Audizine - An Automotive Enthusiast Community

Results 1 to 40 of 40
  1. #1
    Active Member Two Rings
    Join Date
    May 02 2016
    AZ Member #
    372733
    Location
    RI

    Quattro Rear differential rebuild kit? Rid of the clunk!

    Guest-only advertisement. Register or Log In now!
    B6 A4/Quattro Rear Differential Rebuild Kit? Rid of the clunk!
    Hey everyone, My Rear differential has begun to clunk. I've done the research, and have inspected the mounts and CV's from the drive axle. If I move the driveshaft manually by hand there's a good amount of play before it catches. You can hear the thud when switching the car from Park to Drive and Into reverse.

    I cannot seem to source any rear diff. rebuild kits for my A4. Do you guys have a list of parts or know of any sources for rebuild kits? Thank you in advance!

  2. #2
    Veteran Member Four Rings SJorge3442's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 27 2013
    AZ Member #
    121842
    Location
    Philly

    Quote Originally Posted by stealthmagic27 View Post
    B6 A4/Quattro Rear Differential Rebuild Kit? Rid of the clunk!
    Hey everyone, My Rear differential has begun to clunk. I've done the research, and have inspected the mounts and CV's from the drive axle. If I move the driveshaft manually by hand there's a good amount of play before it catches. You can hear the thud when switching the car from Park to Drive and Into reverse.

    I cannot seem to source any rear diff. rebuild kits for my A4. Do you guys have a list of parts or know of any sources for rebuild kits? Thank you in advance!
    No one really rebuilds them from what I know. Usually you just find another one from another car.
    2017 A4 6 Speed - Sport Plus - Mythos Black
    2018 Q5 - Prestige - Manhattan Grey

  3. #3
    Veteran Member Three Rings tHatOne guY's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 20 2012
    AZ Member #
    99020
    My Garage
    06' Yamaha R1...Raven
    Location
    Mesa, Az

    Most on here seem to find another diff and swap it out but without opening up the used diff and inspecting it, how do you really know what you're getting? My personal recommendation would be get a used diff and follow the Bentley as far as measuring the tolerances and replacing the out of-spec parts. This goes without saying there are some pretty nice tools you'll need to do so successfully as well as skill set. So far the diff bearings were the most expensive part of my diff rebuild @ about 45$ for the Timken set.

    Be sure to check your rear output flanges as mine were pretty wobbly causing a vibration on the hwy 65+ mph.

    Check out this thread also, helped me a bit. Different car/application but the shimming and measuring is the same ... just a bit of a visual aid. http://forums.quattroworld.com/a8/msgs/69890.phtml

    After re-reading your post that may be a ring and pinion problem not sure if you can adjust or shim that out but I'm no expert with these diffs.

  4. #4
    Active Member Two Rings
    Join Date
    May 02 2016
    AZ Member #
    372733
    Location
    RI

    Thanks for the replies guys id just rather rebuild it then throwing another used one in. Like said above who knows what your going to get same damn thing will happen.

    I will be dropping the diff soon to check it out. I had the car jacked up had my wife switching between reverse and drive etc. If you go back and forth between the two then you can see the shaft move a bit in either direction and clunk cleary gcomes from the rear.

    If you go from drive to nuetral back to drive it wont clunk because the axle is already engaged in that direction. Hope that makes sense... Happena wirh the reverse gear also..

  5. #5
    Stage 2 Banner Advertiser Four Rings ECS Tuning-Audi's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 02 2006
    AZ Member #
    70746
    Location
    Wadsworth,OH

    Almost seems like normal operation. Similar to when you put a motorcycle in gear you see the chain tension up. You'll always get some tension when going from neutral/park to a drive or reverse gear.

    May be better off checking some tolerances before tearing it completely down and spending money on parts you may not even need.

