Gear stick rattle at idle problem

R

robeeeeee

Member
Hi,

I would appreciate some advice on a problem which still persists 9 months after having work done at a supposed 'independent Audi specialist' in Glasgow, a4audi www.a4audi.co.uk.
Some history on the situation can be found here:
http://www.a2oc.net/forum/showthread.php?t=10336

The car has been off the road most of the time since they forgot to tighten the engine mount bolts after a cam belt change.
After many hours of work and lots of hours thinking about solutions I have corrected all but 2 of the problems created by a4audi in Glasgow. The gear stick still intermittently rattles at idle, see the video below:
[YOUTUBE]<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Vuum87GX_TU&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Vuum87GX_TU&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>[/YOUTUBE]
I had to mess about with the stick to get it to rattle slightly in the video but it sometimes just starts rattling badly when put into neutral.

When the garage were putting the car back together after they replaced the cam belt they never tightened the horizontal engine mount bolts at the cam belt side. About 5 miles after i got the car back the engine fell off the mounts as the bolts came loose. At the time the damage seemed minimal. I got the car transported back to the garage and they confirmed they had not tightened up the engine mount bolts. When i got the car back again, after about 10 miles or so i noticed this gear stick rattling at idle problem.
Obviously I am not going to ask them to fix it, and, as Mike said at the time forgetting to tighten up the engine mount bolts is unforgivable.

I wonder if the near side (passenger side) mount which would have had extra pressure and abnormal range of movement put on it could be damaged as a result of the engine falling off its mount.
I have attached 2 photos of this mount.
I have checked the gear selector cable from the selector arm all the way to very close to the gear stick (removed the centre console plastic trim etc) and cannot see any logical cause for the rattle. Where the cable goes through the bulkhead there is some wear on the rubber anti vibration sheath thingy (sorry, don't know what it's called) which, i think, only confirms the vibration is coming from the engine bay.

The other problem which isn't as important but may be connected is it that i can hear a rattling noise when on slow bumpy roads.
I checked so many things eventually i thought it could be suspension related, I fitted FSDs which eliminates faulty suspension, strut top bearing, bump stops etc.
The rattling noise when going over bumps is better since fitting the FSDs probably due to the better damping.
I have also had a new ARB fitted by the same garage so it's not an ARB problem. BTW I checked the work they did on the ARB for loose bolts etc.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I am really looking forward to using the car every day again and feel i am close to having it totally fixed.

I'm not knowledgeable or experienced but am trying to find a solution myself as the garage i trusted let me down badly.

Thank you all again for taking the time to help.

Robbie
 

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Hi Robbie
For the gearlever rattle I'd start by checking the gearchange cable settings, just in case the adjustments were affected when the engine dropped. Although not specifically for the A2, this youtube guide shows how its done - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tp9ggefOjAE

The suspension rattle could be caused by worn roll bar drop links

Cheers Spike
 
Hi Spike,

I had considered adjusting the gear change cable settings as described here:
http://www.a2oc.net/forum/showpost.php?p=66452&postcount=6
I decided as the gear selection seemed normal and smooth etc I should leave it.
However the video you posted is much easier to understand than the workshop manual.
I will follow the instructions in the video tomorrow and post the results.

Sorry i should have mentioned i changed the drop links when doing the FSD upgrade. I have checked so many things i think it will seem like i am shooting everyone down for their suggestions about the rattle on uneven roads. I have spent more time than anyone else can (or would want to) but think any suggestions are of benefit as someone might suggest something i have not checked.

Thanks,

Robbie
 
I have made some progress with the gearstick rattle at idle problem:
I replaced the bushes and bowden cable catches at the gearbox selector arm, see the attached photo.

This has made the gear stick/selection feel much tighter/better. The gear stick no longer rattles like in the video. The stick is held in the central position better now.
There still seems to be a lot of vibration coming through the gear selector cables though and sometimes under full acceleration there is still a metal knocking noise from below the gear stick. Changed the passenger side engine mount (part no: A8Z0 199 543 A) in case it was damaged when the garage that changed my timing belt never tightened the engine mount bolts and the engine fell off it's mount, putting pressure on the passenger side mount. The old one was quite worn but I don't think it has made much difference.
Was wondering if changing the drivers side engine mount might reduce the vibration. It's the more expensive one and is described as a hydraulic engine mount. Any advice on this? Is there a recognised method of testing this mount and what is hydraulic about it, it just seems like a rubber mount?
The only other thing that i can think of is that the engine may be causing more vibration than normal. There may be a fuel injection problem (i have seen lots of info about this recently). The engine makes a strange metallic noise when accelerating and sometimes surges very slightly. Acceleration is not always smooth(nothing showing on VCDS to indicate a problem). Going to change the fuel filter again in case the wonky car garage i had do it the last time were talking poo about having changed it.

Some commas i have missed out ,,,,,,, .. (and a couple of stops too)

Thanks,

Robbie
 
Thanks for your reply Spike. I asked Fiona back in January (post 14 of that thread) what the part number they replace was but I never received a reply. I will PM her now and ask if she has more information.

Thanks,

Robbie
 
thanks for posting that youtube clip Spike, it solved my gear stick rattling at idle by following the instructions
its easy when you know how!
 
That clip never plays to the end for me :(

I'm thinking if it's that easy I might as well do it anyway.
 
mwh said:
thanks for posting that youtube clip Spike, it solved my gear stick rattling at idle by following the instructions
its easy when you know how!
Click to expand...

Thanks for ther feedback. Its always useful to know when things work out (or otherwise)

Cheers Spike
 
robeeeeee said:
The only other thing that i can think of is that the engine may be causing more vibration than normal. There may be a fuel injection problem (i have seen lots of info about this recently). The engine makes a strange metallic noise when accelerating and sometimes surges very slightly. Acceleration is not always smooth(nothing showing on VCDS to indicate a problem). Going to change the fuel filter again in case the wonky car garage i had do it the last time were talking poo about having changed it.

Some commas i have missed out ,,,,,,, .. (and a couple of stops too)

Thanks,

Robbie
Click to expand...

Robbie,

There is a thread somewhere about someone changing the crankshaft speed sensor or it could be the coolant temp sensor?

Failing that could it be possible the timing is slightly out from the garage replacing the cambelt?
 
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