I recently purchased my '97 A4 Quattro 2.8 5-speed, and i noticed when i was cruising on the highway in 5th gear, i sometimes catch the stick flicking subtly every now and then. The stick is in gear, so i dont know if there is something wrong or not. The car has 139,000 miles. Also there is no surge in rpms in the vehicle? It may need a new clutch soon anyways. Any thoughts?

 

Thats the tranny or engine flexing when you are getting on or off the gas. Might be time for engine/tranny mounts.

 

mine does that too. new mounts are on my list of things to do. since were on the topic where is a good place online to pick up some mounts?

 

Why does it only do it in certain gears though? Mine does it in 3rd only.

 

I've noticed that in every manual trans car i've ever driven. Some worse than others (the stick on my '89 Bronco seemed like it moved a foot sometimes lol) but I can't think of why one gear would be worse than others? I only every really noticed it in 3rd, 4th, and 5th, because I never bother to take my hand off the shifter in 1st or 2nd most of the time.

How much movement are we talkin about here (distance wise) ?

 

Depends on the load which is different depending on what gear/speed. I'm sure if you are doing 65mph on the highway it will do the same thing in 5th gear. Do your engine mounts first. Tranny mounts last a long long time. 034 motorsport has solid mounts that have had good reviews. The liquid filled oem one's are pricey from the dealer and are junk from the ebay stores.

Now that I look they aren't cheap either . ~$200 for a set Wow.

Check these out.

 

its just flexing in your drivetrain. if its really excessive just get some new mounts. you can get cheap OEM mounts that will last another 80k miles, or you can get some from 034 which will last untill your car wont run anymore. i have 034 street density mounts all around and love them. somewhat more vibration in the car but shifting is so smooth.

 

Before anyone asks:
http://www.audiworld.com/tech/eng57.shtml

Should be similar for the 2.8.