Suspension arms - Which ones?

[scottshere]

I have a knocking sound when i accelerate and brake. Was just on one side, but now i can hear the other side too.
Had it looked at a few months ago and they could not tell which one. It has got worse now, so going back to see if they can tell where the noise is coming from.
Would i be better buying a complete kit or going for individual parts and which ones are decent as ive heard the ebay ones are not very good.

 

[stu_m]

go for the lemforder ones they are the same as what audi supply

the cheap ones are crap I had to replace a cheap one just 9 months after I fitted it

 

[simon.m]

looking at the ebay ones some come with a 12mth warranty so they cant be that bad imo. if you go to say cat auto or a.jays im sure they would not be oem parts but 1000s of garages use them. that said if you have 400 plus pounds spear then get the oem ones ;-)

 

[vroomtshh]

I got a set off ebay and they have 24months warranty.

TBH I decided not to listen too much to what people say on the internet about them coz I couldn;t find anyone who had actually run them, just loads of people saying don;t buy them, they'll be rubbish.

I haven;t had them long enough to comment on longevity but they seemed very well made, and they transformed the car when I fitted them.

For me, £130 compared to £400 was a no brainer. You can swap them over in 4 hours, and I doubt I'll still own the car in 24 months time so it won;t be my problem

 

[PAULF]

I bought an e-bay kit for my Wifes' B5 Avant, I had over 30000 miles out of them in 2 years- not bad when you consider I live a mile off-road.
However, I bought the Meyle kits from All German Parts for the other B5, and am replacing the now worn Avants' with Meyle too. They have a 4 year guarantee

A few of the B5 guys have had issues with the cheaper ones.

 

[Nessy]

The only ones worth considering IMHO are the Lemforder ones, they are OEM and identical in every way to the ones main stealers supply.
I once had the chance to compare at a VW main dealer a Genuine upper arm for my B5 (cost approx £80 from them) against a Lemforder one from EuroCarParts which cost £37.
They were identical in every way, except the ECP one had the VW Audi logos ground off in the same position as they were on the Genuine one.
Both ECP and GSF sell Lemforder if you specify them, otherwise they'll sell you a crappy Chinese one just as easily.
The heavy duty ones on Ebay might be fine, but I'd stick with OEM, just depends on how long you want them to last.

 

[scottshere]

Hmmm some good advice by everyone.... Good to hear both sides
I dont have the £400/450 to get a decent full kit, although i would love to change it all to ensure i fix the problem
Might have to settle for the Eurocarparts ones and get the top 2 arms for each side and go from there.
I hear the bolt is a bit of a nightmare to replace. Is it a big job to change just the top 2 at each side?
VROOMTSHH - 4 hours to fit a complete kit? That seems fast to me

 

[vroomtshh]

I started it after tea and was in by 10 o clock

Its not a huge job, assuming your prepared and have the proper tools to do it. If your messing about with grinders and the like on the pinch bolt, it'll take longer.

 

[SL11CKK]

For future reference what did you use to get the seized one out?

 

[stu_m]

I got a new bolt and drilled the old one out far easier then trying to get it out as one!

 

[PAULF]

I did a how-to on the B5 forum How to replace front and rear suspension parts (with pics)

If somebody here could have a look and see what, if any differences there are with the B6, it may help you.

 

[vroomtshh]

I used heat and an air gun. The guid for the b5 is the same as b6 but we have smaller ball joints

 

[Inertiauk]

How different are the B6 S4 ones ?

I was quoted ~£900 for all arms, ball joints and bushes on the front suspension from TPS

 

[scottshere]

Wow... now that is quick
I dont have all the right tools, so im guessing 2 days :weight_lift2:

I started it after tea and was in by 10 o clock

Its not a huge job, assuming your prepared and have the proper tools to do it. If your messing about with grinders and the like on the pinch bolt, it'll take longer.

