This morning on the way home from running errands I developed an horrific squeal coming from, I believe, the right rear wheel bearing of my '01 1.8t Quattro Sport.

The noise sounds like I have a tin can stuck inside the hub; it only ceases when I stop.

The shop I use is about 13 miles away by mid-speed surface streets, and I would like to take it out first thing in the morning, but I don't want to cause any irreparable damage.

If I keep my speed down should I be able to get the car delivered without locking anything up or setting anything ablaze?

The irony is that this comes two days after I'd bought a low mileage '97 C4 A6 Quattro to restore . . .

It looks like I'll be shuttling cars back and forth for the next few months.

 

your profile says you have been a member since 2008. you should have seen many problems and fixed them by now. a bad wheel bearing can run hundreds and hundreds of miles only to make more and more noise. one downside of letting it go, is that the anti lock brake sensor gets heated and seizes in the hub. but that's ok, because you shouldn't take it out anyway, just unclip the wiring up in the wheel well and take the whole bearing assembly, with wires, to the shop, or find a guy with a hub shark, etc, that can do the job without removing the assembly. buy a bearing and take bearing, hub (still attached), and housing to a local guy. Really, 2008?

 

I bought my first Audi, an '84 Coupe, in 1989 or 1990. I also had an '87.5 limited edition Coupe, and two or three 100s before I bought my first A4, a 1996 2.8 five speed. I even owned a 4 cylinder Coupe while living in the UK.

A few years ago I bought my current '01 A4 1.8, though I was unfamiliar with the sport suspension until my Audi guru clued me in. When I first bought the 1.8, I gave the car and the keys to Vince, my guru, and he sorted most of the flaws out before I ever started driving it regularly.

As mentioned, I heard the noise for the first time this morning, so I'll drive slowly out to the shop that now handles the car (I relocated and can no longer impose on Vince), and I'll wait.

With the 'new' A6 in-bound and due for spiffing up, I need the A4 to be mobile and ready . . .