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-   -   Not sure what this problem is! (https://forum.a8parts.co.uk/showthread.php?t=15361)

The_Laird 7th December 2019 05:23 PM

Not sure what this problem is!
 
I’m not even sure this is the right section to post this problem. My S8 has started to feel ‘odd’ very occasionally, when accelerating in lower gears. It feels like the rear wheels are briefly going over rumble strips (is this ‘tramping’?) for a second or two, then everything goes back to normal. But the next time I accelerate in lower gears, all is well.

Anyone got any ideas? Perhaps a rear diff or drive shaft issue? But I’m at a loss.

B@fink 8th December 2019 05:40 AM

Bit more info might help with diagnosing (and give the post a bump!). Is it at a specific speed or over a range of speed? Hard acceleration or just gentle? Straight line or turning corners? Just 1 gear or several? Might help track down if it’s a wear, balance or mechanical issue.

The_Laird 8th December 2019 11:02 AM

It seems to happen at lower speeds, and I’m usually accelerating in a straight line without putting my foot to the floor. At a guess it happens in 2nd or 3rd gear.

Dezzy 8th December 2019 02:50 PM

I don't think it'll be tramping Jim, for this to happen it would ned to be gripping hard and slipping slightly that then causes the suspension to bounce slightly, grip, slip, bounce, grip, slip, bounce. So unless you're hard on it and or your shocks are like jelly it's something else.

moltuae 9th December 2019 09:40 AM

I had a similar issue some years ago. IIRC, in my case it started just after I'd had a set of new tyres fitted (on newly refurbished wheels). There was an intermittent vibration, which seemed to come from the rear. It would usually happen after hard acceleration, typically just after joining a motorway. The vibration was severe enough that I pulled over onto the hard shoulder the first couple of times it happened, expecting to see a wheel falling off or a bulge in one of the tyres, but I could see nothing wrong. I gingerly proceeded and the vibration was gone, until the next time I stomped on the accelerator.

I wondered if one of the rear wheels might be slightly bent so I spoke to the wheel refurbishers about it. They told me that they check all the wheels 'run true' before refurbishing so this was unlikely and suggested that I have the alignment checked. So I had my usual garage check the car over and perform a 4-wheel laser alignment, which seemed to make a big difference. They also noted though that some of the rear subframe bushes were pretty knackered. Several months later I had the rear subframe replaced and all the bushes renewed. I'm not sure if the cause was worn bushes, alignment or a combination of both, but the problem has never returned and, following the subframe replacement, the car now feels much more 'planted' when corning.

The_Laird 9th December 2019 12:01 PM

Hmm, just had new tyres fitted! But the ‘vibration’ isn’t anything like as bad as you described, Mark, although Michaela did suggest that my rear end needed sorting out (the car, the car!) so I can imagine that it might be worn bushes. TBH, I doubt anyone else would even notice, but we all get ‘tuned in’ to our cars and anything untoward rings alarm bells.

tonupkid 9th December 2019 01:57 PM

On my D2 S8, under moderate acceleration, I occasionally experienced a kind of grunt and slight shudder. I put that down to the Quattro redistributing the power output from one corner to another.
Same happens in the D3, but probably only every 3k miles or so.

moltuae 9th December 2019 03:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The_Laird (Post 154139)
But the ‘vibration’ isn’t anything like as bad as you described, Mark, although Michaela did suggest that my rear end needed sorting out (the car, the car!) so I can imagine that it might be worn bushes.

TBH, I doubt anyone else would even notice, but we all get ‘tuned in’ to our cars and anything untoward rings alarm bells.

You're absolutely right there. In fact, while I considered the vibration that I experienced to be quite severe, Lyn was completely oblivious to it, as would most people be to be fair. When I first heard it, I said "What the hell was that?", as I promptly headed for the hard shoulder. She said "What was what? .. Why are we stopping!?". In reality I think it could probably be described as a fairly audible rumble but probably no worse than you get from driving over 'disused' rumble strips (the ones that have been partially 'erased' due to roadworks). But the first time I heard it, for a moment at least, in my mind it was potentially something much more serious.

I'm a hypochondriac when it comes to my cars (car-ochondriac? hypocardriac?), which is funny really because I NEVER go to doctors, even if I feel like I'm dying. But I get so in-tune with my cars that the slightest unusual noise bugs me and worries me, so it goes straight to the garage. On numerous occasions I've had mechanics crawling all over my car trying to find the source of squeaks, clunks or rattles that they claim they can't even hear. I think they must think I'm bonkers. :ROFL:

The_Laird 9th December 2019 07:17 PM

We are all at least a bit bonkers, but my wife’s view of just how bonkers has diminished since we met the guy with the World’s fastest shed!
Nick’s description of this problem as a ‘shudder’ is pretty accurate! I was out today and intended to try to note what gear I was in and what speed, but the shudder didn’t happen!

briang9 9th December 2019 07:58 PM

Maybe too obvious but if it's just happened after new tyres I would get the rear wheel balance re-checked


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