S4 B8 lower control arm kit

[ninjag]

My lower control arms need replacing so I went to get the 034 Motorsport lower control arm M14 kit but it seems there are massive stock shortages in both the UK and USA with predicted eta of late November .

I've found a Meyle kit in America which seems to be in stock (part no. 8K0407151FKT2 link here) and I think it's compatible with my B8.5 but does anyone know if this is a decent make? It ends up a little over £500 once converted and including shipping, import Duty & VAT which seems fine.

Or would anyone be able to recommend something I can get in the UK? I'll be getting new bolts as well because I believe these are stretch bolts and one of them is a full 180° twist after torquing with others being 90°.


Thanks

 

[ninjag]

Also, on the 034 site it says that it's an M14 ball joint (the separate one) and lists the part number as 8K0407689G but this appears to be an M12 ball joint. Is it a typo and supposed to be M12 as I thought it was only the ball joint which forms part of the control arm which was increased to M14?

 

[Paul battams]

My lower control arms need replacing so I went to get the 034 Motorsport lower control arm M14 kit but it seems there are massive stock shortages in both the UK and USA with predicted eta of late November .

I've found a Meyle kit in America which seems to be in stock (part no. 8K0407151FKT2 link here) and I think it's compatible with my B8.5 but does anyone know if this is a decent make? It ends up a little over £500 once converted and including shipping, import Duty & VAT which seems fine.

Or would anyone be able to recommend something I can get in the UK? I'll be getting new bolts as well because I believe these are stretch bolts and one of them is a full 180° twist after torquing with others being 90°.


Thanks

Yes meyle is a good make better than OE ye get new bolts and do the job right good luck


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[ninjag]

Yes meyle is a good make better than OE ye get new bolts and do the job right good luck


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks, I've also been looking at individual Lemforder parts but this ball joint is getting me stuck. I spoke with 034 motorsport uk this morning about it and the part number they have referenced and it kinda stumped him as well.

He could only assure me that it would be an M14 despite that part number returning M12 because it will be automatically superseded, but that doesn't solve the problem when trying to buy separately. Their lower arm kit won't be available until mid November which was confirmed this morning. Meh...

 

[ninjag]

This is gonna be fun... complete upper and lower front suspension. Wish me luck! Lol

 

[ninjag]

Forged in the fires of hell.

 

[rum4mo]

Are you going to treat the new bolts with aluminium loaded grease to stop that happening next time, or are you meaning that there will not be a next time?

 

[ninjag]

Are you going to treat the new bolts with aluminium loaded grease to stop that happening next time, or are you meaning that there will not be a next time?

Aye, we used Ceratec lube. I'm amazed Audi don't lube at factory, especially as it's not a fully threaded bolt.

Unfortunately, I'm noticing a knocking over certain types of bumps. Everything was preloaded and torqued except the drop links and it does feel drop link like so I will check the torque and twist as I have a feeling they aren't tight enough.

The large ball joint is also under torqued on one side because I overlooked the fact thar the guide was using M12 ball joints but mine are M14 so instead of 110Nm it's 145Nm (or 140Nm, I'll double check). The other side is fine as it was torqued in my absence to 145Nm which has now accidentally turned out to be correct lol

I just hope that none of the parts are faulty after reading some of the Meyle quality control issues because it's a lot of work.

 

[ninjag]

Nearside drop link wasn't tightened up fully. Phew!

 

[ninjag]

At last and very happy.

 

[jaluc61]

At last and very happy.

View attachment 244097

How are you finding it now after fitting ? I’m going to do my b6 1.9 Quattro now wanted to use the lemforder kit but it’s says for 1BV and I’m 1BE (non sline suspension) so not sure it would be right and not cheap to buy individual so meyle kit might be best just wondered how it feels

 

[spartacus 68]

How are you finding it now after fitting ? I’m going to do my b6 1.9 Quattro now wanted to use the lemforder kit but it’s says for 1BV and I’m 1BE (non sline suspension) so not sure it would be right and not cheap to buy individual so meyle kit might be best just wondered how it feels

Lemforder is quality kit, but Meyle, and in Meyle HD (heavy duty) will transform ride. Again, quality kit. Fit and forget. Check out Dave Sterl videos on replacing upper and lower arms on YouTube. A air hammer would be advisable. I replaced the front coil spring on my Allroad two weeks ago and would have struggled to shift the upper arms out of the strut support. You can see the aluminium oxide corrosion once you start on the pinch bolt and the drive the upper arms out.

