Aarock_32

Background:

2001 A4 1.8T Quattro. I have had the car for 3 years and I have replace the rear driver side wheel bearing twice and I need to replace it again. First time I use a lower cost bearing, the second time I went high cost both have failed.

Question:

Does any one know if there could be a higher cause for this problem, like something else wrong causing the same wheel bearing to go out, or is this a common problem with the sealed wheel bearings. Any help is appreciated.

jschick

well the quattro can be hard on bearings, but more then likely your hub is bad. if your first bearing was real bad and made lots of noise, it would be getting hot and warp the hub, then when you replace the bearing the new bearing doesn't seat properly moves and wears out quickly. If your old bearing made lots of noise all the time your hub is likely Shot. if your bearing only made a little noise going around corners only, then it's telling you it's time to replace the bearing only. I am at the point that if anyone brings me a car that makes noise all the time I replace the hub as well as the bearing. a growl = Heat, and Heat warps

Aarock_32

I will try this with the next bearing change. The way that you explained how the first one acted, I would believe that this is the problem. Thanks for something to try.

Aveoon

I've had the exact same problem, right now. I replaced the barring alone two years ago, then in one year it failed. So then I had the barring, hub assembly and everything replaced. Then in under a year it COMPLETELY failed (two days ago) and shattered in the hub while I was driving. Luckily I was on my way to the mechanic to get it fixed...at least. I changed mechanics to an Audi pro and he is fixing it right now.

I feel it was not the hub the second time, I'm not sure... :/ But this one barring (passenger rear) has been giving me a lot of trouble as well.

jschick

also check you alignment. are your tires wearing evenly?

dm.A4.B5

Same issue, rear passenger, after several bearing changes still is loud as hell. Guess I need a new hub.

Junkyard or new? Cost?

steveu812

I was about to post a very similar issue. Bought the car A4B5 Q 12V about 4 months ago. Drivers rear bearing was making noise at the time, but not real bad. Replaced the bearing with a unit from Blauparts. Old bearing was bad, but not awful. About a month later, I replaced the tires and coincidentally (it seemed) the car started making a noise from the back that I attributed to the new tires. It's a hum that starts at 30 mph and gets loudest at around 55 mph when it that woo-woo-woo sound like the whine truck tires make. Monday of this week, I swapped front-rears and the noise was identical. All in all, there is no change in the noise when cornering at any speed. I used a stethescope on the hubs and they both sides were quieter that I would have expected - of course they were unloaded when the wheels were being turned.

Anyhow, last night I had to drive the car for 40 minutes at 60+ mph and when I stopped for gas, I crawled under the car to feel the hubs. The drivers side was noticably warmer. When I got home, I popped the center caps off the rear wheels and took a temp reading on the hub bolts. The pass. side was 105 deg. but the drivers side was 126 deg.

I suspect I'm on my way to a replacement, but based on the answers here, I may want to look also at my hubs. Are you refering to the one the wheel bolts to or the suspension piece that encloses the bearing itself.

Thanks

Aarock_32

I have decided that I am replacing the hub with this bearing change. The hub new from ECS tuning is 261.00 and the bearing 50.00 with new bolt. I hope this works because this change is a pain in my ***.

jschick

you can have multiple issues that you need to look into. sometimes i find it best to get a whole used rear suspension. if you just have a slight Hum, then replace the bearing, if it is really bad, then I get a whole used assembly.

when the bearing is real bad it gets hot, and heat causes warpage. depending on how bad depends on what gets damaged.

you have the Hub the bearing and the carrier/ spindle etc... (which i call part of the Hub) but the carrier/Spindle is what the bearing fits in. then the hub fits in the bearing. if any of these warp they don't seat properly and will cause bearing failure. when the bearing gets real bad and loose the hub wobbles in the bearing which wears away at the Hub,sometimes the hub is bad and doesn't press tightly if it is not too bad you can use green loc-tite on it to help it. but it is real hard to tell if it is worn. so my theory, the bearing wobbles the hub is likely worn and inspect it closely. if it is real bad then it likley got hot and warped the spinle/carrier and it will also need replaced.

so what I have done is if the bearing makes a constant noise I just go to the salvage yard and get a whole suspension assembly and replace, generally this will cost $50-$75, saves time, and I may get lucky with a good bearing but I can be sure I have a good hub/spindle to work with.
changing just the bearing, or bearing and Hub may not fix it, you may need the bearing, hub and spindle/carrier/ suspension piece what ever you may call it. so i would recommend anyone having issues just go grab a used rear suspension. but a used assembly may have a not so good bearing so be prepared to change it either now or at the first sign of noise

HBAudi

When inspecting the new/used suspension carrier and hub, did you measure the area that holds the wheel bearing to determine if the part is distorted or out of alignment? Is there any discolouration of any of the parts?