Buckled alloy?

[tim0409]

Please bear with me on this…..

2019 Skoda Scala. Around 8 months ago I noticed would could best be described as a chuffing noise coming from the front of the car, which sounded like it was coming from the disks/pads. I replaced pads and discs (which needed doing anyway) but the noise was still there, although not all the time but definitely there on a long motorway type journey. I’ve checked all the obvious things but couldn’t find anything rubbing.

Fast forward to last week; I noticed a bulge on the side wall of one of the front tyres, so booked in a replacement for the two fronts with a pair Continentals. I used Kwik Fit mobile service as I’ve never had an issue with them in terms of tyres (I do all my own mechanical work up to a point) and they were competitive. The chap was friendly and appeared knowledgable. On one of the wheels he had to use 100g of balancing weights, and said this was excessive but he couldn’t find any obvious signs of buckling etc although there are signs of scuffing on the rim. I’m pretty sure this was the wheel with the damaged side wall.

My wife did a 200 mile round trip with the new tyres and the noise was definitely still there, if not worse, so when she came back I swapped the wheel with the excessive balancing weights for the spare (16” rather than the 17” on the car) and tested it. I couldn’t really hear the noise but then it is intermittent. I’ve now swapped the spare to the rear and put the rears on the front, which I know are good.

Is there any way to check if a wheel is buckled/out of true? I did a make shift test with a metal rod as a reference point and spun the wheel to see if there was anything noticeable but I couldn't detect anything. And would a buckled wheel cause the type of chuffing noise I have been experiencing?

Thanks

[Scrump]

I have had a slightly buckled wheel and it has never produced a specific noise.
The buckled wheel as shown to me when it was on the balancer machine, the ‘wobble’ in the rim could be seen as the wheel was spun.

[E-bmw]

tim0409 said:

Is there any way to check if a wheel is buckled/out of true? I did a make shift test with a metal rod as a reference point and spun the wheel to see if there was anything noticeable but I couldn't detect anything.

Just spin the wheel & check, it is easier to see with something held near the rim if it isn't by much.

Did you check the inner rim too as that is where it is most likely to be?

tim0409 said:

And would a buckled wheel cause the type of chuffing noise I have been experiencing?

Yes, it could if it is catching something.

[tim0409]

Thanks for the replies. This is driving me a bit mad as I’m not any further forward. I swapped the wheel I thought might be buckled with an unused spare (I moved the rears to the front and replaced one of them with the spare) but the noise is still there. When I spun the OS front (where I think the noise is coming from) it sounded “rougher” than the NS, and the caliper appeared slightly seized. I fired the parts cannon at it and replaced the caliper, disks and pads as they weren’t particularly expensive but the noise is still there.

In fact, i’ve introduced a new problem….when I go over a bump in the road there is now a rattle from the front (which stops if you lightly press the brakes). I checked the new caliper/pads out and there is slight movement in the inside pad. The spring clip isn’t great on the pad, but I also need to re-bleed the caliper as it seems the caliper is moving ever so slightly back.

Could the rhythmic chuffing noise be caused by a bad hub bearing? I now think I can hear a slight hum whilst driving, but it doesn’t change when I steer and there is no apparent free play when I check the wheels.

Thanks again.

[E-bmw]

I suspect from the sound of it you have bent/buckled the dust cover behind the disc, it is also possible that you have now either loosened it or parted off a rusty section of the plate.