    Jason

  6. #6
    Active Member Two Rings
    Join Date
    May 02 2016
    AZ Member #
    372733
    Location
    RI

    Thanks for the reply Jay, ill give everything a closer looks and try to find the tolerances. Ill post up a quick video of the movement etc. Hopefully will give everyone a better idea. just seems too noisy when moving the driveaxle and rear tires manually. I tried shaking the diff back and forth and cannot move the thing. The mounts seem good.

  7. #7
    Veteran Member Four Rings Kevin C's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 28 2015
    AZ Member #
    323385
    My Garage
    1987 Dodge Raider G54B Turbo
    Location
    Portland OR, United States

    Quote Originally Posted by stealthmagic27 View Post
    Thanks for the reply Jay, ill give everything a closer looks and try to find the tolerances. Ill post up a quick video of the movement etc. Hopefully will give everyone a better idea. just seems too noisy when moving the drive axle and rear tires manually. I tried shaking the diff back and forth and cannot move the thing. The mounts seem good.
    On your behalf, I checked out how much slop I have in the diff I just pulled on a transmission swap... On my 145,000, never touched unit it was pretty tight. Pinion slop was about 1/16 of an inch( how far the outer flange rotates). Dif slop was about 2X that. The two main areas where you can get slop are the ring and pinion and the differential. If its the ring and pinion, there are only a couple of causes. A trashed set of gears... If that's the case,I'm pretty sure you would hear them and get a lot of metal in the oil. The other would be if the bearing preload was off on either the pinion or the diff. Assuming the gears didn't get scored up, that is correctable. The down side is the cost of parts.

    The other thing that can go wrong is if you have too much play in the differential bevel gears. You can feel that play if you turn one axle against the other. Easier to fix with just shims.

    Short story: Ring gear play gets expensive very quickly.

    Diff play, not as bad, I'm not sure how serviceable the Audi diff is, I have done mostly Mopar muscle car diffs.

    My real advice? If you just want to get the car fixed, get a used unit. Most last forever and are a bargain compared to the cost of hard parts and labor.

    If you want to learn how to rebuild a diff, go for it. I started setting up gears when I was a 20 something; It's a great skill to have. I have built several custom LSD units for my 4WD and even scored a Torsen for it. I have a few tricks that make setup and getting a good pattern easy. If you go that route let me know.
    2003 02X Six speed swapped, RS4 RSB, H&R FSB, B7 brakes, 2.0T stroker, DSMIC's, B7 CTS K04 turbo.

  8. #8
    Active Member Two Rings
    Join Date
    May 02 2016
    AZ Member #
    372733
    Location
    RI

    Thanks for the reply Kevin, Like i said Ill be sure to take a video of what i see is going on. Especially of moving the center drive axle and rear tire/s. Yeah seems i can get a rear diff pretty cheap. Anyone know the rear diff code for an 04 1.8t Quattro Automatic?

  9. #9
    Veteran Member Three Rings tHatOne guY's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 20 2012
    AZ Member #
    99020
    My Garage
    06' Yamaha R1...Raven
    Location
    Mesa, Az

    ETQ.. . pretty sure

  10. #10
    Veteran Member Four Rings Kevin C's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 28 2015
    AZ Member #
    323385
    My Garage
    1987 Dodge Raider G54B Turbo
    Location
    Portland OR, United States

    Quote Originally Posted by tHatOne guY View Post
    ETQ.. . pretty sure
    Agreed... I got my 4.11's from an 05 auto, it was an ETQ. Easy to verify, there is a sticker in the spare tire well with the codes.
    2003 02X Six speed swapped, RS4 RSB, H&R FSB, B7 brakes, 2.0T stroker, DSMIC's, B7 CTS K04 turbo.

  11. #11
    Veteran Member Three Rings tHatOne guY's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 20 2012
    AZ Member #
    99020
    My Garage
    06' Yamaha R1...Raven
    Location
    Mesa, Az

    Which throws me off a bit as my factory fitted diff is an ETQ in my 04' 6 spd MT USP.

