strange rattle/gurgle/cough solved, plus question about motor mounts

strange rattle/gurgle/cough
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I posted the below three months ago, and no one replied. I recently
had the car in for oil change, etc., and after getting the lower front
control arm replaced on the passenger side, the sensation was still
there. The independent mechanic determined this to be caused by a
failing motor mount on the driver's front side. So, for those of you
who are very sensitive to your car's vibrations, this could be one
possible cause of strange sensations.

My question now is: when the mechanics are in there replacing this
motor mount, what else should I have them check on this 98.5 A4Q 2.8
(98k miles)?

Also, I'm annoyed they didn't diagnose this when they did the control
arms, and they charged me a diagnostic fee that I think I will
challenge on the grounds that not one week after they did the control
arm work, I brought back the car for them to look at again. What's
the group's thought on this? I feel I should not have to pay this
diagnostic fee when I specifically brought in the car complaining
about strange vibrations, and they had the car for 24 hours.



From: KLS - view profile
Date: Fri, Jan 20 2006 5:51 pm
Email: KLS >
Groups: alt.autos.audi
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My 1998.5 A4 2.8 Quattro car is exhibiting a new sound that I can't
really describe. It doesn't happen consistently: it's a strange
little rattle that ONLY happens when I'm engaging the car in first
gear from a dead stop and am doing so very slowly and gently, seems
more prominent when the car is cold. Seems to do it while I'm
engaging the clutch and immediately after first gear is fully engaged.
The car has gone 95k miles, so what could be creating this noise?
Could it be an exhaust issue? The car drives great, no loss of power,
no weird gear shifts or clutch problems.

If one motor mount has gone bad it might be a good idea to replace the other at
the same time.

The 1.8TQM that I have has a snub mount on the front that helps stabilize the
engine from movement. If the 2.8 also has one it may have been damaged by the
motor mount failure.

Have them look for oil leaks from the rear cam seals if you haven't had the
typical 2.8 oil leaks fixed yet.

The diagnostic fee is fairly subjective. Problems can be difficult to find.
Worth a try but you are probably fighting a loosing battle.

KLS wrote:
> strange rattle/gurgle/cough
> Only 1 message in topic - view as tree
> I posted the below three months ago, and no one replied. I recently
> had the car in for oil change, etc., and after getting the lower front
> control arm replaced on the passenger side, the sensation was still
> there. The independent mechanic determined this to be caused by a
> failing motor mount on the driver's front side. So, for those of you
> who are very sensitive to your car's vibrations, this could be one
> possible cause of strange sensations.
>
> My question now is: when the mechanics are in there replacing this
> motor mount, what else should I have them check on this 98.5 A4Q 2.8
> (98k miles)?
>
> Also, I'm annoyed they didn't diagnose this when they did the control
> arms, and they charged me a diagnostic fee that I think I will
> challenge on the grounds that not one week after they did the control
> arm work, I brought back the car for them to look at again. What's
> the group's thought on this? I feel I should not have to pay this
> diagnostic fee when I specifically brought in the car complaining
> about strange vibrations, and they had the car for 24 hours.
>
>
>
> From: KLS - view profile
> Date: Fri, Jan 20 2006 5:51 pm
> Email: KLS >
> Groups: alt.autos.audi
> Not yet rated
> Rating:
> show options
>
> Reply | Reply to Author | Forward | Print | Individual Message | Show
> original | Report Abuse | Find messages by this author
>
> My 1998.5 A4 2.8 Quattro car is exhibiting a new sound that I can't
> really describe. It doesn't happen consistently: it's a strange
> little rattle that ONLY happens when I'm engaging the car in first
> gear from a dead stop and am doing so very slowly and gently, seems
> more prominent when the car is cold. Seems to do it while I'm
> engaging the clutch and immediately after first gear is fully engaged.
> The car has gone 95k miles, so what could be creating this noise?
> Could it be an exhaust issue? The car drives great, no loss of power,
> no weird gear shifts or clutch problems.