LuvnhatemyA6

I had the same symptoms as you - a kind of growling noise on low speed left turns, and a constant hum at speed. Was the tires.

Just suggesting before you go changing bearings, rotate the tires. It's not going to cost anything, except time.

richardsc

Interesting! I'll have to give it a try this weekend.

txag_a6

2nd. Try rotating the tires,& have them spin balanced. Do cheap & easy fix 1st.

richardsc

I told him that I was thinking it was the right front wheel bearing and some of my symptoms, and he agreed that it "probably was" ... he's going to check it out and get me an estimate by the end of the week.

Meanwhile I need to decide between food or a much quieter ride without that damn whirring noise! Maybe I should make a poll haha

richardsc

Well I got the car back today. Mechanic diagnoses a bad left outer tie rod end, bad wheel speed (ABS) sensor, and that my wheels are (as I already knew) slightly bent.

He says that the whirring noise is tire noise caused by uneven tire wear (looks like maybe you were right LuvnhatemyA6 , and that he can't hear the grinding noise when slowly turning.

Sadly, I can't afford new wheels + tires until I get graduated and get a job, so hopefully in the mean time, if this *is* a wheel bearing problem, it won't break on me...

I'm going to see if I can check out the ABS sensors (anybody with VAG-COM near Des Moines?) and see about cleaning them myself (STFA = could be dirty, not broken)

I'll have to get the tie rod end (or the whole assembly possibly) replaced, it needs to be done.

Thanks for the tips and pointers to all who posted in here.

richardsc

I replaced the bad tie rod end, got an alignment, and my mechanic was able to "fix" some of the dents in my rims by pounding them out with a rubber mallet!

The noise I was so convinced was a wheel bearing or a diff blowing up ended up really just being tire noise ... it's pitch has changed and it's much quieter, and now the whirring noise is slowly going away as my tires wear down now with proper alignment, and the ride is much smoother, as I don't have any vibration in the car around 60+mph like I used to.