  12. #12
    Veteran Member Four Rings Kevin C's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 28 2015
    AZ Member #
    323385
    My Garage
    1987 Dodge Raider G54B Turbo
    Location
    Portland OR, United States

    Quote Originally Posted by tHatOne guY View Post
    Which throws me off a bit as my factory fitted diff is an ETQ in my 04' 6 spd MT USP.
    The auto and the B6 1.8T manual shift six speed (2004-2005) have the same rear axle ratio (4.11). When I converter my 2003 five speed to a 02X, GJW six speed (what I think you have) I sourced a rear diff from a 2005 B6 auto, for that matter I used the drive shaft from the same car.
    2003 02X Six speed swapped, RS4 RSB, H&R FSB, B7 brakes, 2.0T stroker, DSMIC's, B7 CTS K04 turbo.

  13. #13
    Veteran Member Three Rings tHatOne guY's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 20 2012
    AZ Member #
    99020
    My Garage
    06' Yamaha R1...Raven
    Location
    Mesa, Az

    Yes I do, thanks for clearing that up.

  14. #14
    Active Member Two Rings
    Join Date
    May 02 2016
    AZ Member #
    372733
    Location
    RI

    Thanks again,

    Here are some quick videos i took today, The first is of the car being put into reverse, drive, then back to reverse, etc.. you will hear a good clunk while its being put in reverse. The second video is with the car off and in park moving the drive axle manually. That shows how much play I am getting. Is it a normal amount, I am not sure. Also I noticed a little bit of up and down movement in both the rear axles, and drive axle. The in and out movement I believe is normal? If I push up on the drive axle near the center bushing, it moves a bit but nothing serious. I also took another good look at the transmission while the car was being switched through "R" and "D." seems like the front of the motor is good and tight since there is a new snub, but the rear seems to flex a good bit.

    https://youtu.be/BWwvdrUEsoI

    https://youtu.be/NhAMy-tczp8

  15. #15
    Veteran Member Four Rings Kevin C's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 28 2015
    AZ Member #
    323385
    My Garage
    1987 Dodge Raider G54B Turbo
    Location
    Portland OR, United States

    Wow,

    Compared to my rear diff, thats a huge amount of play.
    2003 02X Six speed swapped, RS4 RSB, H&R FSB, B7 brakes, 2.0T stroker, DSMIC's, B7 CTS K04 turbo.

  16. #16
    Active Member Two Rings
    Join Date
    May 02 2016
    AZ Member #
    372733
    Location
    RI

    Quote Originally Posted by Kevin C View Post
    Wow,

    Compared to my rear diff, thats a huge amount of play.
    Yeah thats what i figured, it just didnt seem right...

  17. #17
    Active Member Two Rings
    Join Date
    May 02 2016
    AZ Member #
    372733
    Location
    RI

    Can anyone else confirm that the backlash is excessive?

  18. #18
    Veteran Member Three Rings tHatOne guY's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 20 2012
    AZ Member #
    99020
    My Garage
    06' Yamaha R1...Raven
    Location
    Mesa, Az

    I have a diff I picked up from a local yard that does not have that much play when turning the pinion. My factory fitted diff has about that much in your video if not a bit more.

  19. #19
    Active Member Two Rings
    Join Date
    May 02 2016
    AZ Member #
    372733
    Location
    RI

    Quote Originally Posted by tHatOne guY View Post
    I have a diff I picked up from a local yard that does not have that much play when turning the pinion. My factory fitted diff has about that much in your video if not a bit more.
    Ao can i asume the ring and pinion gears are maybe mashed/flattened?

  20. #20
    Senior Member Three Rings MoparFreak69's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 31 2015
    AZ Member #
    312372
    My Garage
    2005.5 Audi A4 Avant 2.0T quattro
    Location
    Boise Id

    Quote Originally Posted by stealthmagic27 View Post
    Can anyone else confirm that the backlash is excessive?
    Although pinion slop is a good indicator that backlash isn't ideal, the only way to tell for sure is to open the diff, clean out the oils and use pattern marking compound to see where it sits.

