I have had my car for a while and have noticed there is a grinding noise coming from the rear passenger side of my car. When I drive faster it gets louder. I have been told that it may be a rear wheel bearing. Is it? How hard is it to replace? How much would I get charged somewhere. I have a 1996 A4 2.8 Quatro 5 Spd Can someone lend me a hand?
Thanks all.

 

Sounds like it would be a wheel bearing. At speed, when you turn in either direction, do you hear it get louder or quieter? If you hear it, for example, get louder in a left turn, then it's on the right side (that side is being loaded during the turn).

It's a pain in the ***, to be blunt, at least if you're a resident of Binghamton, NY. The camber bolt at the bottom of the upright has been an absolute bastard on the cars here. Plus, the bearing is in there tight and you need at least a six-ton press to get it out. Word to the wise though - there are tutorials on www.audiworld.com and/or www.audidiy.com and both will tell you to remove the wheelspeed sensor from the upright. Don't bother trying - you'll destroy it and have to buy another. Instead, pop your rear seat lower cushion off, unplug it, feed the connector and wire down through the bottom of the car, and free the part of it under the retaining bracket on the lower A-arm. Leave it in the upright so you won't ruin it.

It's a pain in the *** for sure, and I'll do it next time the same way as this time - take the upright off the car, give it to a shop, and have them press out the old bearing and press the new one in, then reassemble the car at home. It's worth the time and aggravation to disassemble yourself though - expect $250-300 most likely for parts and labor if you just drop the car off for the whole job. Do the removal and reinstall of the suspension yourself, and you'll get it pressed for probably $20-30 (you'll have to supply your own wheel bearing, for which the kit costs $47 from www.germanautoparts.com, who are EXCELLENT to deal with).