Steelman93

I’ve been reading posts and I think I have a rear wheel bearing problem, but would like to post my exact situation to confirm.

I have a 2001 A4 Quattro with 171,000 miles. While driving I hear a humming/whining sort of noise. My first though was tires (Goodyear Eagle) but I no longer think that is the problem. The noise is very loud and in my entire life I have never heard anything that bad from tires other than snow tires. I simply do not have enough experience to see if the bearings are bad from wiggling the tire.

A couple points of note:
- When I turn to the right like on an on/off ramp the noise goes away. It does not do that other than when going to the right.
- Also, I have had two incidents in the last 3 months of losing traction and fishtailing, almost doing a 180. That has never happened to me before, could be coincidence, but seems odd.
- The tires are not new, but in good shape, they have roughly 35-40k on them, I figure I have at least another 20-30.
- I put new tie rod ends in the front in July. I had the car aligned, but since then it has pulled to the right.
- Rotors and pads are all new in July.

What does everybody think? It seems like it is coming from the rear but I can’t swear to it. The sound also got significantly worse today.

Thanks in advance

tazzzmania

does the noise increase with speed? How does it sound when you put down your window? Usually if it is the bearing, your wheel should feel warm to your touch. check your wheel temperature after driving for a while.

I also think your tires may not be evenly worn out. If your tie rods ends were shot and you drove several thousand on those that can cause the tires to worn out unevenly and that could explain why it is still pulling to the right even after alignment and the humming noise.

MartinH

Sounds like a left hand wheel bearing. If it suddenly got worse, that wouldn't be a tire. Jack up each wheel with particular attention to the left hand ones and, while holding the top and bottom of each tire, rock them back and forth to check for free play. Also spin each one and listen for bearing noise. Compare each one and the culprit should be evident.

Steelman93

thanks for the replies. I don't think the tie rod ends were shot, they were just old so I changed them. the noise gets louder the faster I go. Can't really tell much with window open. At low speed I don't hear it, at high sped all I hear is wind noise. But at 70 mph it is really loud.

As far as wear......why would it show up now? I changed rod ends at ~160k, more than 10k ago.

I'll do what you suggested in checking wheel bearings.

thansk for the advice

epsilon

If its not your bearing, it probably is your power steering and related assembly. Look into that.

I have a similar problem. The noise seems to increase with speed and goes away when I turn toward the right. That's the only way I know/suspect it is related to the PS.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong though.

Bruch

I had a howling noise on right turns over 40 MPH. I couldn't isolate it to front or rear, so I changed all 4 when I did my suspension upgrade. Saved a lot of time, as all the brakes, calipers, rotors, etc need stripped off.They are around 50-60 bucks each, but you need a good press to get them in and out.

I really couldn't find any of the four that were loose, or rough turning by hand. In the end, after putting it all back together the noise is gone. There's a peace of mind issue, too. Seems reasonable to start fresh with all new wheel bearings at 200,000 miles.

Bruch

rcully

probly the bearing.. just ordered one from ecs. sounds like the same situation with mine

exequiel3k

I've been experiencing the same problems with my car less then 2 months ago.
I had my tires [since they told me it could be the tires] changed and the problem continued..
Finally, I changed both my rear-wheel bearings and the problem was gone for good.-

Changed the bearings... that's all I can say, cuz they could cause other problems in the long run..

TitusvilleAudi

I know my wheel bearings are going out.
I'm not sure if they have ever been replaced, but i isolated it to the back left side.

it makes a very loud and obnoxious humming noise, especially at higher rates of speed.
Also, When i turn left, it seems to diminish for a moment..
Also, it doesnt help the fact that my shock is rubbing up against my strut, but im about to put the car away for the winter to do work on it, as i started living a block from where i work.
Performance is not hindered at all, but i would like to fix them.


and and from one of the other posts, the wheels do feel pretty warm, after a 20 mile drive into town.

As far as the back is concerned, im going to put new calipers, brakes, rotors, lines, and bearings in, as well as shocks and struts. anything else i should replace there for better performance if other parts are bad as well?
i found some decent priced bearings, and they usually run 50-70$ a pop.

I'm running a 99 A4 2.8L Q and have a solid 201k on her, and still running like 85K miles!

allroad allday410

definetly rear wheel bearings. go ahead and replace both sides of the rear while your at it. Also if you let it go too long the hubs/spindles will go bad. My bearings pressed into the hubs fine, were a littl questionable but i just went ahead and didnt repplace hubs anyways. not more than 2 months later i was right back to the loud *** whining of my rear bearings. lesson learned: if the hubs/spindles are questionable; replace them!