jetinder

My old D4 is getting on a bit at 6 and a bit years old, but she's still a stunner in my eyes.

Anyway, I've just changed tyres all round to a set of contisilents, hoping that a rumbling noise above about 35mph would also go away.

Unfortunately, it hasn't. The noise stays until about 65mph.

Has anyone experienced something similar in terms of noise and whether the fix was a wheel bearing ?

It's going in next week for investigation, but I wouldn't be surprised that at over 130k miles, some things are going to wear out.

Thanks

Jet

MP4.2+6.0

Seems odd it would be a bearing but then noise go away by 65mph unless it is getting drowned out by wind or tire noise.

Try looking for long sweeper type curves where you drive each day. If noise increases when you follow a curve one way or the other, that is characteristic wheel bearing pointer. If turning left and you hear it more, issue is on right side. And vice versa for other side. That's a simple but reliable way to i.d. a wheel bearing issue. Hard to pin it down front to back, but it will tell you which side and pretty much narrow issue down to a wheel bearing.

One other unfortunate area would be the differentials. That could be more specific speed related, though again tends to increase consistently w/ speed. No direct test on road like for a bearing, but in either case if car is put on a lift and drivetrain spun up some w/ motor running, a good mechanic should be able to locate. At 130K miles BTW, a fluid change for far rear diff would be smart maintenance and very easy to do. Middle and front diffs were difficult to impossible to drain for most motors on at least the earlier D3 six speed, but at least the fill plugs could be opened to check fluid level. Years ago Audi used to spec. checking diff fluids every 30K miles, but they buried that as a specific service requirement by around D2. Enthusiast DIY'ers often still do rear diff given its ease and use of common gear oils. Since fluid doesn't evaporate, again a good mechanic underneath would see obvious signs of fluid leakage that would point to the specific diff to check out further if issue is in this area.

jetinder

Thanks for the reply. I tried the side-to-side thing and that didn't make a difference. But after speaking with a friend at work he reminded me of the 10.5 inch wide MTM rims and the spacer that I've been using since almost day 1. He said that could have a "bearing" (pun intended!) on it.

Audi say £280 per side, but they'll have to find out in person before we know. Let's see what happens.