Rubbing noise on Mk1 Yaris T-Sport

[Silver Yaris]

Good morning all,

I have what I can only describe as a light rubbing noise coming from the front of my Mk1 Yaris T-Sport. It has been doing it for probably 12 months or more now which is annoying. It has been in to 2 different Toyota main dealers, 2 independent garages and is passing MOT's with no advisories yet no one can establish what is causing this noise.

The noise itself only happens when the car has been driven for at least 10-15 minutes and has had a chance to warm up. It is not a metallic, can't be felt through the steering and does not appear to be drive shaft, cv boots, suspension, etc. related as I would like to think that items such as this would have been picked up by Toyota & independent garages and at MOT's.

The rubbing noise sounds as if it is plastic catching somewhere & is there whilst driving in a straight line and if I turn right. If I turn left it disappears which has left me & others scratching our heads.

I have been underneath the car itself whilst it's been up on ramps / lift and there is nothing visibly obvious that is causing this noise.

Has anyone else experienced this with their Mk1 Yaris and if so, please could you let me know what it is so that I can fix it before it drives me mad! 

[Madasafish]

"

The noise itself only happens when the car has been driven for at least 10-15 minutes and has had a chance to warm up.It is not a metallic, can't be felt through the steering and as above is not drive shaft, cv boots, suspension, etc. related as I would like to think that items such as this would have been picked up by Toyota & independent garages and at MOT's.

The rubbing noise sounds as if it is plastic catching somewhere & is there whilst driving in a straight line and if I turn right. If I turn left it disappears which has left me & others scratching our heads."

 

Relevant evidence in bold...  

 

So it is heat related - something expanding?

Steering related - does not happen when turning left.. something catching?

 

It could be:

failing wheel bearing or excess clearance due to wear causing the bearing to move in housing  which only happens when bearing lubricant has thinned

failing driveshaft gaiter expanding when lubricant is warm and catching on something. I would expect that to be visible.

Broken spring/failed suspension top mounting causing movement of spring in mounting...Not visible and held together with corrosion which breaks after use. Would explain one sidedness.

 

Failing drop links moving in position - are the rubbers bulging with cracks? If so a MOT fail. Too obvious to be missed surely.????

A failed engine/gearbox mounting held together by gravity which moves when warmed up.

When it up on ramps have you gone round with a pry bar and tried to move all the various suspension arms sideways (to test for wear in bushes)?  And all the engine /gearbox mountings. And examined ALL the driveshaft grease covers for splits/crack /grease leaks. 

(the above are all MOT test points so should be OK)

And rotated the wheels ,tried to rock then vertically and horizontally? If you get more than a miniscule move, bearing or bush wear.(MOT test as well)

To do all the above thoroughly you need a 1 meter long pry bar, the car securely off the ground  and NOT ONLY test the front suspension but the rear as well, and the exhaust and anything else that could potentially move and catch on movement.

 

In summary, test everything which could move.. You might even have a hairline crack in some component which only gets stressed when warmed up. When cold, it is closed.

 

Then of course, it may be a worn engine part - such as alternator bearing, power steering (Or is it electric? don't know) - etc.

 

Basically it can only be done with a systematic check of everything. Visual inspections will not suffice. You need to push and pull or anything that can move . It's a 12 year old car so garages know that finding is going to be a pia.. so are reluctant to spend say two hours trying to find it as they know or suspect you would not be happy with a bill for (say) £150 with zero results...

Edit: look at exhaust heat shields - shiny aluminium at front at rear. Holes may have expanded over years and when warmed up allow the shields to vibrate/move etc..

 

You may have a faulty exhaust baffle which has corroded and moves slightly...hidden inside exhaust so not visible...

Sorry I am not much help.

[Silver Yaris]

Thanks for all of the suggestions & yes you are right, it is definitely heat related, something expanding, etc.

It's due an MOT within the next 6 weeks so will ask them to have another look when it goes up on the ramps. 

I've seen them spin the wheels, test for movement, all of the usual MOT stuff and there's nothing to be found.

I have thought about the steering rack but does that form a part of the MOT or not?

As it does not appear to impact the way that the car drives, maybe I just need to turn the stereo up?   

[Madasafish]

Steering rack bushes and obvious wear in rack are part of MOT.It could be the auxiliary drive belt is running on something like a tensioner, or water pump or alternator with a worn bearing?

 

Scratches head...