Hi and hello to everyone here :-) This is my first post and not a very nice one.

A couple of weeks back started to hear a drone/whining noise at around 60 mph. At first I thought it was a bearing broblem but the noise seemed to change to a different note when the clutch was pressed.

Took it to a local Audi specialist and just got it back now. They said they think a diff is on it's way out maybe a pinion bearing :-(

Just wondered has anyone else had a problem with the diffs and how much they are to fix? The garage said that it was hard to tell which diff it was as it wasn't very noisy yet.

They dropped the oil in the box and replaced it for free and said get my moneys worth out of this one until it is easier to locate. They said they'd only ever done one on this box and it was unusual.

The car is 2006 with about 68k on the clock. Poor house for me this year.

thanks in advance
Gaz

 

was the car ever towed?

 

Not since I've had. It's run perfectly for last 15k since I've had it. I suppose if it had been towed before I had it the problem would have surfaced earlier?

 

tough to say. with these 4wd cars if the tow truck driver has no clue, the diff can get damaged with a 2wd-type of tow. the problem you describe is definately uncommon.

could just be bad luck with a bearing. a friend had a cam bearing fail in his subaru and it fried his engine. so it could be worse, FWIW.

 

Thanks it sounds expensive to fix. What's the easiest way to find out which diff is the problem?

 

Right now it might be difficult to determine which diff it is if the culprit is making very little noise. The only way to do it is to put it on a lift and let it run in gear. Take a stethoscope and listen to each diff. This can be somewhat dangerous, so be sure it is on the lift securely.

I’d also check the throw out bearing on the clutch before doing anything to the differentials. A bad throw out bearing can sometimes make noise when the driveline is delivering power.

Take the advice of the mechanic and wait until the noise gets loud enough to be tracked down. My 2006 A4 2.0 has been making a very faint whine at about 70 MPH for about 70,000 miles now, and it hasn’t changed in pitch or volume in all those miles. The dealer tried to find it (he even used it for a few days) and couldn’t isolate it. God only knows what it is, but at least it hasn’t cost me anything.

Good luck

 

Thanks Dan. I'll leave it for a bit like you and the mechanic say. I'd better get saving as the mechanic said in all his time he's only done one of these before and cost £2,500. He has maybe 5 mechanics working all day on VW and Audi's so it's obviously not a common thing.

I take it the diffs can't be bought seperate? I suppose at the end of the day the biggest cost might be labour. He said it's a pig of a job. Not sure if he meant doing the diff or changing the box.

Does anyone know if the manual 6 speed gearbox's on TFSI are all the same?

Thanks

 

Just to keep people posted car has gone to a transmission expert. He took the car out and is almost certain it's a pinion bearing and said it's not uncommon on these. Looks to be about a £600 repair. He said the longer it was left the more damage it will have done to the crown?

 

Well, you now have two qualified mechanics saying it is the diff, so I'd say you have done your homework. Too bad it is out of warranty,BUT, here in the States Audi of America has been stepping up to the plate on a number of issues. Those are HID bulb failures (they reimbursed me to the tune of $800.00 +), soft camshafts,and a few others.

I tell you this because it isn't unreasonable for you to write to Audi to se if they will help you out. After all, they want you in the Audi fold, and seem to be working hard to keep us. At least here in the States anyway. They sure impressed me.

Good luck

 

Thanks Dan.

I don't know if customer service has the same meaning over here though!

I think I will write to them and give it a go. Think I'll also mention that my manual says cam belt change at 110,000 though it's 70,000 also a downer as I need to do this next month.

Cheers pal