It's great to have our prodigal GTI back home. A little the worse for wear, it still is a fun drive, and it got a chance to frolic Sunday morning on Pasadena's Arroyo Seco Parkway. (The parkway was the first freeway built in the United States and was designed for the then-maximum legal speed limit of 45 mph. The GTI took it a little faster than that.)
While I didn't hear the ticking and clicking that has bedeviled our car, the squeaking that Erin mentioned in March is louder and more persistent than ever. It seems to come from the area of the back seat and I think it's triggered by bumps and judders in the road. It sounds like an irked cricket, and if I owned the car, I'd tempted to go on a bughunt to find and silence the little sucker.
But if you saw "Aliens," you know why Pvt. Hudson (pictured, above left) was so skeptical of bughunts. They involve time and treasure (assuming the car is out of warranty). And there's about a 50/50 chance you'll be able to source and kill the noisemaker before you lose your mind. That's been my experience with such squeaks and creaks, anyway. What's yours?
Carroll Lachnit, Features Editor @24,013 miles
stpierrewm says:
08:36 AM, 06/13/11
They're the worst! I can never find the source. Wind leaks, however, are even worse...
ed124c says:
09:01 AM, 06/13/11
Back in the sixties and seventies, when US cars were shoddily built, I had to take it upon myself to fix noises and misaligned panels and windows.
The biggest problem I tackled was to remove the interior door panels on my '78 LeMans in order to realign the windows so that they didn't "pop" out of their tracks at highway speeds.
Did I say shoddy? The LeMans also came with a roof half painted. (It didn't occur to me to check whether there was actual paint on the roof when I bought it. Hmm, I didn't look under the hood either-- to see if I actually had a V8 in there.)
Like most GM cars, the LeMans ran forever. One of my favorite cars. I gave it to my daughter, then my son, then my church, and finally to my nephew. It was in the "family" for almost 20 years.
mrsilvia says:
09:17 AM, 06/13/11
Just bang and slam all the surfaces you think might be the source of the noise. That's worked the best for me in the past.
sfcruzin says:
09:36 AM, 06/13/11
The clicking noise is caused by a particular segment of the fuel line slapping against a panel each time the fuel pump pulses. Not all of the line's segments are completely fastened down as it travels from the fuel tank to the motor so each time it squirts you get to hear the line smack a panel.
I had this noise on my A3 and the same problem on my last GTI - both dealerships came back with the same diagnosis.
I call it my last GTI because that's exactly what it is....my last GTI.
Fast car that was fun to drive but the squeaks and rattles were unbearable.
A VW is like a sailboat. The happiest days of ownership are the first day and the last.
greenpony says:
10:01 AM, 06/13/11
When was that photo taken? October? There are an awful lot of orange and brown leaves on the ground.
bthayer23 says:
10:16 AM, 06/13/11
Squeaking from under the rear seat could be a worn sway bar bushing.
leescott says:
10:20 AM, 06/13/11
Squeaking cure: Nuke the site from orbit, only way to be sure.
monkeybread says:
10:51 AM, 06/13/11
My Dad was a mechanic for many years. Having this skill, friends and neighbors would inevitably ask him for car advice. When it came to phantom squeaks & knocks from the interior of the car, he'd simply ask, "Have you tried turning up the radio?"
altimadude05 says:
12:58 PM, 06/13/11
Game over, man! Game over!