Help please . Bad vibration / grinding from drivetrain in 4th gear after new clutch and tyres t6 t32 4motion

[CraigoT6]

Hello! New to the vw van scene and just bought a 2016 t32 4 motion panel van .

The van went in for a new clutch and mot a few weeks back and it’s come back to me not the same van . I’m getting all kinds of whirring/grinding vibrations mainly when I go from 4th gear ( doing 40mph ) up to 5th . It feels like it’s starting from the rear and making its way up underneath the drivers seat and you can hear it feel it over the stereo !
It’s goes away soon as I’m in 5th gear .

Took it back for the mech to look at it and he said it will be the new tyres and swapped them around but it’s not made much difference if any .

I’m pretty sure it’s not normal as it drove fine before no noises as such . Now I’m worried it’s something that could be causing damage to the rest of the vans drivetrain !

Any help would be much appreciated it’s driving me mad . Thanks

 

[Sioux101]

Don’t like the sound of the sounds reported!

 

[DaveD]

Hello! New to the vw van scene and just bought a 2016 t32 4 motion panel van .

The van went in for a new clutch and mot a few weeks back and it’s come back to me not the same van . I’m getting all kinds of whirring/grinding vibrations mainly when I go from 4th gear ( doing 40mph ) up to 5th . It feels like it’s starting from the rear and making its way up underneath the drivers seat and you can hear it feel it over the stereo !
It’s goes away soon as I’m in 5th gear .

Took it back for the mech to look at it and he said it will be the new tyres and swapped them around but it’s not made much difference if any .

I’m pretty sure it’s not normal as it drove fine before no noises as such . Now I’m worried it’s something that could be causing damage to the rest of the vans drivetrain !

Any help would be much appreciated it’s driving me mad . Thanks

I think you need to isolate this fault, i.e determine if it's transmission related or tyre related.
Did you have 4 tyres fitted? As it's 4Motion your tyres should be as near as possible the same rolling circumference front to rear, although the difference would have to be significant to cause problems like you've described and probably wouldn't go away as your speed increases and you change up into 5th gear. Any tyre problem wouldn't cause a grinding noise anyway. I wonder if he refitted the prop shaft properly after replacing the clutch, it might be worth having a look. It wouldn't be the first time it's happened; (POST 10)

Distressing find! dip stick loose

Took the family to Wales on the weekend, we were doing an Easter egg hunt near the van and my son said are there any eggs under the bonnet, so I popped it open and was shocked at what I saw.. the dip stick was out and there was oil all over that side of the engine... the last time it was touched...

www.t6forum.com

The mechanic can't now just wash his hands of the problem and blame the tyres, I'd go back to him and insist that the problem (which wasn't there before he took the van) is resolved.

 

[True Romance]

As above finger points to prop shaft.

 

[Nam600]

Hello! New to the vw van scene and just bought a 2016 t32 4 motion panel van .

The van went in for a new clutch and mot a few weeks back and it’s come back to me not the same van . I’m getting all kinds of whirring/grinding vibrations mainly when I go from 4th gear ( doing 40mph ) up to 5th . It feels like it’s starting from the rear and making its way up underneath the drivers seat and you can hear it feel it over the stereo !
It’s goes away soon as I’m in 5th gear .

Took it back for the mech to look at it and he said it will be the new tyres and swapped them around but it’s not made much difference if any .

I’m pretty sure it’s not normal as it drove fine before no noises as such . Now I’m worried it’s something that could be causing damage to the rest of the vans drivetrain !

Any help would be much appreciated it’s driving me mad . Thanks

I had an A6 which did exactly the same thing after a long trip across France. I put it down to tyres but eventually, the right side exhaust flexi ruptured on cyls 4, 5 and 6. The other side was in poor condition as well so I got both changed. While I was underneath the car, I noticed the engine was loose and found the engine mounts were knackered causing the engine to tilt back under acceleration. I could also see it was bending the drive shaft to the rear as well as both exhausts. Once the mounts were renewed, the noise from 45 to 55mph disappeared and the vibration was totally gone.

Might be that the mounts are worn or that the mechanic has somehow put the gearbox back with the mount misaligned. Worth checking if there is a midway support bearing for the rear driveshaft and checking it's condition. Mine was mounted in a flexible rubber and was a bit worn but not that bad seeing as the car had done 120k miles.

 

[CraigoT6]

Thanks for the help I really appreciate it . The van has done 87000 Miles . It had two new tyres for the mot and the other two tyres are pretty new anyway .
I’ve kinda lost faith in that garage up to the point I’d rather just find someone who knows these vans and how they work .
It’s a strange one as it only does it in 4th gear at low revs and gets progressively louder and more aggressive as it works it’s way from the rear up to the drivers seat .

 

[DXX]

I’m certainly no 4wd expert but how about running the van in the affected gear while on a lift so that a mechanic can go underneath with a stethoscope. It maybe that the noise is not present without a drive load but it’s a quick and simple check.

 

[Nam600]

I’m certainly no 4wd expert but how about running the van in the affected gear while on a lift so that a mechanic can go underneath with a stethoscope. It maybe that the noise is not present without a drive load but it’s a quick and simple check.

It sounds like a torsional vibration. It can be that it only happens at a certain shaft speed and torque range which is typically a lowish rpm right where a turbo diesel produces highest torque. If the van was up on a ramp it probably won't produce the noise and vibration as the drive train isn't under any meaningful load.

Looking at the gearbox mount drawing, I can see they are typical VAG where they can be slightly adjusted. I'd check that the gearbox and engine mounts are in good condition and look parallel/not cocked to one side. Check the front and rear engine mounts for play as they act as torque reaction arms when the engine naturally tries to tilt backwards under load. You may need a decent plank of wood to lever/rock the engine - just be careful not to break/damage anything. Also try to get under the van and pull the drive shaft to the rear. See if it has any movement.

Pointing out the obvious but did the garage refill the gearbox with oil?

 

[CraigoT6]

Thanks for all the help guys . It turned out to be the propshaft …. It was knackerd . Felt fine before the clutch change but it is what it is and I’m happy it’s running nice again . Took it to a really nice place in Leicestershire called Johnson auto works . Great bunch very helpful and got the job done

 

[True Romance]

Thanks for all the help guys . It turned out to be the propshaft …. It was knackerd . Felt fine before the clutch change but it is what it is and I’m happy it’s running nice again . Took it to a really nice place in Leicestershire called Johnson auto works . Great bunch very helpful and got the job done

Good news it's all sorted. Thanks for updating us all.