Upfront rumbling

[Tiger]

I've only noticed it tonight but i've got a rumbling noise coming from somewhere up front on my '98 A3 1.8T.

First I thought it might have been from one of my wheels so I jacked up the front and spun both wheels round and both were free moving, noise free and without play. I thought it may have been the axle bearing but apparently its uncommon and uncharacteristic of my problem. The car has no problems shifting, no clutch problems and has no problems getting up to speed etc. The rumbling gets louder as the speed increases, almost like a differential sound but the box isnt clunky and shifting is clean and smooth.

I can liken it to loose bodywork catching wind as the car gets faster and I do have a loose bit of undertray but the rumbling is definitly more than the undertray.

Any help identifiying this would be awesome, cheers.

 

[Imteyaz]

You will be surprised at how much noise undertrays can make when loose / flapping around, try securing it and test drive again, that's the cheap 'first' option.

Failing that, I would hazard a guess at the front passenger side wheel bearing, once loaded with weight it would become noisier than when it is lifted off the ground and spun manually by hand. Bearings are about 40 squids per corner (front) from dealers. The guys on UKMKIV's forum seem to think that they are a common failure part.

 

[Tiger]

Listening to it again this morning, I guess it could be the wheel bearing. Grabbing the wheel on opposite sides and pushing/pulling doesnt show any play, which I found to be indicative of a failing bearing in the past though.

It concerned me the sound was not a whirring as such, but almost like I have knobbly off road tyres up front! The car is performing exactly as it always has though handling and drive-wise, which hopefully displays that the problem is not engine and/or gearbox.

I'll keep you posted.

Cheers for your help.

 

[Jacko4130]

What mileage you on, i've just got to 121k and had to both front wheel bearings.

 

[Tiger]

What mileage you on, i've just got to 121k and had to both front wheel bearings.

I'm at 125k - I had the front end up again just now and after giving it some more stick, I can feel some play. Its very, very slight though and finding it hard to distinguish between rack movement and bearing float on the nearside wheel. I think it's swinging toward bearing though. Fingers crossed.