No rest for the wicked!

[Ricky]

Hi all,

Was just wondering if any of you have any ideas on what on earth is going on under the bonnet of the LX, aside from the usual internal combustion etc :giveup: :laugh:

1) About a week after I got it, it started making a wierd drony noise, almost like amplified road noise, from the passenger side front wheel. Thought nothing of it, other than road noise, for a bit. Suddenly realised it has actually been getting louder last week when I thought the stereo was on mute but was actually up on 48 (of 72)! Which got me thinking, what can it be? Apparently it can't be heard in the back (so i'm told), or outside of the car (my mate shoved his head out of the window!), but it is really loud in the front of the car. He reckons it isnt the wheel bearing as the rock test didnt turn up much (admittedly it was on the floor still!), he reckons that it is either the diff running dry (as there seems to be a bit of oil under it), or it is something rubbing against the driveshaft. I thought that maybe it was the brakes, but the noise doesnt get any worse (or better) when you put the brakes on. Anoyone else got any ideas where we should be looking?

2) I have written about this one somewhere before (I think), but the strange flat spots it has havent gone away, I am 90% sure it is something to do with the piston damper but I am a bit worried that there are darker forces at work, I have changed the damper on it (they're not calibrated to the carb are they?) and it seems a bit better, but I'm sure the piston isnt sliding as it should!

Sorry about the essay again, but as usual I have far too much to say!

Thanks,

Ricky.

[e692wtt]

My Monty (1.6L, VW box) had a droning noise and I convinced myself it was the driveshafts, then that it was the nearside front wheelbearing when changing the driveshafts made the droning better but it was still there...

It was the offside front wheelbearing, and there were no signs of play in it at all (it passed the MoT for 2 years like this, ahem :giveup: ).

Try checking how much oil is in the gearbox, and if it has a 'glittery appearance'. If it does look glittery (you will recognise it when you see it ;) ) then the 'box is out to lunch and won't be coming back... if the oil is clean then you could try draining the oil and refilling with new stuff.

Anyway, chances it is the wheelbearing (or possibly driveshaft), but check the gearbox oil's appearance first to be sure the 'box is ok and also because it won't cost anything except time... :)


Re the flatspots, have you tried taking the carburettor dashpot off, stripping it and giving it a good cleaning with carb cleaner and soft lint-free cloth? I find it makes a world of difference to my cars and do this annually. Even bettter, take the whole carb off and strip and clean (and possibly overhaul) it every couple of years.

Also, what oil do you use in the dashpot? Different people on here swear by different oils and even mixing different oils for their carb dashpots (I use a 50/50 mix of 10w/40 and ATF [automatic transmission fluid] in Monty, and just 10w/40 in Cracow [my Maestro R-series-engined Vanden Plas]). It might be worth experimenting to see what suits your LX... ;)

[SimonR]

1) About a week after I got it, it started making a wierd drony noise, almost like amplified road noise, from the passenger side front wheel... Anoyone else got any ideas where we should be looking?



I'd agree that it's either the driveshaft, diff or most likely wheel bearing. If the gearbox turns out to be Ok and you have the inclination, go to Ledbury and get yourself a replacement driveshaft/wheel bearing/hub/break disk/caliper assemblies. £35 a side and a couple of hours' work and it'll be literally good as new. Beats paying £140 for the wheel bearing to be changed which I did on F153 before I saw the light.


2) The strange flat spots it has havent gone away, I am 90% sure it is something to do with the piston damper...


Yeah, service the carb and replace the O-Ring(s) in the (auto) choke. Also check that the distributor is able to advance as required. Squirt a bit of engine oil into the mechanical parts of the distributor (with the cap removed) to help it on its way.

Good luck!

Simon R.

[Ricky]

Thanks for your replies! Rich, I will definitely give polishing the piston a go, I'm sure its something to do with it sticking at times... Simon, I don't know if my carb has O rings, I assume it does but it also has a manual choke (whether this is a conversion or not I don't know), and also there is nothing to oil on the distributor, it just has a spindle and that is pretty much it, other than a solid metal baseplate (that's all i can see, it is at a funny angle!), but i did liberally oil the spindle, most of which ended up on the floor :banghead:
Also, I do hope it is the wheel bearing, but we will find out at the weekend, or when it gives up, whatever comes first! :horror:
It's also MOT time soon, I'm just going to have to grit my teeth and hope.....!

Ricky.