Its an 03 A4 1.8t Quattro with 98k miles on it. In the last 2 weeks
ive noticed a little noise, rougher front end and a little wheel shake
under hard acceleration. 2 times in he last 2 weeks ive had a harsh
sound come from the front passenger wheel area. The grinding, for lack
of a better word, only lasted a minute and had no effect on
performance or handling.during. Now ive noticed a lot more wheel
shake... or movement when making a right turn with decent
acceleration. if I had to try and visualize what im feeling... .it
would be that the passenger front wheel moves and inch forward then an
inch back, then again, and again..... couple of times a second when
making this type of move. If im running along straight at a 20mph and
the engine up in the 4k rpm range and floor it... I can feel this type
of action. Just not as bad as in a turn with the load on that wheel
lightened.

Ive put about 45k miles on it and never felt this before. Strut issue?
Wheel bearing issue? God forbid, quattro issue?

Any help would at least tell me where to start looking..

jake

On 3 May 2007 19:17:11 -0700, jake (AT) rakestraw (DOT) com wrote:

Maybe the CV joint on that side is going to Heaven?

/daytripper
'00 s4 6spd

Is that what it feels like when CV joints go to heaven? Never had a
4wd with CV joints before, they've all been solid axle rides.......
with offroad tires..... and roll bars. This is a new experience for
me. I did all my own work on my 4x4s but working on this audi scares
the hell outta me. Its got substantially smaller tolerances than my
others cars.

This something I can do in my driveway.... in an afternoon?

Jake
'03 a4 5speed (driven like its an s4)

Check brake components and suspension components (tie rods) on both sides.
Usually CV Joints are noisy in the turns, but anything is possible. ;-)

Also check the torque on the wheel lug bolts!
--
later,
dave
(One out of many daves)

<jake (AT) rakestraw (DOT) com> wrote

jake (AT) rakestraw (DOT) com wrote:
the wheel rythmically (if it's on it's way) on a turn under
accelleration. Most noticeable at low speed with a high torque loading.

Thats it... thats exactly what its doing.. Tugging at the wheel
rhythmically in a turn under acceleration. Its like you were riding in
the car with me!!!

Now.... What can I expect to pay a shop to have the entire CV axle
swapped out? This something I can do in my driveway with the right
hardware? Should I change the whole axle... or just the offending
joint?

Thanks for all the answers fellas.....

Jake

jake (AT) rakestraw (DOT) com wrote:
the outside of the turn (so turning left, it's the R/H outer joint).

Changing a CV isn't usually that hard. I've never done an A4, but I once
did a Mk2 Golf on a driveway in about 30 minutes. It depends how hard it
is to get the suspension dismantled to get at it: A4 suspension is
complicated, golf 2 is simple. Once you can get at it the joint is a
breeze to replace.

Chris Bartram wrote:
With the A4 you will need to allocate more like three hours.
- The inner CV flange is held to the trans output with bolts that are
'tri-square' drive. This is not Torx or Allen. You can find them at most car
parts stores. NAPA has them. A set of four sizes should cost about $15.

There are several ways to get the suspension apart to remove the axle.
- lower ball joint.
- removing the three bolts inside the engine bay that hold the top of the strut
and unload the sway bar tension by lifting both sides of the car.


Replacing the whole axle is more cost effective and not much more that
replacing the CV.

One thing that is a bit difficult to deal with is removing the heat shields if
the passenger side axle is being replaced. Lots of long wrench extensions will
be needed.

This would also be a good time to replace the wheel bearing.