B5Quattro97

Hey guys, Im new to the Audi world but I'm not new to cars. This problem has kinda stumped me tho I think I may know whats wrong. A little history of the issue. I had kind of a clicking sound you could say for the past year now on my car which is a 97 A4 Quattro 5spd and it usually only happened when it was cold and i would downshift. Well latly it has gotten progressivly worse. It now sounds like a baseball card in the spokes of a bicycle wheel. It makes the sound loudly if i let off the gas or at a steady throttle. It also makes the sound as long as the car is moving when the clutch is pushed in or i let it coast in neutral but its not as loud. It also makes the sound when in reverse. When the car is sitting there are no abnormal noises at all. The car has 222,245 miles on it so i really dont rule anything out. All 4 wheel bearings have been replaced about 5000 miles ago so i really dont see those being a problem. The transmission shifts great through all the gears with no issues. The throwout bearing whines but only when i shift. Would this be a bad cv joint? I read they are kind of an issue with these cars. I just want to make sure thats what it would be before i order a new one. I kind of checked it out and i dont see any rips or tears in the boots which really dont mean anything. There in very minamal play with the axel itself. When i had the car off the ground tho the passenger side axel i could acually move around while the other 3 where solid. So thats why Im pointing at the passenger front cv joint being the culprit of my issue. Any insight would be great! Thanks guys.

mtroxel

Hard to say for sure, but the CV joints do click when they're bad. The fact that it makes the noise in neutral puts it somewhere in the running gear, and the CV joints make a lot of sense.

Any play is too much play. I think you're on it.

B5Quattro97

So i changed my cv axle today which did get rid of some of noises i was having. But i still have a chirping sound and what sounds almost like a really bad bearing comming from my tranny only when i let off the gas in gear or steady throttle. Its a constant sound too. It doesnt change no matter what rpms or speed. If i push in the clutch or shift to neutral it goes away. My throw out bearing is bad cuz it whines when i shift. Could it be that or something else? I dunno if the tranny fluid has ever been changed. Its also a 5 spd 2.8l

B5Quattro97

Also every once in awhile it sounds like a bolt is banging around inside the bellhousing. Whats weird is the car shifts smoothly through the gears and im not suffering any power loss

mtroxel

Thowout bearing isn't moving when the cluthc is engaged. No matter how bad it is, when you don't have your foot off the clutch it's not doing a thing. Not sure what your other noise is. Has the tranny or differential leaked? And if so, have you checked the oil level in them? You might have dry bearings at the output shafts. And if it's been that way a while, it might be too late.

B5Quattro97

Thats true. I didnt think of that. Its been doing it now for about a week. I havnt really been driving it since it started. Ill check the fluid today and if its low ill try adding some first before moving forward. I didnt think the trabny was leaking. I thought it was just the oil leak i have. Thanks for the insight this far

David.Norton

Sure it is, all modern production cars keep the bearing in contact, it is how they get an automatically adjusting clutch. In the old days (when I was a kid) it was as you say, and you had to adjust the clutch every few thousand miles. So the bearing is always spinning, but the sound will change as you step on the clutch as the loading is changing.

B5Quattro97

Well i talked to an audi tech today and he seems to thunk the problem is in the clutch area. Eaither the clutch itself or even the flywheel or anything around there. He said he really dont see it being the transmission cuz it shifts fine and the noise doesnt change by the gear or speed/rpm. Any other advice would be greatly appriciated