Bill Ball

According to Constantine and his customers, no, if you use the 3-bearing kit. If I wasn't cash strapped at the moment, I would have considered that repair. But personally, I was quite happy with the stock equipment, having lasted 245K miles. And I will tell you my bearing carriers, bearings and their bushings are still in perfect condition. Only the damper carriers failed.

Black Sea RD

We purposely engineered the Super Bearings to completely replace the TT internals, to include the vibe dampener.

Mark Anderson

Yes we do "bother" putting it in. To date every tube we've rebuilt has used all the factory parts as designed. I've never thought I knew better than the factory engineers.

AO

So was this the vibration you've been chasing for the past couple years? If so, I'm glad it worked out for you. I tried to rebuild my TT and had intended to leave out the damper, but then ran into all kinds of problems when re-installing the drive shaft and finally one of the carriers got stuck in the middle and I just gave up and ordered one from Mark. So far, it's "happy."

Bill Ball

No. I haven't checked that completely yet as that is a high speed vibration (>80 MPH). I think that is still there, BUT in the few times I have hit over 80 since the TT repair, it hasn't been clear. The 3000 RPM vibration that rattled the shift lever was new, appearing after my trans (and TT) removal. The damper must have fallen apart then. At least that vibration is gone for sure.

With some TT's, the shaft and bearing carriers fall out. With others, it's a chore.

Bill Ball

Ohhhhhh....I don't want to speak too soon, but I did a blast down the freeway today into the speed range where I have generally had a substantial vibration for several years, one that felt like a wheel balance issue but wasn't, and it appears to have resolved. I need to do a few more runs before I will be sure, which is risky to do locally. This was a ROAD SPEED-related vibration that shook the whole car, so I suspected a rear wheel/tire out of balance or out of round, but the vibration had persisted despite 3 sets of wheels and tires and careful examination of the axles and suspension bushings. There was some inconsistency to the vibration, so I need to test further, maybe with a trip out to I-5. I never considered the TT because this vibration was not present at a specific RPM and in an automatic the TT always spins at engine RPM, making it harder to do any isolation like you might with a manual tranny car by pushing the clutch in and putting the tranny in neutral.

There is hope. If this was due to the damper breaking down, not in the classic manner where it slides freely up and down the tube making loud clunks but perhaps with the carriers breaking up but still holding their position, then there may be hope for Nicole who has an almost identical vibration that has stumped even the master, GB.

michael j wright

Bill, I do hope that this does in fact fix that for you! Two birds with one stone so to speak would be nice.

Bill Ball

I certainly did not expect it because it was so road speed related regardless of engine RPM, but others have had similar vibrations cured by other TT-related fixes, such as Schocki's report of relief when he replaced the torque converter cover bearings. I replaced mine a year or so ago with no change.

Still, I need to verify it.

Bill Ball

I went for another "high speed" run, and the old road speed related vibration still seems to be gone. Hallelujah!

Bill Ball

Eh, it's back. The high road speed vibration is somewhat variable. I need to more carefully evauate the rear wheel bearings and hubs.

michael j wright

Ah crap!

Mrmerlin

Bill have you ever replaced the half shafts?
I put a new set on my car at 95K miles no vibrations,
of course I didnt have any prior but there was some play in the CV joints.
IOW I could turn the shaft and feel the slightest movement,
I did this with the car on ramps and in neutral with the front wheels blocked,
E brake off

Bill Ball

Stan: My axles are fine. I've had them out twice and went over them very carefully. There is no play.

Today I took them off again and stripped the calipers and rotors off to get down to the bare hubs. There is no play in the hubs and the bearings are firm. I replaced the bearings about 100K miles ago. One has less drag than the other, so I may replace it soon, but they are not the cause of my vibration.

I now have two problems. One is the 80+ MPH vibration felt through the car body I've had for 2-3 years that is not wheel balance (three differnt sets of rims and tires are the same), torque converter bearings, TT, orrentation of the flexplates, worn rear bushings, axles. Even though I don't feel it through teh steering wheel, I checked the front wheel bearings, balljoints and steering rack. All fine.

The other is a howling noise that I think is coming from the differential I had installed. It started immediately after that was done. I've suspected improper backlash setting, but my check today (I had the diff cover off) did not appear to confirm that. There is wear across the entire face of the ring gear teeth. I don't know how to evaluate that. The howl is present at some lower speeds but is most prominent at 70+ MPH. It's not tire or wheel bearing noise.

I'm baffled by both of these issues.

Charley B

Sometimes the most cost effective, and time efficient, solution is just a little more volume on the stereo. I'm jus' sayin........

p9281990

Bill,

I have a 1990 s4 with high miles.... TT looks orginal.

Question, did the original TT noise sound something like a noisy power steering pump. That whining/whirling groaning in sync with the engine dropping out at high RPMs.... or seemed more difficult to hear at high RPMs. 1000-1700RPM seems to be the the most noticeable groaning/Whining.

Normally a power steering noise would get louder as the RPM increased, this sound seems to tapper off as the RPMs get above 2000.

I pop the hood and the sound was not coming from the engine/steering pump.... put my ear under the car and it sounded like it was coming from under the car. The noise is easiest to hear inside of the car, less exhaust noise drowning it out, maybe.

This started last night, in the last 30 miles of a 400 mile trip and is not going way. I too, have some vibrations that I have not isolated. Engine shakes at 3000 --> ~4000. If you rev the engine in Park it shakes/vibrates. At idle and just above Idle.... lots of buzzing from the vibrations throughout the car.

Depending on the day.... It could feel like a tire out of balance.. then it might go way.... These vibrations have been around for a while. This sudden new noise has me thinking about the TT.


Patrick