My Westy once had a noise coming from the rear that sounded like a loud
helicopter.  It was loud, rhythmic banging that showed up only at hight
speeds.  I replaced the inner CV joints and it went away.  Check your CVs.

Chris S.

On Sun, Apr 20, 2008 at 1:25 PM, Robert Stewart <robertmstewart@mac.com>
wrote:

> Hey Everyone,
>
> Strange Noise started to occur from the bottom of the van, having a
> hard time figuring out where it is coming from and when it occurs.
>
> This past friday driving from Brooklyn to upstate NY I started to hear
> this loud banging under the van at higher speeds, at first I thought
> it was coming from the front wheels, then later it sounded like it was
> coming from the rear. I was driving me nuts and still is.
>
> I pulled off the road, got under the van and could see nothing caught,
> loose, dangling or otherwise improper in appearance. The noise went
> away when the van was idling and would sometimes stop all together for
> no reason.
>
> A couple of times I thought it was due to accelerating, then I thought
> it was due to turning to the right, but it then stops while doing
> these things. Ultimately very confusing with now leads on how to
> diagnose the issue.
>
> I took the Van to my local mechanic, we put it on the lift, checked
> all the tires, wheels, the front and back wheels to see if we heard
> any noise, NOTHING, Quiet as a mouse.
>
> Checked the exhaust, we saw the new S&S exhaust system I put on 6
> months ago had a piece of metal bre spinned ak off where it was
> connected to the muffler, it was a simple 2 inch piece, he welded it
> on in 5 minutes. Good as new.
>
> Checked for anything loose under the carriage could not find anything!
>
> We looked at the steering, sway bar, briefly looked at the disc brakes
> and everything seemed ok.
>
> I drove away and it sounded fine. 20 minutes later it started making
> the noise again!! I got out checked the Muffler again to be sure it
> was attached and it was! So it was not a rattling muffler, this
> morning I got under the van an again checked for all the pipes to
> solid with no wiggle, they are all rock solid!
>
> What is going on!
>
> It sounds like something hitting the frame and vibrating up to the
> front, and appears to be coming from the passenger side to me. It
> comes and goes and sounds at times likes it tied to the rotation of
> tire as the timing of the banging seems to coinside with speed ratio.
>
> Has anyone ever heard of anything like this? Any leads?
>
> Also one other question What Power steering Fluid should I be using? I
> was really low yesterday and NAPA said I could use Valvoline long life
> (for extended older vehicles).
>
> Thanks in advance for any insight you might be able to share.
>
> --
> Rob
> NYC/Bloomingburg NY
> 88 Wolfsburg, Silver
> 234,000 miles - automatic
> AIM: rmstewart@mac.com
>