I was a member here before with a different user name (that I can't remember), had a stage 3 b5 s4 that I built up with a metric **** ton of help from Audiforums. I had a great time. Then my life took a complete ****, and everything went all wrong.

Long story short, went from my s4 to a hospital bed for 8 months (not my fault, drunk driver without insurance) and lost my world. I've been working my way out of incurred debt, paying bills, buying a beater to get to work, having said beater die without warning, buying a different beater, having that one treat me well for 8 months only to leave me stranded....

Anyway, I've been working as hard as I can and I've been saving up to buy a decent vehicle again. I was hoping to be able to keep saving for a few more months, however my bad luck with cars as of late has said "no, buy now *******."

Without any other options, I have decided to spend a lot of my savings on a decent vehicle. I bought a b7 a4 mt after 4 days of searching, test driving, and being let down. I even had a friend drive me 200 miles to buy a vehicle only to find out that it was sold a half hour before I got there. (apparently it's tax return time, and it's the worst time to buy a vehicle around 8k)

I feel used. I need some good luck.

I bought a 2005.5 b7 a4 manual 6 speed transmission car with about 90k on the clock from a local user dealer that is well known in my area. Out of 5 friends I've asked for suggestions on where to buy a used car locally all 5 had this place's name JUMP out of their mouths. I didn't think a used car lot could have this kind of positive reviews!

Keep in mind that all I've been driving lately is a POS 1992 Ford Explorer that I bought for $6oo for a daily driver to and from work, to turn around and drive 26' Penske straight trucks, and a couple different semis for my job. At this point, a Motel 6 coin operated bed would feel like a nice smooth ride to me. I haven't driven a good vehicle since before my accident.

Before I bought the B7, I did a lot of research on the model year and learned of the standard/basic issues. I had all of those checked out and received a clear bill of health and bought the car. I love it. Timing belt is fresh, new tires, super clean interior, the girlfriend likes it, the dash doesn't have dead pixels like the s4 that I had, it actually has the red/white color display, has the 3 spoke steering wheel (which I freaking love, OMG), Cold weather package (I think... heated back seats but no ski sock?!?!?)

Having said that, now that I've had it for 2 days, there is a vibration coming from the rear of the car that I can't seem to find a reference to on the forums. If the forums can't give me a decent idea of a known issue, I'll take it in to the local german shop and have them take care of it but I would much rather know what I'm having fixed.

TLDR:

6 speed manual 2.0t. Vibration/deep low noise happens under low rpm acceleration, but is most notable while downshifting and decelerating. It's coming from the rear of the car, and the girlfriend says that it maybe on the passenger side, but I think its straight up the middle.

I'm thinking drive shaft issues, but again I've been out of the game so long I'm doubting myself.

Is this a typical B7 known issue that I haven't found on the forums yet? Or is this something a bit unique that makes me super awesome?

Thanks for the help guys, it feels good to be back on the forums even though I'm trying for a reliable car this time vs. a turbo monster.

Casablanca white is still the best...

 

Quattro or FWD?

If it's quattro, it could be an axle or drive shaft. Could be a wheel bearing. I always have a tough time hearing where sounds are coming from. Swerve back and forth and if that makes it worse I've heard that's indicative of the wheel bearing but then you get to figure out which one. Never had one go out on me yet (knock on wood).

Man, on a side note, what a story. Sorry about the rough patch. Glad you hear you're on the upside of it at this point.

 

Thanks for the kind words!

It's most definitely Quattro. Sorry to all of the fwd guys out there, but I don't consider a car an Audi unless it is Quattro.

I don't think it's a wheel bearing as its not speed related. Cruising on the highway doesn't produce the noise. Swerving left and right doesn't produce the noise. Only on downshifting deceleration and low rpm acceleration... Like 5th gear at 25 mph.

Any tips or suggestions would be much appreciated!

 

Me either, but I have to keep up appearances of being nice.

Sorry I have no better advice. Hopefully someone better at diagnosing sound issues or someone who has dealt with similar problems will be along to help.

 

Not going to be much help either. From what you describe it sounds like the vibrations/noise only appear under load and not at cruising speed. Since it doesn't appear speed related that eliminates tire issue, bent wheel, warped rotors. One question I have is where do you feel the vibration? Do you feel it in the steering wheel on in the seat? I was always told if it shakes your hands it is in the front end of the car and if it shakes your butt it is in the back end. I just wonder if a bad motor mount might cause this?

 

The chassis can be very misleading sometimes. First and foremost make sure that everything is balanced and aligned. If you haven't done that you should to rule it out. If you're not wanting to take it to the shop you're going to have get under the car and start picking around. I would start with the easy stuff first. This is time consuming and may take several go arounds. Tracking down vibrations in any car and especially the b7 can be very difficult. Try to differentiate if it's more apparent on the accel and if it only happens at certain speeds. ex. Does it get less noticeable at higher speeds. Is it less noticeable when the tires are warmed up. This is a challenging task, but try to find a quiet road with a high median to distinguish that it's not coming from the driver's side. Once you find one drive about 35-45 mph with your FRONT window down (reason I say front is because the slightest off balanced wheel will make the wind reverberate off the rear of the cabin and make it sound like it's definitely coming off that side...a b7 stiff chassis thing) and listen for the sound of the tires wobbling reflecting off the median; could even be a row of bushes planted by the city. If there is a problem on that side it will be very noticeable. Aside from visually and grabbing for wheel play you need to check rotational components. Not just the tire balancing and the wheels/rims.

Here's a trick that will reveal if you have a bent bearing hub. Buy a dial test indicator if you don't have one Harbor freight for twenty bucks - use oil on the needle tip. Clamp it to something posted to the ground and rotate the hub or any rotational part for this matter and look for noticeable deviations making sure it has steady contact with the unobstructed surface next clamp the dial test indicator to a non moving part preferably the spindle and follow the same procedure. There's a reason that you have to do both that I won't get into that is long winded so I won't bother. Any thinking man can figure out why.

test 1. If the dial test indicator deviates a lot with it posted to the ground then there's obviously a problem.

test 2. If the dial test indicator doesn't deviate while it is clamped on the spindle and the dial needle is on the hub as your spinning it - it could be very likely that the spindle is bent and not so much the hub or that it needs to be aligned or replaced.

test 3. If in the same position as 2. you get a deviation as you turn the hub it could be very likely that the hub only is bent...Does this make sense? Hope I haven't confused you. This vibration can be anything...even a badly worn tire, bent rims, f'd up axle and like I mentioned a way off balance tire. Tracking down vibrations is a chore so expect it to be trial and error. Any accidents? Is the differential okay and not leaking? There's a lot to cover and you have to get creative. Even for a full time tech things like this aren't easy to diagnose unless it's an in your face answer....besides they aren't that good to begin with honestly. Good luck