Wheel Bearing Noise??

[Sasha]

Good morning,

I have a 2008 A4 Cabriolet which has started making a Whirring noise on the front drivers side- especially when  I speed up on the motorway. I jacked it up and moved the wheel vertically and horizontally but found no movement?? I have read that this doesn't necessarily mean the bearing hasn't gone. Before I take it to a garage for a further look can anyone make any other suggestions? Thanks 

 

 

[Magnet]

Hello Sasha,

Does the noise come/go/alter when you take left or right hand bends, or is it constant, irrespective of turning the steering wheel to negotiate bends? 

Kind regards,

Gareth. 

[Sasha]

Hmmmm! Doesn't seem to be worse on the bends. A few years ago I had a similar noise - I took it to the garage and they checked it all out and came to the conclusion the Tyres  were not wearing  evenly... They put the rear on the front and it seemed ok and charged me £300 just to do that.  I had four new Tyres put on in December so cant imagine its that.  Bit of a quandary. Thank you for your help.

[Magnet]

Wheel bearing issues will normally result in the noise disappearing/altering dependent on whether you are taking a left or right hand bend. If you say the noise is from the driver side front, and you think it is wheel bearing associated, then you would expect the noise to get worse as you take right hand bends, and decrease when you take left hand bends. If this isn’t the case, then I would be tempted to discount wheel bearings. 

This may appear unhelpful Sasha, but trying to diagnose such noises without inspecting the car is unrealistic, and I fear that you could end up with a variety of possible, but unlikely probable, causes. 

One recommendation I would make, is to find yourself another garage.

If I read it correctly, then charging you £300 to simply swop back and front wheels, could be considered expensive - to be kind! - but not sure if this would have included the time spent to unsuccessfully detect the source of the noise. 

Of course, there might be other more helpful replies on here, but meanwhile, if it were mine, I would be spending a little time finding a trusted local garage who you ‘can talk to’ about the issue.

Perhaps you could let us know how you get on.

Kind regards, 

Gareth. 

 

[Magnet]

Apologies, just realised I got my bends and noises in a twist! 

[Sasha]

41 minutes ago, Magnet said:

Apologies, just realised I got my bends and noises in a twist! 

That's ok. I know i was over charged as all they did was sit in the passenger seat for two mins before diagnosing the problem, but hey we live and learn... going to do a bit more research and I will let you know. Many Thanks Gareth.