2006 LS focus, wup wup wup sound front left.

prydey · 13-11-2020, 10:08 AM

Wife mentioned this new noise yesterday. I jumped in this morning to drop my daughter to school and there is a wup wup wup sound from the front left (i think) which does increase in rhythm with car speed.

What i found though, was that it was only there for the first few minutes before eventually fading away. School is only about 5km away and by the time i was on the return journey it had gone. Well, it had become inaudible from the cabin anyway.

I was thinking wheel bearing but this is normally more constant and grumbly sounding i thought.

There is no vibration associated with it, so its not like a flat spot on a tyre from sitting around. Car gets driven everyday as well.

any ideas?

raceteam · 13-11-2020, 10:10 AM

Could be a failed belt on a tire or some other internal failure. Just swap it to a different corner of the car and see if the sound moves.

raceteam · 13-11-2020, 10:53 AM

To add, tyre noise can change with temp as they warm and soften so if it's only there for the first few minutes of a drive, it does point to tyre.

What about swerving (carefully!) from side to side to load and unload the wheel bearings?

I've also had a flat spot (caused by a brake lock) on the inner side of a front tyre that made a wup wup sound, but only when that tyre was unloaded in a turn to that side. Under normal or increased load it made no sound.

CatonaPC© · 13-11-2020, 11:40 AM

Check your tyre pressures, especially if the sound returns. Only one other explanation and something was stuck to the car and now no longer is.

marg99 · 13-11-2020, 11:50 AM

they also make noises when you get stones caught in the tread although that is failry regular sound

prydey · 13-11-2020, 11:56 AM

Thanks for the suggestions. I just spoke to the wife and when she mentioned a noise yesterday I assumed it was the noise I heard today, but apparently she heard more of a ticking sound. Just driving along, not just while turning etc.

More investigation required but certainly pointing to just being something on the tyre rather than a mechanical issue like cv or bearing.

Might have a bit more of a play tomorrow.

raised by monkeys · 13-11-2020, 01:12 PM