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High speed vibration
OK, I have a problem with vibration at about 60 mph and above.I’ve had this since I bought the car about a month ago.
It feels like wheel imbalance but nothing can be felt through the steering wheel, more through the seat of the pants. It’s not too severe but irritating. I had 2 new tyres on the rear when I bought the car and have had all four wheels balanced. I’ve had all the wheels off and scotchbrite the disc and wheel mating surfaces so are all clean and flat. I’ve rotated the hubs whilst observing the pads and nothing untoward there. Wheels back on and evenly tightened and torqued. Test drove and a slight improvement but still there. I checked each wheel for runout with a makeshift dial gauge on the outer rim, all seem fine but cannot check inner rim. I guess the way forward is to get all the wheels professionally checked for true then onto a four-wheel alignment. I love the car but this is spoiling the experience. Any advice and suggestions would be appreciated. Cheers Steve :Confused: |
The seat of the pants probably points to rear wheel issue - balancing or bent rim?
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Do you know if they are the correct rims for the car? Specifically, does the centre bore match the hub, as this will cause a vibration at higher speeds?
As far as I know, I believe the CB on the D4s are 66.6mm, the D3s were 57.1mm, so if you had D3 rims on, then you'd get this vibration. |
Thanks Paul. Yep I agree. I guess I could swap rears to front to see if the effect changes then that would narrow it right down?
I even thought about trying the space saver but that also may be away with the fairies balance wise plus I'm limited to 50 mph. |
Thanks Steamship.
AFAIK they are the originals, 19 x9j 10 spoke Y. They fit snugly on the hub. |
Flat spots on the tyres may also cause vibration.
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OK thanks Conan. Rear tyres are new and the issue was there before but well worth a re-visit to the tyre dealer to check.
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Are all tyres the same tread pattern? Though I ran a D2 on mismatched tyres and it went along no problems at all.
Runflats can be a nightmare, the ones on my 5 Series cause this when the obligatory sidewall bulge occurs around 100 miles after hitting the many potholes on the roads |
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If the front to rear are significantly different tread left that can cause issues with quattro say if fronts are 2 mm and rears 8mm same make and model. I think it's something like 2.5mm recommended max difference in tread depth between tyres. But if they are different make/model they may be slightly different construction resulting in slightly different rolling diameter also causing issue. |
Rears are new and fronts about 5-6mm. Cheers
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After much head scratching I decided to swap the n/s/r for the spacesaver and take it for a slow run. I took it up to just nudging 60 (I know I know) and there was no sign of the vibration so I may have found it. It’s booked in with a local specialist (Burscough Lancs) for Tuesday. I’ve asked them to do both rears just to make sure. Fingers crossed and I’ll update.
Steve. |
An update to this issue.
All wheels checked out ok for true. I’ve had them all re-balanced and had a 4-wheel alignment done. It was quite far out in fact. No improvement. I’m going to assume that wheels and tyres are not the issue and turn my attention to driveshafts. Maybe this thread should move to transmission? I’ve been googling a bit and found D4s having issues with the centre bearing bush on the propshaft. Apparently the bush, after time, allows the shaft to wobble about causing speed-related vibration. Not sure if I’m talking myself into this but the vibration could be emanating from the transmission tunnel. I think I may have to surrender here and hand it over to an Audi specialist to diagnose and cure and be prepared to bite the bullet over the cost. Cheers, Steve |
OK, I may have this issue solved now. Sorry about the long post.
I swapped the road wheels front to rear and there appeared to be a change/slight reduction in the vibration but Mrs. Saff said it still felt the same to her so maybe my imagination. My son drove the car and he could feel the vibration and also a pulse in the brake pedal seemingly in sync with the vibration. We had a look at the rear discs/pads and there was a lip on the discs and also another ‘step’ on the discs. The pads had loads of meat left. I decided to change them and my trusted garage did them yesterday for me. On collection they showed me the old discs, the inside face was in a terrible state, almost completely rusted with a small track of clean metal. The surface mating to the hub was also red rusty. Could the discs have been fitted without due attention to cleaning the hub face? The good news is that there is absolutely no brake pulsing now and as far as I can tell the vibration has gone. I’m a little hypersensitive to road surfaces and possibly imagining a vibration when it’s just the bum condition of the M58. I’m not 100% at ease yet but maybe that’s just my paranoia. I’m hoping that I’m comparing the ride to my outgoing E-class with 16” rims and big bouncy tyres against the 19s on my D4. Fingers crossed and thanks to all the input on here. Steve. |
OK I’m still plagued with this pesky vibration. I’m convinced that it’s wheel related but everything (so far) has checked out ok.
