Funny noise

[Simon Wallwork]

I just bought an S8.

Put it into Audi Glasgow as it was due a service. Got them to do the gearbox oil filter and fluid as car was at nearly 90,000.

Picked up car on friday night to find it makes a noise now that it did not make before.

Only seems to happen on initial move off. Sounds like a 'rubbing' or 'whirring' noise. Comes on at about 15 mph and goes away at about 30mph and does not come back until next move off from rest.

Like I say- didn't do it before the service during which they changed 5 litres of ATF and the filter screen and O ring. At least that is what it says on the invoice.

It's not a loud noise. With the radio on you could miss it.

On the other hand it's one of these noises that could be serious.

Any ideas??

[Conan_the_Librarian]

Simon,

My first thought is that as Audi did the ATF and Filter that maybe they have not topped up the ATF properly. For the Glasgow area I thoroughly recommend A4Audi if you want a second opinion and all your future servicing needs. They have an excellent reputation over on TSN.

The other area I would look at is the brakes. A sticking calliper might make that sort of noise.

[PsYcHe]

5 litres sounds low for a box fluid change... Pretty sure Andy @ A4audi reckoned it was around 10 litres.

If you get a chance, whizz it over to him and he'll take a quick look/listen for you.

[Simon Wallwork]

Psyche

You're right. The capacity is higher than 5 but 5 is all that comes out without being pumped out. The rest stays in the torque convertor.

I'm going to give it back to Audi in the first instance as they may as well fix it as they seem to have caused it.

Just hope it's not serious.

Conan. No, it's not the brakes. Nearest noise I could compare it to is that noise a car makes when the clutch release bearing has gone, only much quieter. You can hear it better with the a/c switched off. It's definately there tho. It could be a low ATF level but surely to feck they'd check that? Or maybe they forgot the O-ring on the filter housing although I insisted they fit a new one!

Wish I'd not trusted them with it now. I know what main dealer servicing can be like. It's not always crap-but it can be.

I used to work in the car trade and in our garage (Volvo) we had 2 or 3 good mechanics but the rest were fecking muppets!

[Conan_the_Librarian]

On the quantity of ATF that will drain from the box. I got 8 litres out when I left the box overnight? Box capacity with the torque converter is around 9.5 litres. It only holds about 2 ish. If they only got 5 out than it sounds like they did a fluid drop/filter change/reassemble in short order. Did they refill using the proper procedure. Going through all the gears as the fluid is being topped up?

I would pop down to Andy at A4Audi and ask him to have a listen and probably do a level check.

[Simon Wallwork]

Conan

Wish I knew what they did! I'll let Audi have a first look at it but I think I'll be using A4Audi from now on.

As far as the time goes, I've no idea how long they let it drain for. It took them 2 days to do the work though, so they weren't rushed.

Do you know what symptoms occur if the o-ring is left out?

[Conan_the_Librarian]

As the pump that circulates the ATF is above the fluid reservoir in the sump with the filter in between it relies on suction to circulate the fluid. If the o-ring is left out then there is loss of suction which manifests as cavitation (this also happens if the filter gets clogged) and loss of fluid pressure. This usually only hapens on startup but can happen when the box comes under load as in pulling away. The Audi procedure highlights the o-ring as 'always replace' in Elsawin.

[Simon Wallwork]

Conan

The o-ring thing sounds highly likely then. I specifically mentioned on this on the note that I left them. In my experience such notes tend to be ignored by your average highly trained technician and no wonder as most punters know next to bugger all about cars.

We'll see how this turns out.

[Singh]

Check on your receipt, all the parts that were used should be on there.

[Simon Wallwork]

Singh

Hmmmm. No mention of 'O-ring' on the invoice.

Oil strainer. Gasket. Plug.

Could of used the old one I suppose?