LowSS

I know this has been discussed a ton, but once again the search isnt working. I've been chasing a faint poping noise on deceleration and left turns which has been going on since I've owned the car, now i'm noticing a lot of road noise under 50mph, maybe like a tire or bearing but cant pinpoint if its front or rear. I put the rear up on jack stands today and it has a little play in and out and up and down, nothing excessive but I'm not sure how much is normal. Also get the popping when you push on it either wheel. I let it freewheel up to 50 and the rear is quiet as a mouse on the jackstands. No vibrations, squeaks or wines. Car is a '00 SS A4 with just longtubes, 50,000miles. Sorry for the long post, just wondering if it is a bad axle bearing.

thanks
pat

NOBR8KSS

iTrader: (12)

That sounds more like the LSD than a bearing to me. Do you have the Auburn Limited Slip differential or the Torsen? Sometimes the Auburn will be a little clunky if the fluid is too slippery. You can change to a regular 75W-90 fluid with about 3 ounces of limited slip additive to help quiet it down. I think some other guys have tried a little thicker oil to help keep the rear quiet.
Whether it is a bearing or just LSD noise, you should drain the differential to check for an excessive amount of metal shavings...that is a tell-tale sign of a bearing coming apart. If you find a lot of metal shavings, you should replace all of the bearings because it is difficult to tell which bearing is damaged.

Additionally, there is some play in the axles due to the c-clip restraints...maybe 1/8" or so laterally. A lot of folks get a long brake pedal due to the movement of the axles...it's just a side effect of that setup.

LowSS

Thanks for the help, its got the Torsen. I'm going to change the diff fluid this weekend and take a closer look.

pat

EPP

iTrader: (22)

A bad wheel bearing usually creates a roar sound out of the rear. Bob

LowSS

I changed the diff. fluid today, everything looked good, very minimal metal shavings, gears looked good. Think the popping may be LCA.

pat

Braunbeck

iTrader: (4)

I doubt it, I thought my clunking noise was LCA since they are adjustable, but I was told it was the pinion. I jacked it up by the diff and there is about an inch of play and it clunks bad when spinning and stopping by hand. You may want to try to check that way since I could tell when load on the wheels.

I'll be getting 4.10's in the near future