i just tightened the center bolt about a 1/4 turn. gonna drive it in a little bit and see if theres any difference. have to charge the battery for a little bit though since the power lock pump went bad and now drains the battery.... is there a way to rebuild those or have to replace the whole thing?

 

Honestly I'm not entirely sure... The service manual itself doesn't state which one it is and all the tools listed are VW items, so I am led to believe it is the Audi Factory Service Manual. But it could be Bentley for all I know. I can post up a screen shot if you'd like.

 

1/4 turn didn't do anything. Bracing for a wheel bearing job in the very near future

 

Wheel bearing isn't so bad... if you've done control arms before. I just did the wheel bearing on the front passenger side yesterday, the new is soooo much smoother than the old one. I spent basically $90 for the whole job ($45 bearing + $45 pressing at a shop).

 

is it recommended to do both sides at the same time?

 

I usually do. Wheel bearings in these cars seem to last about 80-100K miles before growling starts. If you're on a budget, do the bad one and wait until the other one makes noise. They aren't a "preventative maintenance" item, but most wheel bearings only last about that long. Depends on how many potholes you hit.

 

Ok, reviving this thread i started because i finally got around to changing the bearing... and the problem is still there. Same exact sound nothing got worse or better, what else could cause this problem? Axel, control arms?

thanks

 

At this point my guess would be control arms. Are they still the original ones that came on the car?

 

Your tires aren't hitting something on the body inside the wheelwell as the front end drops down under braking is it?

 

i've replaced the uppers... when i did the bearing i could tell the lowers need to be changed but would that cause this problem?

nothing that i can see, the sound doesnt sound like the tire on anything plastic... sounds like a dull metal thud/warped rotor but the rotors are brand new