Passat B5.5 - Intermiitent Drive Noise & Brake Judder

[Shallabee]

Guys,

I could really use some help with this issue as it's driving me nuts... The problematic car is a 2002 1.9 tdi passat which has been excellent and ultra-reliable since taking ownership in 2008, however, the worm has turned and although this has been meticulously maintained it has developed a weird fault.

Basically what is happening, is whilst travelling the 50 mile ew trip to work mainly motorway miles and after approx. 10 miles into the journey i get a kind of droning sound from the front end, sounds like I’m travelling across a particularly dodgy stretch of motorway, and it’s kind of like a warning as if i then have to apply the brakes i get a juddering sensation from hell felt through the brake pedal. It should be noted that this never seems to occur when travelling around town and only normally kicks in around 60 plus MPH. Steering is stable and don't get any unexpected movement or vibration.

Both of the front calipers and pads have recently been replaced, and the disks seem to have plenty of meet left on them. On a previous visit to the garage the CV boots were replaced due to a split, and wondered if this could be linked to muck getting in whilst they were split...

Any help would be greatly received, as its very intermittent the garage may find it difficult to replicate and can see the bill escalating as they try to problem solve, and prefer to attack this being in a more informed position

Thanks in anticipation.

Richard.

[passat 130 tdi]

does the brake pedal feel as though the abs is coming on ??

[Shallabee]

When braking its an exaggerated judder so unable to detect if the ABS is coming on, around town it seems that the ABS is engaging. I have no warning lights on the dash, and have plugged in a VAG OBD II unit, and no codes come up... Is it possible that the ABS could be triggered without applying the brakes, as almost get notification of the change in drive noise like a warning that the brakes are going to play up...

[micheal balbrig]

It would be important to have the problem investigated,as the noise appearing with no brakes applied may point to wheel bearing problem or similar.

Another thought! If the problem started after new calipers were fitted,could it be that flexi pipes were damaged and now causing hydraulics to apply pressure to brakes.
Is the judder evident when slowing down from before the real problem at 60 mph

[Shallabee]

It would be important to have the problem investigated,as the noise appearing with no brakes applied may point to wheel bearing problem or similar.

If it was wheel bearings would this only occur above 60 MPH, have also done the usual wheel grab to check, and there appears to be no play in either of the front wheels, now wondering if it could be someting to to with drive shafts?

[passat 130 tdi]

turn off stability control and try it , id be tempted to say cv joint abs ring is at fault , pop the abs sensor out and have a look to see if its clean

[Shallabee]

turn off stability control and try it , id be tempted to say cv joint abs ring is at fault , pop the abs sensor out and have a look to see if its clean

Thanks for the info, is the removal of the ABS sensor a simple task, or is this one for the garage? Will also turn off traction control and see if that makes any difference, if this does solve the problem what would i need to change to put right...

[passat 130 tdi]

they just pull out , easy as long as they not seized in . just make sure its clean then gently tap it back down until it sits on the hub on refit . im unsure of your problem , just trying to give help tbh .

[Shallabee]

they just pull out , easy as long as they not seized in . just make sure its clean then gently tap it back down until it sits on the hub on refit . im unsure of your problem , just trying to give help tbh .

Thanks for the advice, will give this a go over the weekend and report back on my findings...