<FONT color=blue>I have had a 98 A6 for a few weeks now. When turning the whell, maybe 45 degrees left or right to turn, I get a rubbing thrumming noise (as if tires are too big) What could be wrong with my otherwise lovely car? Is this an A6 thing?</FONT>

 

We don't have many A6ers here, unfortunately...

 

You never mentioned if the noise was inside or outside the car</P>


so here are a few suggestions</P>


if the noise is inside the car check the rubber boot/gaiter on the steering shaft, it sits just below the steering wheel, if that is your problem try straying it with Silicon spray or rubber lubricant, DO NOT use grease or WD-40 </P>


If the noise is outside it is more than likely the rubber mounts on top of the shock absorbersthey get dry and cause more of a groan, the easiest way to do this repair is to JUST LOOSEN the 3 bolts on top of the shock absorber tower under the bonnet (Hood) and use the car jack to raise the body just enough to allow you to spray the mounts with silicon spray.</P>


Don't forget to re-tighten the bolts after you have completed the repairs.</P>


You may also want to check to see if you have a mouse in the ashtray <img border="0" src= smileys/smiley2.gif></P>


Let me know how you get on </P>


Thomas </P>

 

Thanks Brit (pommy!) </P>


Ran it by an audi dealer where a salesman told me that thatnoise is a normal quattro thing. The diff is compensating for the forces whilst turning at slow speed.... Would rather had heared this from an Audi mechanic than salesman! What do you think (A6)quattro owners??? Do you all get this rubbing/thrumming noise?</P>

 

Anita,</P>


2 things </P>


1) I'm from <U>England</U> NOT Austraila therefore I am NOT a pommy <img border="0" src= smileys/smiley4.gif></P>


2) the advise the salesman gave you is BULLS***</P>


Audi diffs do not compensate for anything that is standard salesman verbage, I still say the fault is what I suggested earlier, however I could be wrong seeing as I haven't heard the exact noise, but I do not it's not a common Audi A6quirk</P>

 

I have a 99 a6 and it makes the same noise. Last week, the disc brake replacement warning light came on. It come and goes, not constant, so i do not know if the hard turning rubbing noise was a pre indication of the brakes starting to go. Car has 57,000 miles, brakes were replaced at 33,000.

 

2 things, 1 lube lower boot or 2, in alot of cases the steering colum ujoint needs to be lubricated and "sometimes" loosened/lubbed and re tightened.</P>


if it is still there, check your tie rod ends, the boots tear and you get a groan from the dry rod end, to test, spray some silicone lube in the tir rod end "Boot" IF it is torn. If noise goes away, replace tei rods and get an alignment.</P>

 

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Anita,</P>


Let us identify the problem first. </P>


1) Do you hear the noise when you turn the steering wheel or when you making a TURN? - i.e. like when you are trying to make a U turn or K turn?</P>


2) Do you feel any Vibration? (no pun intended)…? The reason why I ask is because this normal to a quattro system… I drive an Audi A6 2.7T (2000) Quattro…and it does that. Prior to this car, my brother's Audi 5000 CS Turbo Quattro does the same exact thing. </P>


This is due to one of wheels being locked to turn at the same speed as the other.. Basically it’s a limited slip differential.. If you are turning beyond that slip, it will drag the other wheel.. </P>


</P>


Let us take this example for our purpose and stick with just the front wheels:</P>



If you are making a sharp right turn (i.e. steering turned ALL the way to right and car is under 5 MPh etc - usually like when you get out of the drive way or making U turns in a small space), the right will will turn / travel less than the left wheel. Because the left wheel is farther away from the center of the turn than right wheel.. When this happens in a quattro system, the limited slip gives some leeway for the left wheel to turn more. But one point, it will lock it with right (not necessiarly lock, but we'll say runs out of the available "slip") and gets forced to turn with the right AT the same speed. Now, how can that be possible? That's why you get the tire dragging or rubbing on the road….and the noise you hear / feel…</P>


Now, this may not be applicable at all to to you if the car is NOT in motion. </P>


I hope that helps.</P></FONT><edited><editID>BiTurboMan</editID><editDate>38044.6527199074</editDate></edited>

 

I came to this forum looking for a possible Audi weak pooint. I have just had my tie rods replaced at the dealer because of some groaning I heard. The car goes back tomorrow because the groaning came back and it's worse. I think the stuts need torqueing because the sound comes from the top of my right front wheel. I can recreate it by bouncing hte fender. The dealer intends to replace the control arms and anti-sway bar. My 2.7T A6 has almost 60k miles on it. I think that is too new to require a new front end.

Here is the amazing part. The dealer has control arms in stock. This dealer doesn't keep touch up paint or fuses in stock. So why do they have control arms laying around? Is this a common problem for Audis?