 

[scottshere]

Ok, so i have taken the plunge and gone for a set of Mayle
Just over £400 from All German Parts, i'm hoping these are decent and last as i plan to keep the car for sometime
Cant wait to get them on and see what the difference is. It should be a lot as i am currently experiencing issues with clunking and the occasional wobbling of the front left... Not good
Car is going in tomorrow morning to have the kit fitted
4 Wheel tracking is in order too, just need to find someone local that is reputable (i live close to Sheffield)

 

[RyanJonS4]

These are the next thing on my list of things to buy!

is £400 for front and back kit with track rod ends?

Ryan

 

[scottshere]

These are the next thing on my list of things to buy!

is £400 for front and back kit with track rod ends?

Ryan

This kit is just for the front... Checking the back ones today hopefully, and that will be put onto my list to do

 

[Inertiauk]

I got Meyle HD ones too, they are on my car (Along with Bilstien B16 PSS9 Coilovers) after a lot of work to get the original pinch bolts out, they seem great so far, finger crossed they last.

 

[scottshere]

Ok,
So got them fitted and i can tell the difference right away, feels much more grippy on the road, no pulling left and right either
Saying that, there is still a clonk when i brake or move stearing left and right agressivly while moving and get a very serious wobble/shaking of the steering wheel that is more noticable when i back off the throttle, which it does after driving for a while, but it stops after a while (Strange i know) A loud knocking noise can be heard from around where the steering wheel is or just to the right of it when its shaking
Steering rack or CV joint or drive shafts?
Going back in to the mechanic as soon as possible
Any ideas?? - Doing my head in now... aarrrrrggggggggg

 

[stu_m]

could be wheels out of balance

 

[Dan TheMan Welburn]

The loud knock could be your rear engine mount/gearbox mount, mine had a similar knock even worse if u came off the clutch abruptly, cost about 70ish quid from TPS if i remember rightly

 

[scottshere]

could be wheels out of balance

It is far more than that, it shakes very hard at even lower speed. As though the CV joint has collapsed or something similar. Then it seems to pop back in and all is fine. If it stayed the same, it would be easy to diagnose i guess. I cant explain how agressive it is

 

[scottshere]

The loud knock could be your rear engine mount/gearbox mount, mine had a similar knock even worse if u came off the clutch abruptly, cost about 70ish quid from TPS if i remember rightly

Hmmm interesting one.. i need to get those checked too, but would that shake through the steering agressivly?
It feels similar to only having 2 wheel nuts on that are very loose. That agressive

 

[stu_m]

It is far more than that, it shakes very hard at even lower speed. As though the CV joint has collapsed or something similar. Then it seems to pop back in and all is fine. If it stayed the same, it would be easy to diagnose i guess. I cant explain how agressive it is

hmmmm strange one

could be the cv popping out i have seen this before but not the violent shaking with it!

 

[scottshere]

hmmmm strange one

could be the cv popping out i have seen this before but not the violent shaking with it!

I agree it is very strange, thats whats making me think either somepart of driveshaft or steering rack

 

[marktdisport]

Check the steering rack hasn't come loose, quite common on the b6

 

[scottshere]

Check the steering rack hasn't come loose, quite common on the b6

Thanks, its been in today, but they dont have the ramp clear until tomorrow, so see if that may be the problem
What a time of year to be messing around trying to find the the problem.

 

[scottshere]

Had the car checked over and still cannot find the problem
We are now thinking it could be a caliper fault, causing the brake disk off centre and causing the wobble

It does seem to fix the problem when i stop the car and pump the brakes (or this is just coinsidence)
Just drove the car for miles with the mechanic in the car and it was fine !! Just like going to the doctors... Hmmmmm

 

[stu_m]

could it be a wheel bearing? do you get any humming at all?

 

[scottshere]

could it be a wheel bearing? do you get any humming at all?

No, none at all, more like the scrape at first as though something is touching the guard behind the brake disk or outer edge of the brake disk

I have had a wheel bearing fitted some months ago on that side, maybe its faulty?

 

[stu_m]

did they just do the bearing or the full hub? as the hub is pressed in to the bearing and could be working loose maybe and applying the brake could be pushing it back in to the bearing!

To be honest thats all I can think of it been but I really cant see it happening but worse things have happened at sea!