B8 audi S4 wheel bearing sound, not wheel bearings or tyres

[Eddi French]

Just wondering if anyone has had anything similar on their b8 s4 or a4
Its started with pretty much no prior signs of deterioration.
Mines only done 47k, fsh, it’s whining like a trooper at the moment. No play in any of the bearings I’ve just had the front tyres done and that’s done nothing, rear tyres are fine.
I got underneath and there is a tiny bit of play in the prop but nothing too worrying, the only thing I did notice is that there seems to be a small leak coming from the dif side of my 7-speed dsg box on the n/s
Anyone heard of gear box issues replicating the same sort of noise as a wheel bearing?
It literally starts to whine at 20mph and progressively gets louder with speed. It is due a gearbox service which I’ll be doing myself when i work out which parts mine needs as everywhere I seem to look online has different bits.

Once I have it on the ramp at work I’ll strip it down so I can find this leak aswel, I’m hoping it’s just the output seal for the n/s shaft.

It drives absolutely fine aswel, no issues what so ever with gear changes etc, no play in the steering or feedback from the road.

Cheers guys!!!

 

[MuPPeT_ON_TouR]

I have seen a few posts where no play could be felt in the bearings when trying to move/sense play by moving the wheels. And it was still the bearings that were on thier way out and causing the noise.

You might not want to rule out bearings just yet.

 

[Eddi French]

Awesome cheers for that,
I’d only ruled it out cause of the amount of noise it’s actuallt making, I feel like I’m driving a spitfire so would expect to feel some feedback from the hub

 

[CHEZ]

From my experience with my wheel bearing going on my A5, it deteriorated very quickly indeed.
It started as a whurrr then after 50 miles sounded damn dangerous.
I had my local replace both bearings on the front, no sign of play jacked up, and bearings were visually in good nick.
We chopped them open to inspect the Raceways and they looked OK internally too.
(I make bearings for a living, so know what I am looking for) .
The margin for wear and play is minimal, so I am afraid once there done they are done.
If you suspect it is a wheel bearing noise, it probably is, unless you have changed tyres or have bad tyres, then that is the only other thing to look at.

 

[Eddi French]

Cheers for that mate, I’ll bite the bullet and try figure out which side it’s coming from, failing that, just change both of the f£”kers. I’m 98% sure the noise is from the front so that narrows it down atleast.
And I’ll sort the gbox at the same time.
Touch wood I’ve had the car a while and not had any issues so I can’t really complain.
Thanks again for the feed back!!

 

[Deo]

Had exactly the same thing, no obvious signs of bearing wear apart from whurr noise. Changed drivers side bearing noise went away, two weeks later the passenger side went. Changed both myself and it was a bitch lol.

 

[CHEZ]

Yeah always do them in pairs.
They are not expensive to buy, and considering what they do, they are a clever little item.
They hold your wheel on, manage your A. B. S., resist all manners of force and temperatures and I would not like to count how many times they have rotated in there lives lol.
I wouldn't even look at the gearbox until you done this.

Oh, and just so you are aware, they are a strange old bearing on the B8, nearly every other vag car uses a hub and bearing as a single unit, not so on a B8.
You have to physically press out the hub, then press the new one onto the hub.
So unless you have access to a press, get a garage to do it for you.

Do them both, you will thank yourself for it.

 

[rum4mo]

Well, my old 2000 B5 VW Passat 4Motion started making noises like an army truck with very "luggy" tyres, I bottled it and considered worst case situation, ie front transaxle trouble, swopped to summer tyres, exactly the same, so handed it in to my local VW dealership with the request if it was a bearing change both sides, and they did and that sorted it out!

 

[Dippy]

In my experience wheel bearing noise starts well before there is noticeable "play".

 

[jakm15]

My 2010 A4 had a new drivers side bearing at about 75k miles, started off like a slight drone then eventually it sounded like you was in a Lancaster bomber. You couldn't feel any play at all but if you span the wheel it was ever so slight less smooth that the other side and sound slightly dry. New wheel bearing fitted and it was all good.

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[desertstorm]

Wheel bearing on my A4 B8. No obvious sign of wear at all. Didn't make any noise when it was spun on the car with no weight on it. Started soon after I hit quite a big pot hole in the road. Wheel bearing change fixed it.

 

[AndreBerty]

Hi,

I’m not good at mechanical stuff but my A4 B8 2010 was making a loud noise as the one you described especially if I would have turned towards left and louder to a point as I was raising the speed. Nothing if I would have turned to the right. A mechanic was about to make me change the drive shaft which originally from Audi would have cost me a fortune but a friend of mine who is a mechanic helped me in the end and I ended up in just replacing the wheel bearing and hub on the front right side. Now everything is perfect as before except the loud noise. I can hear the music or have a conversation while driving
Hope it helps.


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[AndreBerty]

Awesome cheers for that,
I’d only ruled it out cause of the amount of noise it’s actuallt making, I feel like I’m driving a spitfire so would expect to feel some feedback from the hub

You won’t , I wasn’t getting any feedback from anything just the very loud sound like a very strong turbo.


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[Eddi French]

Only just got round to actually doing the repair this week ...
Gearbox leak sorted and dsg change
Replaced front o/s wheel bearing, the second I removed the drive shaft from the hub it became really apparent that it was that bearing causing all the ruckus, one it was free standing without the gearbox resistance it felt like a gritty mess.
Pretty easy job in all, the triple square bolts holding the bearing assembly were seized so I cut the bearing as close as physically possible to the steering knuckle without damaging it and punched the bolts through. (The steering knuckle is not threaded if anyone else decides to do this job themselves)
The assemebly itself was seized into the steering knuckle so I used a jack to hold the bottom whilst using a sharp punch to work it loose, again being careful not to damage to knuckle.
Pressed old bearing off, race stayed on the hub but again just needed a sharp punch to work it off.
New bearing on, upgraded my discs and pads whilst it was stripped down (when in Rome) and she’s right as rain again.
Thanks for the advice early on, I wasn’t expecting it to be a big job but when ever it’s your own car you loose your head and just think about cost ha ha.
Cheers guys

 

[CHEZ]

Only just got round to actually doing the repair this week ...
Gearbox leak sorted and dsg change
Replaced front o/s wheel bearing, the second I removed the drive shaft from the hub it became really apparent that it was that bearing causing all the ruckus, one it was free standing without the gearbox resistance it felt like a gritty mess.
Pretty easy job in all, the triple square bolts holding the bearing assembly were seized so I cut the bearing as close as physically possible to the steering knuckle without damaging it and punched the bolts through. (The steering knuckle is not threaded if anyone else decides to do this job themselves)
The assemebly itself was seized into the steering knuckle so I used a jack to hold the bottom whilst using a sharp punch to work it loose, again being careful not to damage to knuckle.
Pressed old bearing off, race stayed on the hub but again just needed a sharp punch to work it off.
New bearing on, upgraded my discs and pads whilst it was stripped down (when in Rome) and she’s right as rain again.
Thanks for the advice early on, I wasn’t expecting it to be a big job but when ever it’s your own car you loose your head and just think about cost ha ha.
Cheers guys

That's good to hear.
Forum knowledge is a good tool.
Many miles onward

 

[Seantdi]

Had similar problem on my Quattro. Was full sure it was in the rear diff. Chanced 2 new wheel bearings first and car is perfect since.

 

[AudiLeon]

Hold the spring on that side and spin the wheel. You'll feel vibration through the spring.