Date:         Sat, 9 Mar 2002 00:00:30 -0600
Reply-To:     Stan Wilder <wilden1@JUNO.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Stan Wilder <wilden1@JUNO.COM>
Subject:      Re: New mystery. Faint rumble from right side of van
Comments: To: developtrust@COX.NET
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

*It could something as simple as a weak motor mount letting the exhaust
touch the body or torque the drive train badly.*

This portion of the reply was serious. Rumbling often occur just at
takeoff or at peak power levels when the motor mounts can flex under the
peak load.
My current Westy does it because it needs two motor mounts.
One good way to locate the location is to get to a location with a high
brick wall (I use the back side of the Albertsons Store) drive the van as
close as you can next to the wall, it will amplify the sound. Have a
passenger listen and trade seats and listen from both sides of the van as
you turn around and go down the wall in the other direction. The CVs
will, tic tic tic if they are bad when running about 5-10 mph.
Wrong tire inflation can cause this noise of rumbling.
In my van a lot of the unique sounds come from shifting cookware and
Coleman fuel cans contracting with temperature changes.
You might try taking it out of gear and letting it coast at the problem
speeds and see if it might be relative to the sound.
Remember....... most things fail slowly except electronic ignition so
give it a few days to develop farther.

Stan Wilder


On Fri, 8 Mar 2002 21:12:29 -0800 developtrust <developtrust@COX.NET>
writes:
> This is a serious inquiry since it seems the Friday humor came early
> on
> Thursday with over 200 plus messages that shut down the server.
> Incredible!
>
> Today I noticed a new but faint rumble from the right side of my
> van. I
> can't quite determine its location. Front, middle of van or rear?
> Right
> front might mean wheel bearing? Right rear might mean a CV joint
> going bad.
>
> The sound is very faint and seems to occur between 45 & 60 MPH and
> not
> always present.
>
> If it isn't one thing it is another.
>
> The good news is that my oil pump replacement has fixed the oil leak
> there.
>
> But now this new mystery rumble. CVs were service 4,000 miles ago.
> Could the
> new springs and alignment have put different pressure on the wheel
> bearings?
> Could 1/4 inch of height on the rear end have affected the CVs?
>
> Any ideas?
>
> William Polowniak
> 1989 Vanagon GL
> 1988 Mercedes 300 SE
>

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