  21. #21
    Active Member Two Rings
    Join Date
    May 02 2016
    AZ Member #
    372733
    Location
    RI

    hmm, Seems like i should just grab a used one as mentioned earlier and throw it on

  22. #22
    Veteran Member Three Rings tHatOne guY's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 20 2012
    AZ Member #
    99020
    My Garage
    06' Yamaha R1...Raven
    Location
    Mesa, Az

    Quote Originally Posted by stealthmagic27 View Post
    hmm, Seems like i should just grab a used one as mentioned earlier and throw it on
    Def not a bad idea, same thing I chose to do but figured while I have an extra diff prolly be best to go in and replace any worn/outta spec parts and swap it out to reduce down time.

  23. #23
    Active Member Two Rings
    Join Date
    May 02 2016
    AZ Member #
    372733
    Location
    RI

    Quote Originally Posted by tHatOne guY View Post
    Def not a bad idea, same thing I chose to do but figured while I have an extra diff prolly be best to go in and replace any worn/outta spec parts and swap it out to reduce down time.

    For sure. You said your factory one has more play, does it clunk also?

  24. #24
    Veteran Member Three Rings tHatOne guY's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 20 2012
    AZ Member #
    99020
    My Garage
    06' Yamaha R1...Raven
    Location
    Mesa, Az

    Yes it has a bunch of play. When I had my clutch to do I was under the car rotating the propeller shaft by hand back/forth to see how much and judging from your vid my diff has a little more play. It does produce a clunk sound w/ enough throttle but it will not do it normally the way I drive since I try to granny it hoping it wont grenade before I can swap it out.

    I had a friend of mine drive while I listened to the diff using a chassis ear and it was clunking and clanking all over the place, in between every gear shift was a very audible bang. It's actually loud enough to hear in the back seat w/ the radio on low/off.

    The main reason for my need to replace it is I believe it is causing a couple different vibrations the car is experiencing right now.

  25. #25
    Active Member Two Rings
    Join Date
    May 02 2016
    AZ Member #
    372733
    Location
    RI

    Gotcha thanks for the info, ive been feeling the same vibrations here and there. Just ordered a diff so ill check it out when it comes in and post the outcome. Let me know how you make out also.

  26. #26
    Senior Member Three Rings MoparFreak69's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 31 2015
    AZ Member #
    312372
    My Garage
    2005.5 Audi A4 Avant 2.0T quattro
    Location
    Boise Id

    I was having a clunk from the rear of my car after my 6 speed swap. After a bunch of research I found that my original differential was the same ratio as the matched one that came with the 6 speed. Side by side on the bench they felt very similar in play, with the '6 speed' one only showing a tiny bit more in-out play on the flanges. Anyway, my clunking is dramatically reduced, with only a slight hint of noise from my prop shaft carrier bearing that is in rough shape.
    The only thing I did different putting the original diff back in was to pay really close attention to how the mounts sit on the diff housing before fully tightening them up. There is actually quite a bit of play that could allow the differential to sit slightly out of position that may have been the cause of my noise.
    I'm going to go through the 6 speed diff just to ensure everything is fresh before I put it back in for good.

  27. #27
    Veteran Member Three Rings tHatOne guY's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 20 2012
    AZ Member #
    99020
    My Garage
    06' Yamaha R1...Raven
    Location
    Mesa, Az

    Quote Originally Posted by stealthmagic27 View Post
    Gotcha thanks for the info, ive been feeling the same vibrations here and there. Just ordered a diff so ill check it out when it comes in and post the outcome. Let me know how you make out also.
    Will be sure to, plan to post up a few threads concerning the diff rebuild and the D@mn prop-shaft center bearing.

