87 4k CSQ tranny bad at 67k miles?

[Dupree, Jim]

I had a very similar situation. Noise and vibration most prominent in trans
near output flange for the rear axle. I could not (that I recall) feel the
vibration in the pedal though. I assumed it was bearings in the trans but
wanted to eliminate other possibilities. I removed the propshaft to the rear
axle and locked the center diff. Car drove fine with no noise or vibration.
The front CV joint on the propshaft was totally worn out (had water in it).
I replaced the front CV joint, replaced the center support bearing, repacked
the center u-joint and repacked the rear CV joint. I have had no problems
since. One nice thing was that I could drive the car with the center diff
locked and the propshaft in my garage. It gave me all the time I needed to
work on the propshaft, plus all the procrastination time I wanted as well. I
probably drove for 6 months in two wheel drive.

Thanks
Jim

 -----Original Message-----
From: 	Robert ExperimentalError [mailto:porter_dog at hotmail.com]
Sent:	Thursday, October 10, 2002 3:09 PM
To:	quattro at audifans.com
Subject:	87 4k CSQ tranny bad at 67k miles?


Hiya, new guy here, liked the 86 4kQ beater I bought last December so much I
shopped for and bought a nicer one, an 87 with only 67k miles on it.  Ever
since I've had it though there's been a bit of a vibration from the front
end at speed- you can feel it in the gas pedal.  It's gotten worse, winter
is coming, time to address the problem...

  I originally thought it was the wheel bearing, but the noise is not
sensitive to sawing the wheel back and forth at speed (slalom-like).  Last
night I put it up securely on jackstands and let it idle in 5th.  I then
used a stethoscope to try and pinpoint the noise, but was unable to do so (I
could hear the noise with near equal clarity at every point I listened to).
It _seemed_ to be worst at the propshaft exit.  It's not the wheel bearings.

  Tranny lube is fresh and there's plenty of it.  There's no sign of leakage
from the transmission or the CV joints, but the heatshield which should
protect the inner CV on the passenger side from the downpipe heat is
missing.

  Tires are all the same and in very good condition.

  I spoke with Steve at German Transaxle and he said that the pinion
bearings go bad in these transmissions, but not usually so early.  He also
said it could be the "4 point bearing" (?) which supports the end of the
mainshaft.  $2030 for a reman unit with a 2 year warrantee or 'about $1k'
plus freight to fix this one.  Ouch.

  A guy on the audiworld forum suggested that it could be CV related, had a
hard time believing that the trans would be bad at such low mileage, and
suggested I try this list.

   If you've any thoughts on diagnosis, alternate failures which could be
causing this noise, or a trustworthy transmission shop in the Detroit area,
I'd be very grateful to hear about it.

  Thanks for your time and the bandwidth,
Robert Mangas


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