Weird noise then shaking

Mr Angry

Mr Angry

A2OC Donor
Hi Guys, I was driving along motorway at about 65mph when my steering wheel/car started shaking from left to right. When turning it made a weird noise like clicking as if something is possibly loose, hard to describe. At lower speeds it seemed to be not as bad but still there. I'm not sure what has happened, any ideas or what to check?

TIA
 
Hello,
Quick list from memory of what faults can be transmitted to the steering wheel.
  • Wheel balancing/damaged tyre
  • Object stuck under car or catching in wheel (eg brake caliper)
  • Broken spring
  • Incorrect tyre pressure
  • Wheel nuts loose
  • Track rod ends loose/worn
  • Control arms mounting points and/or rubber bushes or structural failure
  • Strut mount upper mainly but possibly lower mounts
  • Console mountings
  • Sub frame bolts
  • Steering rack
  • Inner tie rods
  • Steering rack, universal joints
  • @Proghound drive shaft (inner 6xbolts, outer hub nut or the universal joints)
  • Lower ball joint
  • Lower engine mount
Last one is a long shot

Good luck.

If the clicking changes if you vary your speed then sounds like @Proghound is on the money

Note
The above list is for just the mechanical parts.
Fingers and toes crossed its not the power steering pump and associated sensors.
 
Good call. 😁
I don't know how confidant you are fixing your car yourself. They'll be loads of help here if you get stuck.
Take it easy, safe journey home.
:) 👍
 
I agree driveshaft -cv joint, is the most likely culprit. See if you can see any obvious defects with the gaiters. Had this once on my galaxy, vibration concerned me it could have been a loose wheel, the M4 was a godsend the most boring flattest motorway I have ever driven on but so so welcomed as I was able to nurse it along and keep vibration to a minimum. Turned out to be a recent genuine inner cv joint I had fitted as part of a complete shaft not long prior, very disappointed!
 
When the CV joint gaiter split on my project car it manifested itself as an imbalance/vibration above 60mph ; below that speed it was tolerable. Eventually the boot came away completely whereupon I was able to get home rather quicker - the CV joint itself was dry as a bone and very clicky by that stage. New driveshaft later completely back to normal.
 
Well, it finally happened. Pulling out from carpark in gear, heard a sort of crunching noise and won't pull or move in gear at all. So I'm assuming it's the driveshaft like proghound said.

Now to source parts for this unless something else could be wrong.

Is this an easy DIY job on driveshafts? Also, what is expected layout cost of job in general?

TIA
 
Changing driveshaft itself is easy and anyone with basic machanical mindset can do it. The only issue is some very clever audi engineers decided to apply very strong loctite on it before they inserted it into the knuckle. Be prepared to remove the driveshaft with your hub and take it to someone with 20 - 50 ton press to push it out it's very rare they just pop out like on any other car.
 
Is the shaft turning on the failed side? It's possible the differential in the gearbox has failed but hopefully not
 
Before you join the RAC have a look on Facebook the rac how bad are they, i have now joined GEM as last year it took them 3 hours for a patrol to get to me in Penzance and another 9 hours for a recovery truck, At 11pm they said put keys on tyre and make your way home.
martin
 
Last edited:
driveshaft.JPG
image credit: 7ZAP
gearbox.jpg
inmage credit: Cheap Parts On The Go, available at: here accessed 25/03/24

Hello,
The drive shaft is made up of a fair few parts.
The top left-hand side of the picture is where, if you were to look under the car on the passenger side, there would be 6 bolts holding the drive shaft to the gearbox drive flange.

If you put the car in gear and release the clutch, its not moving forward at all.

@Howie was saying that the side that is moving is broken. I am going to write what he said in a long-winded way. @Howey please correct any of my mistakes if you would be so kind :)

The gearbox has a differntial gear set-up. For example, if the front of your car was on jack stands and not broken, you could put it in gear, and both wheels would turn in the air. However, you could stop one of these wheels from turning if you put your foot against it. That is because the differential in the gearbox is doing its thing.
Your car is on the ground and not moving. If the drive shaft has failed on one side at the inner joint, you should be able to see the gearbox inner flange turning. If it has failed at the outer joint, the whole drive shaft should be tuning round.

I hope that makes some sense.

:) 👍
 
Last edited by a moderator:
rotifer said:
View attachment 121266
image credit: 7ZAP
View attachment 121267
inmage credit: Cheap Parts On The Go, available at: here accessed 25/03/24

Hello,
The drive shaft is made up of a fair few parts.
The top left-hand side of the picture is where, if you were to look under the car on the passenger side, there would be 6 bolts holding the drive shaft to the gearbox drive flange.

If you put the car in gear and release the clutch, its not moving forward at all.

@Howie was saying that the side that is moving is broken. I am going to write what he said in a long-winded way. @Howey please correct any of my mistakes if you would be so kind :)

The gearbox has a differntial gear set-up. For example, if the front of your car was on jack stands and not broken, you could put it in gear, and both wheels would turn in the air. However, you could stop one of these wheels from turning if you put your foot against it. That is because the differential in the gearbox is doing its thing.
Your car is on the ground and not moving. If the drive shaft has failed on one side at the inner joint, you should be able to see the gearbox inner flange turning. If it has failed at the outer joint, the whole drive shaft should be tuning round.

I hope that makes some sense.

:) 👍
Click to expand...
Spot on, very informative!
 
martin 54 said:
Before you join the RAC have a look on Facebook the rac how bad are they, i have now joined GEM as last year it took them 3 hours for a patrol to get to me in Penzance and another 9 hours for a recovery truck, At 11pm they said put keys on tyre and make your way home.
martin
Click to expand...
I ended up joining Start rescue with 2 car policy. As a beginner with breakdown cover, does home assist cover you when car doesn't start at home where you can request the car to be taken from home to garage?

Is there a tool that would avoid the 20-50 ton press. Also regarding brand, i'm looking for a decent brand but not too expensive due to this car being a temp runabout until i get the monsterbus fixed (Alhambra)

TIA
 
Whether a press is necessary will depend if the hub has ever been stripped down before
The drive shaft retaining nut has one time use wings that shear when undone
If diy you could remove the hub nut before lifting the car and strike the drive shaft through the wheel once it moves then progress to raising car and wheel removal
 
Mr Angry said:
I ended up joining Start rescue with 2 car policy. As a beginner with breakdown cover, does home assist cover you when car doesn't start at home where you can request the car to be taken from home to garage?

Is there a tool that would avoid the 20-50 ton press. Also regarding brand, i'm looking for a decent brand but not too expensive due to this car being a temp runabout until i get the monsterbus fixed (Alhambra)

TIA
Click to expand...
I've used J&R on all of mine at @depronman 's initial recommendation and they've been good.

Search

J&R driveshafts audi a2

on Ebay or similar.
 
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