  28. #28
    Veteran Member Three Rings tHatOne guY's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 20 2012
    AZ Member #
    99020
    My Garage
    06' Yamaha R1...Raven
    Location
    Mesa, Az

    Quote Originally Posted by MoparFreak69 View Post
    I was having a clunk from the rear of my car after my 6 speed swap. After a bunch of research I found that my original differential was the same ratio as the matched one that came with the 6 speed. Side by side on the bench they felt very similar in play, with the '6 speed' one only showing a tiny bit more in-out play on the flanges. Anyway, my clunking is dramatically reduced, with only a slight hint of noise from my prop shaft carrier bearing that is in rough shape.
    The only thing I did different putting the original diff back in was to pay really close attention to how the mounts sit on the diff housing before fully tightening them up. There is actually quite a bit of play that could allow the differential to sit slightly out of position that may have been the cause of my noise.
    I'm going to go through the 6 speed diff just to ensure everything is fresh before I put it back in for good.
    What kind of noise does your prop shaft bearing make? Is the rubber around the bearing bulged or otherwise disfigured?

    I ask because I am pretty sure the mount on my ride is out. I created a thread about it awhile back, ck it out let me know what you think.. .

    http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...line-vibration

  29. #29
    Senior Member Three Rings MoparFreak69's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 31 2015
    AZ Member #
    312372
    My Garage
    2005.5 Audi A4 Avant 2.0T quattro
    Location
    Boise Id

    Quote Originally Posted by tHatOne guY View Post
    What kind of noise does your prop shaft bearing make?
    All I get is a light thunking type of noise only during takeoff. The rubber is pretty rough shape and really broken down so the shaft can move around a bit quite easily. It clears up in 2nd, I imagine because of centrifugal forces.

  30. #30
    Active Member Two Rings
    Join Date
    May 02 2016
    AZ Member #
    372733
    Location
    RI

    Well here you go guys, heres a vid of the new used rear diff. Big difference in play as you will see. The only thing I hear is the actual cup where the drive axle attaches has a tiny click back and forth, not the gears. Also the cups where the wheel axles attach have a tiny click also turning back and forth.

    https://youtu.be/b1z5k5iseVY

  31. #31
    Established Member Two Rings Kelz's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 10 2012
    AZ Member #
    103818
    Location
    Cincinnati Oh 45215

    I have one I'd love to get rid of, a rear diff from a tiptronic car that is

    Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk
    02 B6 AVANT AMB 1.8TQ - CONVERTED MANUAL (FULL DRIVETRAIN SWAP FROM WRECKED B6 SEDAN R.I.P)| COMP 5152 TRIPLEX| PSI MANIFOLD| PSI DOWNPIPE| BILLY BOAT SS EXHAUST| B7 RS4 CLUTCH| 034 HUGE INTERCOOLER KIT|034 TRACK DENSITY MOTOR MOUNTS| 034 SNUB MOUNT| 034 TRACK DENSITY TRANS-MOUNT| VACUUM HOSE DELETE|SAI DELETE| FORGE SPLITTER|BREMBO FRONT BBK W/ SS LINES| S4 REAR BRAKE UPGRADE W/SS LINES| ELECTRIC FOLD &AUTO DIM MIRRORS| TINTED WINDSHIELD|LIMO TINTED GLASS| MAESTRO TUNED W/ 1:1 THROTTLE MAPPING

  32. #32
    Active Member Two Rings
    Join Date
    May 02 2016
    AZ Member #
    372733
    Location
    RI

    Quote Originally Posted by Kelz View Post
    I have one I'd love to get rid of, a rear diff from a tiptronic car that is
    Thanks but already purchased one, thats what that last vid is of...

