Rattling from wheel arch

big_white_dog84 · 1 Jul 2006 at 10:05

Yesterday a slight rattling noise started coming from what sounds like my offside wheel arch. It sounded like a small stone was rattling about at first but it hasn't gone away. It starts about 40 mph, although I can hear it sometimes at 30. It gets worse with speed. I can hear it clearly inside the car, but when I open the windows the road noise drowns it out. There is no deterioration in the performance of the car and I don't have a clue what is causing it. Any ideas?

Scrutinize · 1 Jul 2006 at 10:07

Without a sound file or sitting in your car its pretty difficult to work out what it is. Could be the arch lining come loose?

big_white_dog84 · 1 Jul 2006 at 10:15

I know it's a difficult one to explain cause it's a noise - the best I can describe it as is the small stone rattling around or for a wee while it sounded like the teeth of a comb being plucked. I want to have a good listen but because it only happens at speed I can't get my ear down close to the source of the noise. I think I'm going to leave it for the weekend and if it hasn't gone away by Monday (and in my experience problems with cars never ever fix themselves) I'll take it to be looked at.

danza · 1 Jul 2006 at 10:16

I had a similar problem. One of the sus coils had broken. The last coil of the spring had snapped off and was rattling about in the cup thingy that retains it. It took ages to find out what it was!

Scrutinize · 1 Jul 2006 at 10:17

Could be a stone or gravel stuck in the tred of the tyre. I had this the other day. Was a bit of tarmac stuck in the tread. Happens occasionally.

big_white_dog84 · 1 Jul 2006 at 10:23

That's two options I will look at - Danza, was it expensive to fix?

big_white_dog84 · 1 Jul 2006 at 11:06

Booked it into Arnold Clark to get looked at on Monday. If the problem is not covered by the warranty I get charged £62 just for them to look at it. Thieving gypsies. Going to jack it up this afternoon and see what I can see.