 

[ninjag]

How are you finding it now after fitting ? I’m going to do my b6 1.9 Quattro now wanted to use the lemforder kit but it’s says for 1BV and I’m 1BE (non sline suspension) so not sure it would be right and not cheap to buy individual so meyle kit might be best just wondered how it feels

So far so good, nothing seems to have failed. I'll echo above and would invest in something for that pinch bolt. - I really wish they made it fully threaded It's rather tight in there which is why we got a right angled air ratchet. It's a fairly involved job though, not particularly difficult but needs a lot of time.

We were very careful to not fully tighten anything so that we could torque under load.

 

[jaluc61]

Thanks for the replies looks like the only way to torque the top arms back bolt is by removing strut assembly and doing it on bench is that right ? If so might be as well doing springs and shocks at same time any idea what standard ones were ?

 

[ninjag]

Thanks for the replies looks like the only way to torque the top arms back bolt is by removing strut assembly and doing it on bench is that right ? If so might be as well doing springs and shocks at same time any idea what standard ones were ?

You should be able to access them, I could. I followed this guide although important to note that the B8.5 has M14 ball joints and different torque settings for these. I think it was only the lower front control arm which I did on the bench with a vice, where I installed and torqued the ball joint.

 

[rum4mo]

Just one question on this work, my 2011 Audi S4 has stupidly low mileage as I only use it for longer journeys, so just over 30,000miles(gulp), since I bought it slightly used in 2013, at times there has been a knock on the front RHS suspension when it has been loaded up by either a speed bump or general lumps on the road. I originally thought that this was due to a top mounting issue as the car has always sat 2.5mm lower on the RHS, but after finally examining the work carried out back in January this year, which was replacing the engine mountings due to the RHS one weeping fluid, I've noticed that the RHS lower front link or TCA has a deformed bush where the suspension upright yoke bolts to this lower front link.

So, as all the other bushes on the other links still look good, I am planning on replacing this single link on both sides, and as there is a swivel/ball joint in there, replacing that as well.

My question is, as my car seems to have the M12 lower swivel as it was built in late January 2011, is it possible or even beneficial to buy the later lower link ie one that is for the M14 swivel, and M14 lower swivels to match - or was there a geometry change when changing that swivel from M12 to M14 that means that I can't or shouldn't make that change?

 

[NyB8]

Following.

 

[rum4mo]

Following.

Lemforder front lower front M14 link and M14 Lemforder ball joints in transit!
Mind you maybe Audi didn't use Lemforder for the ball joints at the factory, but maybe Lemforder just buys them from a suitable manufacturer and re-boxes them!

Edit:- from memory, I think that Lemforder have dropped the M12 ball joint from their range of aftermarket parts, TRW, another ZF company/brand, still list them.

I ended up trawling around the Audi forums and considered that doing this would be okay, as to whither Audi changed this size for strength or to standardise parts where ever this link is used going forward, I can't work out, though I'd think that they changed the front lower rear link sizes/design for a real reason at an earlier stage in the production of B8 A4s.

 

[rum4mo]

Well I have now received both the new arms and lower ball joints, Lemforder arms "assembled in China", Lemforder lower ball joint "assembled in Malaysia", the Lemforder front TCA rear mounting bush that I bought for my wife's 2015 VW Polo 1.2TSI, again was assembled outside Europe, such is the way that parts are now manufactured nowadays.

To make life easy so that I can fit the lower ball joint to the arms before fitting them to the car, I've ordered in an M18 joining nut - I'll be using that to fit into my garage vice and that can hold the arm from rotating while I torque up the top nut - the underside of the Lemforder lower ball joint has a female 27mm hex that I'll be locating the M18 (27mm AF) into.

 

[rum4mo]

Seeing as I've bumped into this thread while looking for something else, I'll just add that I did eventually replace all the front suspension arms and converted from M12 "front lower arm and its ball joint" to M14 and got the car's 4 wheel alignment checked/adjusted - its "before" figures were nearly still "spot on" so only one steering rod needed a very slight adjustment.