Hi there, I have a Mk2 GTI 16V that has had a howling come from the rear for quite a long time now. It’s especially loud when crawling in traffic and gets faster as I speed up, however above 40 I can’t hear it maybe due to sound of engine or road noise. I thought it was wheel bearings so I replaced both the rear ones with the help of a mechanic and he said the old ones looked fine, they had no pitting or scratches on at all. Unfortunately this didn’t solve the problem, it seems a bit worse now. It only howls after about 15 mins when the car has warmed up but when I brake or slightly apply handbrake the howling stops. Has anyone got an idea what this could be? Many thanks
Sounds like you’ve got a sticky calliper or absolutely awful rear brake pads. It could be on all the time until you apply the brakes, which is why it stops. You’ve managed to create a resonant frequency
Would I just need to remove the calliper and rewind them back a bit so they don’t sit as close to the disk then?
No, chances are they will need a rebuild but you could start by pushing them out and rewinding several times to try and free them up a bit. Check your pads though, if they are very worn and the pistons are a long way out this could possibly causes issues. It may be that they need replacing.
take the calipers off and check the carriers where the pads sit. may find heavily pitted from corrosion, short term fix is get a file on it to smooth off best you can and copper grease. long term look for MK3 and 6n polo type carriers, these take the stainless pad shims and so problem will never happen again
The pads and disks are new, they were only replaced just over 2 years ago by previous owner. I have done less than 2000 miles since then.
Thing is, when you fitted the new rear wheel bearings, you would have noticed if the pads/discs were touching. You would have spun the rear wheel to check for play, and bed the new bearings in. So i'm a bit lost on advice for this one.