Question: Has anyone had experience of the Hunter Road Force wheel balancer? Desperation is leading me to invest hopefully not too much money in getting all wheels/tyres checked out on one of these to either prove or better still cure a wheel/tyre issue. If all checks out ok and the problem is still there I’m going to have to give it to a professional . Ho-Hum. |
The saga continues...
Can any learned person possibly find out the part no. for a 2010 D4 4.2tdi prop shaft please. Could it be 4H0521101E ? I'd be most grateful. Steve |
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Thank you Sir!
Both rear hubs and bearings have been changed as they were very worn and throwing the rotation of the rear wheels out. No change to vibration. Propshaft was removed and taken to a local specialist where it was pronounced 'knotchy'. They offered to rebuild it but wouldn't be able to do anything with the front joint ans there are no available parts. As a new propshaft is over £2k plus vat I agreed. Got the car back from the specialists yesterday and they said the vibration was still there. Not Happy! I later took the car for a 70mph+ run and I honestly couldn't feel any vibration. I don't know whether I'm going a bit mad or there really isn't any vibration at all. I'll carry on using the car and in the meantime try and locate a low mileage used item, get the balance checked and have it fitted. It seems to have been the culprit all along. Thanks for your help. Steve. |
Interesting read. Horrid being plagued with niggles like this. Fingers crossed you’ve nailed it. (I had money on it being a flat spot on a rear rim.)
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Thanks John.
Yeah it's been a royal PITA but not as bad as some problems people on here encounter. I'll keep plugging away. Steve |
Hi again. A bit of a long shot but would anyone have the length and possibly other dimensions of the propshaft 4H0521101E or j or k please?
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Hi. I've been trawling the web for a replacement prop shaft as the bloomin' vibration, tho much reduced is still perceptible. I've found this https://www.kleinanzeigen.de/s-anzei...4132-223-23510 on German Ebay and it looks to be just the ticket.
My problem is I don't seem able to log in to contact them over shipping to UK etc. Being a bit of an internet dinosaur I'd appreciate any pointers. Cheers Steve. |
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Hi and thanks for your reply. Yes I realised a bit earlier that it had expired. I'll carry on searching and I'm sure one in good nick will turn up sooner or later.
Cheers |
There's currently one on eBay (UK) selling for £149. Hard to tell the quality of it from the photos. Link to it as follows:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/325345261353 |
Hi and thanks. The vibration is MUCH reduced so the renewal of the centre bearing and joint have certainly had a positive effect. The smaller joint which cannot be replaced I'm told was still described as notchy. I can live with it in the short term as long as I keep my speed down under the threshold and patiently await a new-ish replacement. If push comes to shove I'll have to bite the bullet and buy a new one from Audi.
I've been considering the used one you've flagged up but I would need to inspect it before purchase and Kent is a long way from Lancs sadly. Thanks for your continued help and interest with this. Steve. |
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Hi I will give that some consideration, good idea.
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I've decided to take a gamble and bought the ebay propshaft. Given the rarity of these used (4.2) and the cost of them new I considered it worth a punt.
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Gamble unsuccessful. The shaft arrived missing part of the rear CV joint, which is the offending part on my own. Hmmm, never mind, they will take it back and refund me.
Onwards and upwards. :/ |
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Quick question. Could a failing front wheel bearing cause vibration/shake at 60 mph + without any transmission through the steering.?
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Hi People its been a while since I last posted on here, due in the main to Mrs Saff having been unwell. Thankfully things have improved now.
Back to the infernal vibration. It could be that I've just become used to it and subliminally accepted it as normal but I don't think so. What has happened is that the vibration appears to be road surface-affected,that is, going north on the M6 from junction 27 to junction 36, it is almost imperceptible. The return journey is vibration as usual. It doesn't seem to be coarse or smooth surface but the even-ness of the surface. This would seem to eliminate the propshaft as the culprit. I know issues don't just go away on their own but it really has improved. Unless I'm going barmey which is always a possibility. Any thoughts anyone? |
I wouldn't know 'cos for that bit of southbound M6 I am just about to wake up, being nearly home.
I prefer to use Jct27 rather than Orrell. |
Possible a flat spot on a tyre that is reducing as the tyre wears? Just guessing.
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Hi Ray, I used that example as we have a static caravan in the south lakes so pound those roads quire regularly.
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Hi Conan. I know, it's weird that a fault could actually improve over time/use. I agree that a 'wearable' like a tyre seems a possible culprit.
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I had a similar problem some years ago. Vibration above 60 and worse the faster you go. Tried everything and nothing helped.
Then checked calipers. On one side one of the pistons was jammed slightly further forward than the others. When I got up to 60 the heat created expanded the metal and it touched the disc intermittently so was vibrating one side of the front of the car (but felt like whole car). Got caliper refurbished and never had a problem since. |
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