I just had 5K in work done to the front end of my 1998 A6 Quattro. The shop did all new tie rod ends, trans work, new cv axles on each side, paint and install new bumper cover, and a few other small things. I have been driving the car for a couple of weeks now with no problem. Today I drove it on the hwy for about 20 min when stopped at a stop light out side of my destination I could smell something burning. I took the left turn into the parking lot and heard a metal on metal ping. I parked and got out and looked at the front wheels, no apparent damage. I felt the rim and it was not hot, so I touched the rotor for about half a second and got a blister on the end of my finger because it was so hot. I know there are several reasons this could happen. Anyone got any ideas of what direction I should go in? I did not do a lot of braking before I stopped. The car is back at the dealership that did the work now so I will see what they have to say. I'm sure they will feed me full of BS and want another $1,000. It sounds to me that something is to tight under the car causing things to heat up. I just hope it dont take a lot of time to fix. Let me know what you think it is and as soon as I find the fix I will post it in here.

 

Brake rotors will get hot enough during normal use to blister your fingers, so that is not a valid test for overheating brakes. You may want to verify that the calipers are releasing fully and not causing the pads to drag. Lift the wheel off the ground, place transmission in neutral and spin the wheel by hand. Outside of some bearing drag, the wheel should spin evenly and smoothly with very little force.