I've decided to call my 6n the "395". I bought it for £395, the reg says P395, and there are about 395 things wrong with it.

I need a diagnosis for this noise. Has been gradually getting louder over the past couple of days, changes speed with the car, doesn't seem to be affected by direction.

- Tyres less than 1 month old, not rubbing on anything

- No play in any of the wheels

- Backing plates aren't touching the discs

- Tie rods are in good condition

- No steering/handling issues

If the cost of repairing this is more than £100 I hereby promise to scrap it and finance a 6R or something

Edited 8 December, 201510 yr by Vio

if its just on one side I'd be inclined to suggest a wheel bearing, they don't have to move around to be bad as I found out with my old one.

Even if its both sides it could be the wheel bearings, does it get louder/quieter when turning?

It seems about the same in both straight lines and slight curves, but then again it only really becomes noticable above about 20mph and I can't take a corner fast enough to tell if there's any major difference

My 6r is brilliant if you ever wanna go down that road. despite the emissions scandal if you do long miles the diesel engine is quality. The dpf light came on mine twice when doing small commutes for 2 weeks till i Gunned it for a bit and it went off, even then there is dpf cleaner. if you do short travels though and wanted a petrol, my mate has a 1.2 and hes had nothing but trouble since hes had it and I mean different sensors giving up the ghost about 8 times in his first year! then again warranty covers the lot

EDIT: Although having a passenger ride in a VR6 last night at work made me think about shaking off the whole sensible thing. Got a video I might upload later...i just love the sound of the thing, He span wheels first and second in wet and momentarily during 3rd so we werent going anywhere lol

Edited 8 December, 201510 yr by wizardmanjm

Thats sounds suspiciously like the dif or subsequent dif carrier/gearbox bearing.. Not saying that it is and dont take my word for that because there are a few other things it may be.

Have you jacked just one side up and spun the wheel by hand at all? If not try that for each wheel, and with the noise that was making you should atleast be able to hear some form of grumble/noise and that will suggest a bearing.

I can't hear the video thanks to my work being tight and not providing me with speakers for the works PC. Anyway if it is a high pitched whine that is speed related and gets louder on the over run. I would suggest diff. But it is only a 1 litre so I'd say the chances of that are slim. You sometimes find wheel bearings that make noise don't have play in them and vice versa.

Wheel bearings on these are cheap and easy. I'm sure you'd be more than capable of taking the hub carriers off at the side of the road then asking a garage with a press to press in new bearings.

If I get a chance to hear the video I may edit this.

Edit already: If you suspect the gearbox try and top up the oil to see if that helps at all.

EDIT: Although having a passenger ride in a VR6 last night at work made me think about shaking off the whole sensible thing. Got a video I might upload later...i just love the sound of the thing, He span wheels first and second in wet and momentarily during 3rd so we werent going anywhere lol

I personally think the R32 sounds better and also the mk4 and mk5 Golfs look better than the mk3. But that is just my opinion. If a VR6 is more budget friendly though then may I suggest a BMW E36 328? Same size engine, more power, rear wheel drive, still a good noise (especially straight piped)...just ignore the 18mpg it will do constantly.

I'm not a huge fan of the Mk4, even though I had a gti Mk4 lol, the mk5 r32 is my favourite of all Golfs but getting a decent lowish mileage one asks huge money still lol

E36's look too boring and all look the same except the m3, a mate had a 318is which had a nice kit standard though. I like the e46 SE coupe shape but I worry about costs on maintaining BMW's

My 6r is brilliant if you ever wanna go down that road. despite the emissions scandal if you do long miles the diesel engine is quality. The dpf light came on mine twice when doing small commutes for 2 weeks till i Gunned it for a bit and it went off, even then there is dpf cleaner. if you do short travels though and wanted a petrol, my mate has a 1.2 and hes had nothing but trouble since hes had it and I mean different sensors giving up the ghost about 8 times in his first year! then again warranty covers the lot

EDIT: Although having a passenger ride in a VR6 last night at work made me think about shaking off the whole sensible thing. Got a video I might upload later...i just love the sound of the thing, He span wheels first and second in wet and momentarily during 3rd so we werent going anywhere lol

If you want wheelspin try a 1Z octavia VRS 2L tdi mine will do the same in first 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the dry as well but you get around 50mpg

If you want wheelspin try a 1Z octavia VRS 2L tdi mine will do the same in first 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the dry as well but you get around 50mpg

That does sound like fun, I really like the fast skoda 's too, plus the mpg is ideal for my long work commutes

Does it sound good for a diesel?

I would check diff bearings or gearbox does it change noise when going between accelerating and overrun or at a constant speed ?

I must admit the sounds not so good but try a remapped mk1 fabia vrs with either 160 or 180 brake they don't sound bad for a diesel and go like stink will wheelspin in 1st 3 gears oh and 50 to 55 mpg as well, if you don't need a large car try one, its almost a polo well a polo floorpan

Here is the Golf VR6 video, He said he will take me out in the dry too to see what it is like, he is selling it so he wants to show it off to me so i buy it lol

The video is ruined by rain noise a bit and he missed 2nd but you get the idea

EDIT: it looks slower than it actually was...I need to get a video of my mates remapped 335d...That thing really does move

Edited 8 December, 201510 yr by wizardmanjm

Have you jacked just one side up and spun the wheel by hand at all? If not try that for each wheel, and with the noise that was making you should atleast be able to hear some form of grumble/noise and that will suggest a bearing.

