My son just purchased a 2009 Audi A4 Quattro with 2.0L engine, 169k, automatic. The car is excellent, except it get ABS, parking brake, EPC panel lights most of the time but not always. I do hear a whine from what sounds like maybe driver front, much like an off road tire sounds.
The seller said a local shop diagnosted as a bad front hub, they're certain they didn't say bearing. The seller also couldn't remember which side was bad.
My question: I'm reasonably clear on how to diagnose a bad bearing. But how do I diagnos which hub, assuming it's a hub and not a bearing?
Also, on a Quattro do both front wheels need to be off the ground for a bearing diagnostics?
Thanks
My son just purchased a 2009 Audi A4 Quattro with 2.0L engine
Good luck to him, those tend to turn into money pits as they age and that one is already 16 years old.
https://www.carcomplaints.com/Audi/A4/2009/
The seller said a local shop diagnosed as a bad front hub, they're certain they didn't say bearing.
Never believe anything a seller tells you, always have a used car examined by a good mechanic before purchase.
When a bearing goes bad usually it is replaced as a unit with the hub, it's less labor. This video shows you how to diagnose:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJYDGWEwhEk
@chucktobias thanks, but the question I asked didn't get answered.
The question: How does one diagnose a bad hub (not bearing)? And to both front wheels need to be off the ground?
The bearing is pressed into the hub. If the hub is bad it would be physically damaged, such as cracked or warped. So you would examine it for such defects.
https://arnoldmotorsupply.com/spotting-wheel-hub-problems
@chucktobias thanks. the bearings seem fine, at least by checking the method of trying to rock the wheel back and forth. Also I hear no abnormal noise when I spin the wheels. I may pull the calipers off and maybe get a better look. I have the ability to change the hub/bearing myself. As I said in the original post, the previous owner said that a very reputable shop had diagnosed the car as having a bad hub, she was certain it wasn't a bearing. Unfortunately she had lost the paperwork the shop gave her. It is getting an intermittent ABS light, which could be triggered by a bad hub. In the end I may just end up replacing both, or having a shop take a look and see if they can at least let me know which side is bad.