Making a weird noise...help me please.

[lakbum]

Hi. I have a '97 Golf manual, stock and just recently, my car has been making some noise. The best way to describe this noise would be putting a cardboard piece in the stokes of a bicycle tire. It's not too loud, but pretty audible at higher speeds (20mph+). I noticed it occurs when I am in gear (2nd through 5th) and not pressing the gas. Thus, if I press the gas, there's no noise (maybe it's blocked out by the engine noise), but if I let go of the gas, then I hear the noise. If I move the gear into neutral, I don't hear it but there are times when I hear a very slight noise which bothers me since I was assuming it was the gears. I'm not sure what's causing this. My far guess would be that the gears are worn down. Although, that's my guess since I don't know anything technical about cars. If anybody recognizes this problem or knows what is wrong, I would definitely appreciate it. I am most likely going to have to get it checked out but I would like to know what's possibly wrong before going there. Since I'm a college student and as usual, strapped for cash, need to find out how much it would cost to fix.

Appreciate all the help and comments.

Dennis

[HeirMuench]

When you are driving the car and you hear the noise, if you lightly youch the clutch pedal, do you feel the noise you hear through the pedal?

[lakbum]

If I recall, I believe pressing the clutch didn't get rid of the sound. However, I'm in class at the moment so I will test it today. If the sound disappears by pressing the clutch, what do you think is the problem?

[lakbum]

Well, I went to go test it out, and the problem seems to have worsened. The sound appears even when I'm in neutral when I'm in motion, which is very odd. Obviously, the problem is getting worse. So, I stopped driving it and I think I'm going to have to get it inspected. I just hate mechanics cause I know they will think I know nothing about cars and they will charge for stuff that I don't need fixing. I'm so broke after repairing some body damage that was done to my car by a friend of mine. Well, any suggestions what it might be might make me more knowledglbe when I go into the mechanic. Plus, I'm probably going to go do some research if I can isolate what the problem is. Thanks ahead of time.

Dennis

[vrumvrum]

Originally Posted by lakbum

Well, I went to go test it out, and the problem seems to have worsened. The sound appears even when I'm in neutral when I'm in motion, which is very odd. Obviously, the problem is getting worse. So, I stopped driving it and I think I'm going to have to get it inspected. I just hate mechanics cause I know they will think I know nothing about cars and they will charge for stuff that I don't need fixing. I'm so broke after repairing some body damage that was done to my car by a friend of mine. Well, any suggestions what it might be might make me more knowledglbe when I go into the mechanic. Plus, I'm probably going to go do some research if I can isolate what the problem is. Thanks ahead of time.

Dennis

Dennis, I am experiencing the same problem with my 98 VW Golf! Could you share with me the results of your mechanic visit and research?
In desperate need of help, Esther

[paintbb84]

i had a problem similar to what you are describing. my mechanic said it is possibly a broken engine mount putting strain on the drivetrain and if u let it go too long somethings bound to give out. but i went to midas and had them check on my exhaust and sure enough i had a small gap in the weld on the cat. converter. ever since then, no more noise. hope this helps

[twitchcw]

i had a similar problem, only my problem was in reverse, instead of the forward gears. I think they said the exact problem was a reverse addler gear. If its the same noise as what i had, its most likely the transmission. Between a new transmission and clutch i had to put $2000 into my 98 golf

[twitchcw]

i just remembered another problem i had, the heat shield came loose and rattled like crazy. Drove me nuts until i payed a muffler shop $20 to weld it.

Open your hood and look down behind the back of the engine where the exhaust is. Have someone rev the engine and you should be able to tell if its the heat shield