ajg617

Took the left front wheel off to see what I'd be getting into in replacing the inner tie rod ends. I just replaced the brakes about 5K ago with Audi pads and rotors and have been getting a constant squeak out of the left front wheel. When I pulled the wheel and looked at the pad wear, I noticed that it was much more worn towards the outer portion of the rotor - so much so that the pad surface closest to the hub was making contact and the outer was about 1/16 away from the rotor surface. You could see the angular wear.

When I went to put the wheel back on, I noticed bright aluminum shavings around the hub. Looking on the inside of the rim, it was shaving off from the surface that surrounds the hub. Now I'm not sure what's going on. I had the RF wheel bearing go and eventually knew it because of the gouge in the rotor from the caliper hitting it.

I can't feel any play other than the tie rod ends.

SloopJohnB@mac.com

More likely you have a bent rim that is hitting the caliper.
Uneven pad wear is almost always corroded/dry/sticking guide pins…remove them and their (rubber?) bushings, relube and replace. Might have to remove the calipers from their brackets. Do both sides. With pads only 5K old the RF might be ok, but pads come in sets for both front wheels unless Audi sells them in caliper sets.
With the wheel off, you can also use a pair of washer shim stacks to mimic the wheel thickness and bolt the rotor to the hub with at least two wheel bolts. The grab the rotor at 3 and 9 and try to wiggle it in and out…a bad wheel bearing sufficient to cause your aluminum shavings will no doubt show up. There should be zero perceptible movement of that rotor.

I think it's interesting that your RF bearing was replaced because it was so bad that the caliper gouged the rotor. I would have thought the roaring sound of the bad bearing would have alerted you…it sounds like a low flying airplane right above you.

ajg617

I put new guide pins in and lubed them well. Checked that they slid easily before I put the caliper on. I did check the bearing play by bolting the rotor to the hub and couldn't feel anything and rotated the tires to make sure that it wasn't a bent rim. I'd been suffering with vibrations on the car for awhile. Replaced prop shaft (that took care of most of it) and replaced both front axles but haven't been able to shake the vibration completely. Odd thing is, I can't feel it in the steering wheel at all. Nothing except I know it's still not right because I've got a connector above the dash that rattles at high speed still. Checked for movement with the wheel off today and nothing except for the inner tie rods which is what I was looking at to start with. I thought that possibly the axle bolt I just put on has come loose but I put a minimal amount of pressure to loosen it and it was tight. But then, the squeaking noise preceded the axle change.

The right front was really weird. I drove it every day and no noise, tracked straight, no vibrations. Gave it to my wife for a couple of days and she asked me what the grinding noise was. Hah - hint hint - she never hears anything - the car is always fine. I drove it the next day and wow - constant scraping noise. What a nice groove in the newish rotor on the outside surface. I jacked it up and the wobble was so bad I wouldn't drive it. Had it flat-bedded to my local indy. That was almost instantaneous. When they go, they go I guess.

Gsrob

If you need any pointers on the inner tie rod replacement, let me know. I replaced mine a few months ago after the outer tie rods and control arm kit didn't entirely relieve my issues. It was fairly simple with a rented inner control arm removal tool kit from Advance Auto Parts. You'll need the light truck/SUV version since the C5s use a much larger inner tie rod than the car version. One of the three attachments for the tool will fit. I took my replacement inners in the store to verify that the tool would fit before I rented it. Since you will be removing the tie rod boot... Be really careful and twist the boot as you pull. Mine came out without tearing after I removed the one time use pinch clamps. The easiest way to reclamp them that I found was to remove the inner cover inside the fender well. It's a few plastic clips. You can leave the main fender liner alone. Once that cover is off, it is much easier to reach in there to spin down a good quality clamp. If you need pictures, let me know, I'm sure I can dig mine up somewhere from when I did it.

ajg617

Well, I still can't quite figure out why the center inside of the rim is rubbing against the center hub? I can not find any play in the hub area but you can clearly see that the inside of the rim is rubbing and shiny with shards of aluminum clinging to the ridge around the axle bolt. Had it to another mechanic yesterday and he said the same thing - everything is tight? Makes no sense.

SloopJohnB@mac.com

Switch the left rear wheel to the left front (easiest to do because you can lift the entire side of the car with a floor jack.
If the problem persists, it's in the brake caliper or mounting bracket or hub.
As long as the caliper mounting bolts and guide pins are tight, it has to be the bearing.

If the problem goes away it's in your wheel/rim. If it migrates to your left rear (LOL!) it's still in the rim!

ajg617

Well, stood there with the Audi tech today as we took the RF wheel off. He saw the metal shavings but agreed, everything was tight. No movement, bearing not noisy, caliper tight. There isn't any way the wheel could wear on the hub flange unless the lugs were loose, which they were not. So, on a lark I asked him to swap the LR and LF. I am now grinding down the inside of the rim center section on the new RF with the shredding noise back again. Even a bad wheel bearing wouldn't change the mounting position of the rim onto the hub. So, right now, nobody can figure this one out.

CRuby

Shot in the dark, but any chance you don't have the correct brake rotor or brake caliper on that wheel? Audi has different size rotors depending on whether you have 4 pads or 2 pads per caliper. Maybe you have the wrong size brake rotor or calipers on this wheel.

Had a similar thing happen on another car, where one of the wheel balance weights happen to fall off & get wedged btwn brake caliper & rotor. But that was pretty obvious.

ajg617

I just checked the rotor and pad part number (got them from Audi) and they are the correct ones. But the calipers were re-builts (autozone) that I put on about 100K back (that was 3 sets of rotors and pads back). Historically, this car goes through front brakes within 30K - they don't wear out, but the pulsation becomes unbearable. What I did notice this morning was a slight leak on the LF caliper piston seal - so that will be something I'll have to change anyway. That's the troublesome wheel. So my plan is to replace the calipers and do a minimal resurface of the rotors to see if there is any warp at all. Rotors and pads have maybe 6K miles and show no wear but the pulsation when hot is already unbearable.

Just Me

Just remember, it takes two pieces to generate shavings. So find both. Look everywhere. consider loose things that can swing under lateral load too. I once had a noce that came as i turned (one way or the other, i forget). It turned out to be the brake pads sensor, which moved a bit like a pendulum, then back. ergo - intermittent noise. Oh, and a brake pad warning light.

Grant