I've spun them by hand with both sides jacked up, I get a very slight scraping noise but it's totally different to the one in the video - and it's more of a low grinding rather than a whine so I don't think diff. I wasn't sure if it was a bearing at first because I'd have thought that would be constant rather than intermittent. But it seems to be coming from the offside area so if it is a bearing, it'll probably be a wheel rather than a gearbox one (or so I hope). I'll top up gearbox oil anyway and give the calipers a clean up as I think that's the source of the slight scrape, and then get both front wheel bearings changed out as well and hopefully that'll sort it.

theres sites online claiming if you spin the wheel by hand and hold the other hand on the spring you can feel it vibrate with a bad bearing , never tried it myself but they claim it works very well

Have you jacked just one side up and spun the wheel by hand at all? If not try that for each wheel, and with the noise that was making you should atleast be able to hear some form of grumble/noise and that will suggest a bearing.

I've spun them by hand with both sides jacked up, I get a very slight scraping noise but it's totally different to the one in the video - and it's more of a low grinding rather than a whine so I don't think diff. I wasn't sure if it was a bearing at first because I'd have thought that would be constant rather than intermittent. But it seems to be coming from the offside area so if it is a bearing, it'll probably be a wheel rather than a gearbox one (or so I hope). I'll top up gearbox oil anyway and give the calipers a clean up as I think that's the source of the slight scrape, and then get both front wheel bearings changed out as well and hopefully that'll sort it.

More times than not a won't whine it will make a noise like a bearing. But if there's a "scrapping" noise when spinning a wheel I'd go for that bearing as the faster it spins the louder it gets

Mine wasnt a whine , it was a grind type flapping and it turned out to be the gearbox - differential. the noise when away when pressing in the clutch pedal

Mine wasnt a whine , it was a grind type flapping and it turned out to be the gearbox - differential. the noise when away when pressing in the clutch pedal

That sounds more like release bearing to me. If it was the diff the noise would still be there even if the clutch was depressed when the car is moving. But you'd hear nothing when stationary clutch in or out.

Mine wasnt a whine , it was a grind type flapping and it turned out to be the gearbox - differential. the noise when away when pressing in the clutch pedal

That sounds more like release bearing to me. If it was the diff the noise would still be there even if the clutch was depressed when the car is moving. But you'd hear nothing when stationary clutch in or out.

That sounds like my issue - noise is still there when the car's moving regardless of the clutch. Also I've found it gets slightly louder if I take a hard corner, both ways. Found a few other videos of similar sounding problems online, and I'm pretty sure it's the diff.

Well I can't fix that myself and the garage bill isn't worth it. Cue the funeral music.

Mine wasnt a whine , it was a grind type flapping and it turned out to be the gearbox - differential. the noise when away when pressing in the clutch pedal

That sounds more like release bearing to me. If it was the diff the noise would still be there even if the clutch was depressed when the car is moving. But you'd hear nothing when stationary clutch in or out.

That sounds like my issue - noise is still there when the car's moving regardless of the clutch. Also I've found it gets slightly louder if I take a hard corner, both ways. Found a few other videos of similar sounding problems online, and I'm pretty sure it's the diff.

Well I can't fix that myself and the garage bill isn't worth it. Cue the funeral music.

Really? You're going to let this one go? Probably the easiest fix you have if it just needs a gearbox.

id check the gear oil and keep driving it - might last a while yet

Yeah I was gonna do that but my hex key to get the drain plug off has gone missing. Aaaaaargh

I've noticed an oil leak from the gearbox area and I have a suspicious feeling it's the selector shaft seal, as it seems to be a common problem with the 6ns. Once I get a new key, if adding more oil helps then replacing the seal doesn't seem too difficult from what I've read, and I'll give that a go. If not... maybe if I can find a second hand gearbox that's extremely cheap I'll swap them over, which at least gives me some practice on changing a gearbox if nothing else.

The primary purpose of this car is just to last me until I get my Nissan back. Once that's done, if I can fix it for a reasonable amount and sell it on as a perfect runner, happy days. If not, breaking it for parts and trying to recover some of what I've already spent seems like the next best thing. But this is the one car I don't have an emotional attachment to, and I'm ok with letting it go before it starts eating away at my wallet

shop for a gearbox that works not one thats extremely cheap ,that way once you pay a garage to fit it the car will be fixed instead of having to send it away for a rebuild

Yeah I was gonna do that but my hex key to get the drain plug off has gone missing. Aaaaaargh

Never heard of the trick of using a wheel bolt and a 17mm spanner? Works well providing the hex in the plug isn't chewed up.

That sounds like my issue - noise is still there when the car's moving regardless of the clutch. Also I've found it gets slightly louder if I take a hard corner, both ways. Found a few other videos of similar sounding problems online, and I'm pretty sure it's the diff.

Well I can't fix that myself and the garage bill isn't worth it. Cue the funeral music.

this is more easier to fix than your nissan and your dora

Yeah I was gonna do that but my hex key to get the drain plug off has gone missing. Aaaaaargh

Never heard of the trick of using a wheel bolt and a 17mm spanner? Works well providing the hex in the plug isn't chewed up.

Wish I'd known that an hour ago. £20 for a drain plug key set from Halfords. £20!!!! Put in about 500ml of what gearbox oil I had left in the shed but that wasn't enough, I'll fill it up completely in the morning and do a few miles and see if it anything improves.

this is more easier to fix than your nissan and your dora

Nissan's pretty easy tbh, I've just about sourced all the parts & just need to collect em, then I just get the garage to weld em on which isn't that hard (I could probably do it if I had a spot welder), and we're good to go.

Granted I'll be driving a car that's primarily white but with a red bonnet & bumper, but I can live with that