Noisy front offside wheel.

Truescot

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Your Mercedes
E320 CDI/03/3.2 litre diesel
My MB E320 CDI 211 (2003) is making a helluva noise from the front offside wheel, thumping (which I can feel on through the steering wheel) and a scraping sound on non bumpy roads at slow speeds. The scraping sound is almost like an exhaust heat shield is loose but it isn't that. When I brake or accelerate there is a loud creaking/sqeeking sound. The noise can come and go. Some days its not there at all, next day its there all the time. The car still handles well though and doesn't bounce which suggests its not a shock but hey, it might be. I've looked underneath and can't see anything loose. It may be two separate problems. Any suggestions?
 

television

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Your Mercedes
2002 SL500, 216 CL500, all fully loaded
Not a wheel bearing but it could be loose allowing the hub to touch something, a disc could be warped or even cracked
 
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T

Truescot

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Aberdeen, Scotland
Your Mercedes
E320 CDI/03/3.2 litre diesel
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Thanks Malcolm, I checked the wheel bearing. Thanks also Mandrake but I've already had broken springs (3). I knew it wasn't that because the car normally falls down on the side of the broken spring.

I did find the problem though. There was a build-up of rust on the interior side of the disc. This in turn was scraping against one of the mounting points of the disc backing plate (remember I said the noise - one of them - sounded like the heat shield?) which at some point seems to have been hit by something, it was all bent and twisted.

I carefully worked my way around the disc, clearing it of the rust build-up. I also found one of the mounting screws for the backing plate was broken subsequently causing the rattling sound. I didn't want to expense a replacement backing plate at this point (only £30 for the part but 2 hours labour to replace) so I improvised and 'wired' the backing plate to its mounting. Voila, no more scraping, no more thumping sounds.

Next service I'll have the discs replaced and a new backing plate fitted.

Hope this helps someone who has - hopefully before they have - taken their car in to have most of the suspension replaced only to find the issue is a little something they could repair themselves.

Thanks once again gentlemen for helping me.
 


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