  33. #33
    Veteran Member Three Rings tHatOne guY's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 20 2012
    AZ Member #
    99020
    My Garage
    06' Yamaha R1...Raven
    Location
    Mesa, Az

    Quote Originally Posted by stealthmagic27 View Post
    Well here you go guys, heres a vid of the new used rear diff. Big difference in play as you will see. The only thing I hear is the actual cup where the drive axle attaches has a tiny click back and forth, not the gears. Also the cups where the wheel axles attach have a tiny click also turning back and forth.

    https://youtu.be/b1z5k5iseVY
    Huge difference compared to the original.

    Any plans to open the original fitted diff to see what's what?

  34. #34
    Active Member Two Rings
    Join Date
    May 02 2016
    AZ Member #
    372733
    Location
    RI

    Quote Originally Posted by tHatOne guY View Post
    Huge difference compared to the original.

    Any plans to open the original fitted diff to see what's what?
    Yeah def a big difference, im going to swap out hopefully this coming weekend. If i dont crack it open then i will soon after. Have you noticed any movement in the cups where the wheel axles attach? I have a slight movement in and out on both sides

  35. #35
    Veteran Member Three Rings tHatOne guY's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 20 2012
    AZ Member #
    99020
    My Garage
    06' Yamaha R1...Raven
    Location
    Mesa, Az

    Quote Originally Posted by stealthmagic27 View Post
    Yeah def a big difference, im going to swap out hopefully this coming weekend. If i dont crack it open then i will soon after. Have you noticed any movement in the cups where the wheel axles attach? I have a slight movement in and out on both sides
    Yes the diff to-axle flanges will have some axial free play. All the Audi diffs I have ever touched have this and am pretty certain is a normal characteristic additionally it seems the passenger side has the most play.

  36. #36
    Active Member Two Rings
    Join Date
    May 02 2016
    AZ Member #
    372733
    Location
    RI

    Quote Originally Posted by tHatOne guY View Post
    Yes the diff to-axle flanges will have some axial free play. All the Audi diffs I have ever touched have this and am pretty certain is a normal characteristic additionally it seems the passenger side has the most play.
    Ok good to know thanks!

  37. #37
    Active Member Two Rings
    Join Date
    May 02 2016
    AZ Member #
    372733
    Location
    RI

    Ok so the replacement differential is in and also did a hockey puck upgrade on the diff mount. Just switching from drive to reverse and back again, I'm still getting a clunk but only when going into reverse now! Half way there I guess lol Well see what happens when the car is actually hot. Stay tuned. I also have to change out the oil in this diff.

  38. #38
    Veteran Member Three Rings tHatOne guY's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 20 2012
    AZ Member #
    99020
    My Garage
    06' Yamaha R1...Raven
    Location
    Mesa, Az

    Hmm well that's an improvement. Will keep an eye out for this thread

  39. #39
    Veteran Member Four Rings Kevin C's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 28 2015
    AZ Member #
    323385
    My Garage
    1987 Dodge Raider G54B Turbo
    Location
    Portland OR, United States

    One thought on cause and effect. If your transmission has a problem, like harsh engagement, over time it could damage parts like the rear diff.
    2003 02X Six speed swapped, RS4 RSB, H&R FSB, B7 brakes, 2.0T stroker, DSMIC's, B7 CTS K04 turbo.

  40. #40
    Active Member Two Rings
    Join Date
    May 02 2016
    AZ Member #
    372733
    Location
    RI

    Hey everyone I haven't updated since may. But I did change the oil in the rear diff back in May. Clunk is still there unfortunately. I took the car to a shop to have them look at it, They mention weak tranny mounts. I replaced the mounts along with installing some rear diff mount inserts and car is still clunking. Not really sure where to go from here. I may do a rebuild of the driveshaft along with center bearing. Going to try and mount a camera under the car to see if there is any deflection of the driveshaft.

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  


    © 2001-2024 Audizine, Audizine.com, and Driverzines.com
    Audizine is an independently owned and operated automotive enthusiast community and news website.
    Audi and the Audi logo(s) are copyright/trademark Audi AG. Audizine is not endorsed by or affiliated with Audi AG.