1998 a6 tdi front RATTLE & knocking

[shorty]

Hi ALL I HAVE RECENTLY NOTICED THAT AMY A6 HAS A KNOCKING SOUND WHEN I GO OVER UNEVEN SURFACE ALSO THERE IS LIKE A METALIC RATTLE FROM THE FRONT NEAR SIDE THE BEST I CAN DESCRIBE THE SOUND IS LIKE BEARINGS IN A COKE TIN BEING SHAKIN,ALSO MY STEERING FEELS FINE WHEN IN HIGHER GEARS BUT FEELS A BIT HEAVY IN THE LOWER GEARS IT SEEMS TO PULL TO ONE SIDE WHEN BRAKEING, I HAD FRONT DISC'S AND PADS REPLACED 5000 MILES AGO THEY LOOK FINE VISULAY .
ANYONE ANY IDEA'S CHEERS
shorty

[H Sand]

Hi ALL I HAVE RECENTLY NOTICED THAT AMY A6 HAS A KNOCKING SOUND WHEN I GO OVER UNEVEN SURFACE ALSO THERE IS LIKE A METALIC RATTLE FROM THE FRONT NEAR SIDE THE BEST I CAN DESCRIBE THE SOUND IS LIKE BEARINGS IN A COKE TIN BEING SHAKIN,ALSO MY STEERING FEELS FINE WHEN IN HIGHER GEARS BUT FEELS A BIT HEAVY IN THE LOWER GEARS IT SEEMS TO PULL TO ONE SIDE WHEN BRAKEING, I HAD FRONT DISC'S AND PADS REPLACED 5000 MILES AGO THEY LOOK FINE VISULAY .
ANYONE ANY IDEA'S CHEERS
shorty

hi, the knocking noise, more so cause it is a metalic metal type of noise, probably is due to the downpipe/cat touching the metal heat sheild just above the drive shaft (driver side), sorry cant answer your prob on pulling and heavy steering, hope it helps.

[buster]

Hi ALL I HAVE RECENTLY NOTICED THAT AMY A6 HAS A KNOCKING SOUND WHEN I GO OVER UNEVEN SURFACE ALSO THERE IS LIKE A METALIC RATTLE FROM THE FRONT NEAR SIDE THE BEST I CAN DESCRIBE THE SOUND IS LIKE BEARINGS IN A COKE TIN BEING SHAKIN,ALSO MY STEERING FEELS FINE WHEN IN HIGHER GEARS BUT FEELS A BIT HEAVY IN THE LOWER GEARS IT SEEMS TO PULL TO ONE SIDE WHEN BRAKEING, I HAD FRONT DISC'S AND PADS REPLACED 5000 MILES AGO THEY LOOK FINE VISULAY .
ANYONE ANY IDEA'S CHEERS
shorty

Pleae do not use capital letters as it is difficult to read and is considered shouting

I had a problem similar to this.

The noise sounds just like your description and I thought it may be a drive shaft.

I took it to a main dealer and they couldn't find anything wrong with it.

I took it for an MOT and mentioned that it was doing this prior to the test. It passed.

I took it to another garage and they told me it was the driveshaft, but it would be ok for another 10,000 miles or so.

Not happy with this (it was getting worse) I took it to an independant Audi dealer in Sheffield who ran the car with the wheels suspended. The noise was quite loud and the garage tells me that it is the inner CV joint on the nearside front.

It is dangerous to drive, as it is bad enough to break away from the gearbox and cause untold damage.

It could just be a weak rubber on your anti roll bar or a worn ball joint, which is a common problem on the A6, or indeed an exhaust problem as H Sand says.

Best to get it checked out.