hcj

Hi-- I think I have a bad passenger-side rear wheel bearing, but I'm not sure. The noise is not a whir. It is an irregular rotational scraping sound that happens only after I've driven a few miles, and the outside temperature is over 90F. The sound is not constant. It does not happen on cooler days. I've checked the rear brake; nothing's caught or rubbing, and I recently greased the slides. Applying the brakes does not change the the noise unless the car slows so much that the noise stops. The noise, when it happens, is most noticeable between 20mph and 40 mph and is louder if the car is accelerating than it is if the car is coasting.

Today I drove in a circle in an empty parking lot to load that side of the car. After a few of times around, something in the passenger side rear wheel well start clunking and banging-- almost like a bell sound. Later when the car was cool, I drove in circles again and could not reproduce the noise.

Does this sound like a wheel bearing or rear driveshaft or something else?

2003 A4 1.8T 5sp quattro.

Thanks.