vw golf vr6 wheel issue

[stu76]

hi.
i have a vw golf vr6 m reg
after jacking up the fron tof the car so both road wheels are off the road on axle stands, if i get hold of either front wheel i get a slight play/movement if i hold the wheel at 12 and 6 and get a little wobble, is this wheel bearings or is this some other common fault ,bushes somewhere? as car going in for a mot soon and need to get this sorted before it goes in. any help appreciated asap.
thanks to all.
regards.

[Crasher]

That is often just the top mounts dropping down on the PR 2E1 suspension used on the VR6 but it can also be wheel bearing play. The way I would do that is get some else to do the wiggle whilst I watched form underneath, looking at the CV joint for signs of movement where it goes into the wheel bearing, the damper piston rod where it goes into the strut (damper rod bearing wear), play in the top mount or movement in the ball joint. Is there play during the wiggle test at the 9 and 3 o’clock position? If there is play in the wheel bearing this can often be eliminated by fitting two new special 12 point 30-mm nuts and tightening them to the correct VW torque setting which is 90Nm plus 45 degrees which takes some serious leverage to achieve.

[stu76]

hi.
the top mounts dropping down on the PR 2E1 suspension used on the VR6?
please can you explain this a little better please?
there is little wobble/play at 12 and 6 but a little more play at 9 and 3!
is this wheel bearing you think?
thanks.

[Housemaster300]

Sounds like the wheel bearing to me.
Wait and see what the M.O.T tester fails it on and replace it

[Crasher]

The GTI, 16v and VR6 use a system VW refer to as PR 2E1 and these top mounts were used on all later Golf 3’s. The top mount drops out of the location when the wheel is raised off the floor and this can show up some play. However now you have added that there is even more play when tested at 9/3 you are looking at the possibility of worn wheel bearings (but it is less likely), track rod ends, track rod inner ball joints (the most likely), lower wishbone ball joints or maybe even a loose wishbone front bolt or failed rear bush. The test needs to be carried out with a second person to determine what is worn. When I am servicing a car and I detect movement, I have someone generate the movement so I can find it from underneath and the MOT inspector does a similar thing, it is not easy to diagnose on your own.