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Just taken my more or less finished mk1 850 out for the first time for a short spin and there is quite a loud growl, linked to road speed. Could this be anything to do with the magic wand gearbox, as this was fitted untested, as funds were not available for a recon? The sound doesn't alter coasting in neutral so is it more likely to be a wheel bearing, though these did seem ok?

While rolling along, if you slip it in to neutral, does it still make the same noise or does it get quieter or go away altogether?

The noise stays exactly the same. Would this point more to wheel bearings? I certainly hope so!

mister bridger wrote:The noise stays exactly the same. Would this point more to wheel bearings? I certainly hope so!

It could well do and that's were I'd be looking first. Jack the wheels up one at a time, give them a shake and a spin.

sounds like a wheel bearing to me.

M

If it's not a wheel bearing it could be a sloppy rubber crucifix joint fouling the back of the transmission case. I had this once and neglected it leading to a badly worn diff output bearing. It was quite a deep growl. Unlikely to be this tough if you have the needle roller type or Hardy Spicer joints. Amazing what abuse the old rubber joints would take!

Both front bearings seem pretty iffy, which surprised me as they are the same hubs that were on before it all got stripped down and they seemed ok then. I've discovered during the strip down to replace the bearings that the drivers side trumpet isn't sitting in the cone properly so that's another problem to sort out - can't get a cone compressor on as the cone is tilted slightly!

In case anyone's interested, managed to lever the trumpet back into place after removing the damper. Both front wheel bearings changed ( second one took an hour and a quarter from start to finish - pleased with that!) and growl has gone. Thank God/Allah - delete as appropriate!

Great result. Thanks for letting us know.

Happy motoring!