Audi A4 droning noise

[maltloaf]

Hi all,

I picked up quite a nice Audi A4 3.0 V6 Quattro as a stop gap when I sold my mental golf on.

It's fitted with monstrous 19" alloys from an RS6 which fill the arches nicely but don't come close to rubbing anywhere.

I am getting a problem where I am hearing a droning noise from what appears to be the front off side (but I know could be radiating from anywhere), at 50-80MPH which is road speed dependant but has nothing to do with engine speed. If I dip the clutch it's still there and doesn't seem to change in fast bends, just with road speed.

I have had a Google and wondered if it was due to tyres wearing oddly, and indeed there do seem to be sharp edges to the treads in one direction (which I have read is called a few different things like castling) and may cause a noise because of the percussive effect.

I swapped all four wheels around, front to back hoping it would move the noise to another wheel and the noise is exactly the same.

I also wondered if it might be a wheel bearing, I lifted each corner of the car and span and shook each wheel and can't find any play or roughness other than the slight rub of the brake on the brake disc that you would expect. I have also felt the hubs after a drive and they are only moderately warm.

Furthermore I also gripped, shook and wobbled the driveshafts and can't find any more play than I would expect.

Nothing seems to be rubbing. When I got the car I noticed that the inside edges of all four tyres seemed to be warm so I checked the tyre pressure and the guy was running them at around 20psi. I immediately upped them to 38 but it hasn't changed the symptoms at all.

Does anyone have any more suggestions ? I am tempted to drop 4 matched brand new tyres on it to see if it helps, as the ones on there are budget ones but don't want the expense if that's unlikely to be the issue.

Many thanks,

Malty

[WRATH OF BOD]

my VRS had same problem, it was wheel bearing, i had all symptoms you have & did the same, rotated tires, pulled & span the hubs.

[maltloaf]

Thanks for that. How did you diagnose that and how did you decide which it was ?

The noise seems to be generally coming from front right, me and the missus agree, but as I said I'm worried it might be deceptive and coming from anywhere through the various metal work.

[Zippeyrude]

My money us on wheel bearings too

[Tim.Lad]

Thanks for that. How did you diagnose that and how did you decide which it was ?

The noise seems to be generally coming from front right, me and the missus agree, but as I said I'm worried it might be deceptive and coming from anywhere through the various metal work.

You perception of where it is coming from is usually correct, it wont take a good mechanic long to find a bad bearing

[WRATH OF BOD]

a mate of mine has a garage, works on VW's he had seen it before, replaced both front bearings, job done.
if you gonna change one do both

[shaper]

Had the same problem with my wheel bearings, But I'm also lucky enough to live round the corner from a motorway junction

With a bend, so when I was taking the bend the cars weight would shift to one side, I was then able to detect which bearing
Was on its way out, with the droning noise disapering once there was less weight on the wheel
M

[maltloaf]

That's just it, it doesn't seem to change much or the bends I'm driving on aren't long enough. I'm fairly new to my area so I'm a bit short of trustworthy mechanics that I know of so am hoping to get a diagnosis before I went to someone.

[russell]

hold coil spring with hand and give wheel a spin you will feel a slight vibration on the bad bearing
Russell

[Over Carl]

my VRS had same problem, it was wheel bearing, i had all symptoms you have & did the same, rotated tires, pulled & span the hubs.

I don't normally mess around with suspension and that kinda stuff but I believe the normal check is to spin it and if nothing obvious found, then try and wobble it in all three dimensions while slowly turning it (with tyre/wheel still on so you have better leverage against the hub/bearing).

[maltloaf]

hold coil spring with hand and give wheel a spin you will feel a slight vibration on the bad bearing
Russell

Thank you I will try that tomorrow.


I have a mechanic I've used before that likes to just charge me labour I.e I supply the parts to him. He has said £60 per side labour only.

Went out for a brief drive tonight and with the roads a little quieter I now think it's definitely a little noisier turning to the left and a little quieter turning to the right which would point to the osf bearing.

I wish it was a job I could do myself but I don't have a press

Thanks everyone

Malty

[riget]

Put your ear on the wing and spin the wheels, you'll hear a bad one, spent over 30 years in a garage and never needed a press to fit a bearing.

[cyprus]

Put the window down while you're driving at around 60MPH, then, put your hand out the window with palm flat facing parallel to the road. Gently raise your palm up 90 degrees. Your hand will snap back from the extra wind force. It won't help you solve your wheel bearing problem but it's fun.

[maltloaf]

Put the window down while you're driving at around 60MPH, then, put your hand out the window with palm flat facing parallel to the road. Gently raise your palm up 90 degrees. Your hand will snap back from the extra wind force. It won't help you solve your wheel bearing problem but it's fun.

Lol berk

[maltloaf]

hold coil spring with hand and give wheel a spin you will feel a slight vibration on the bad bearing
Russell

Well I tried this this morning and I can indeed feel a very slight rumble through the coil Spring on osf. Tried the same on nsf and felt nothing. Brilliant tip thank you russell

[maltloaf]

OK, decided to have a go myself so am picking up the couple of tools I'm missing for the job (17mm Allen socket & 12mm spline bit) tomorrow along with the wheel bearing. I still don't have a bearing press so I'm going to see what I can manage on the bench at home or take it along to a local garage who I know have done that sort of thing before for people.

It's costing me £26 for the tools (2 complete sets which will be useful for the future) plus about £45 for the bearing. If I factor in bungling someone £10 to press the bearing in/out then that takes it to £81 or £125ish for both sides.

Best quote I've had locally for the job is £135 for each side plus I get to keep the tools I've bought.

Fingers crossed

Fingers crossed.

[Zippeyrude]

Depending on the size of the bearing, hammer the old one out with a large socket if you can.

When you fit the new one, use the old bearing race to drive the new one in, this should save you hammering the new one unevenly

[maltloaf]

Depending on the size of the bearing, hammer the old one out with a large socket if you can.

When you fit the new one, use the old bearing race to drive the new one in, this should save you hammering the new one unevenly

It's kinda the other way around, The hub is pressed into the bearing which is screwed into the suspension arm, but I get your point ;-)

[WRATH OF BOD]

wow seems a lot, my mate charged me £30 labor + Parts came to about £70 all in About 2 years ago.(i Say Mate, He Drinks in my local)

[maltloaf]

I'm my old town I knew a ton of guys like that. Sadly I'm still pretty new in this town