like a rock hitting the inner fender? The best way to describe it. Only on take off and in a straight line never on on a turn. 87K on the car so I guess doing the bearings wouldn't be a bad idea.

I don't think it's your bearings, not enough miles on the car yet. besides the front one's are sealed and should last a long time unless the car was submerged in water, like a flood or something like that.That would be my guess on it.

[mullardel34]

Originally Posted by Mutato

I'm getting a tink sound when moving from a stop. Sound like a rock hitting the inner fender? The best way to describe it. Only on take off and in a straight line never on on a turn. 87K on the car so I guess doing the bearings wouldn't be a bad idea.

The noise could be coming from one of the CV joints at either end of one of the half-shafts. When they begin to fail, they sometimes emit a mechanical noise when they go from unloaded to under-load, but go to "silent-running" mode when the wheels are turned before applying power. The CV joint stays "loaded" when the car is stopped with the wheels turned off-center.

Just a thought...

[mullardel34]

Originally Posted by esse10

My car makes a funny; whup,whup,whup,whup noise coming from my lower front end when I come up to a stop sign or red light. I thought it was the ball joints, but they tested okay when I lifted the car and did the push pull test.
The tires are balanced as best as discount tire can do. The brakes look good with lot's of padding still. Could it be the Rotors warped or bad tires from discount tire ???? front struts maybe? What do you beetle experts think?

Question#2 Is there a mileage point/Year where you expect to replace the ball joints?

Let me know if you experience this before, thank you.

Is the noise present only when the brakes are being applied, or is the noise present when just coasting to a stop (without applying the brakes)?

[esse10]

Originally Posted by mullardel34

Is the noise present only when the brakes are being applied, or is the noise present when just coasting to a stop (without applying the brakes)?

mostly when it's coasting to a stop on a smooth road you hear it the most. I am beginning to think it's the cv joint half shaft. Might need to replace it soon. have you had this problem mullarde134? and how long do you think it will go like this before a complete fail of the cv joints?

thanks.