Driveshaft noise?

[Steve Sears]

Matt,
If the noise changes depending on whether you're cruising, accelerating or
decelerating, you should check the driveshaft support, tranny mounts, etc. -
anything that will let the driveshaft move when torque is applied.  As you
noted, it may also be a heat shield, or the parking brake cables.  I
recently went through this on my 5ktq - bought a set of pb cables thru
eBay - from a seller who has since tanked her account.  The ps cable ("DEPO"
aftermarket) was ok but the ds ("GEMO" aftermarket) was not the right size
and would rub against the driveshaft.  It took a while for a shiny section
of propshaft to appear, and by then the cable was toast.
Cheers!
Steve Sears
1987 Audi 5kTQ - new ds cable arrived this week from VM Autohaus - looks way
better constructed than the one I'm replacing
1980 Audi 5k
1962 and '64 Auto Union DKW Junior deLuxes
----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Matt Suffern" <msuffern at lycos.com>
> Subject: Driveshaft noise?
> To: quattro at audifans.com
> Message-ID: <20041222231347.BFF1030E7DF at ws7-1a.us4.outblaze.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
>
> Hi all. I'm getting an intermittent scraping noise coming from the region
just under the shifter area underneath the car.
>
> It seems to be louder at very low speeds, but this could just be because
the normal wind and drivetrain noises haven't
> drowned it out yet. For instance, I can't hear it above, say, 20 mph,
though it might still be there but I can't tell it apart from
> normal driving noises.
>
> It sounds for all the world like a heat shield is bent and rubbing on the
driveshaft, but only every once in a while. There's
> no discernable pattern as far as when it occurs relative to when the car's
cold or hot. It *does* seem to occur more
> frequently when I've just started the car and am driving off, though it
also happens after I've been driving for a while, and,
> say, pull up slowly to a stoplight.
>
> I went out earlier today and felt around the exhaust and driveshaft in the
vicinity of the noise under the car, but I couldn't
> find any interference, or even any tight clearances.
>
> Any ideas? Do I have a bearing/u-joint going bad?
>
> Thanks and Merry Christmas,
>
> Matt
> '86 4kq
> Chapel Hill, NC