Just failed it's MOT

[Tuffty]

Took the old girl for her first MOT in my ownership, as with any car you've not owned for long I was a little concerned about what might be found, although as of yet I've found nothing to say the car isn't a good straight one.
sailed through the emissions (at least that's most of the expensive bits done LOL )
But the tester picked up on a worn upper ball joint, supprise supprise LOL

Now concidering the car's covered 130k, and as far as I can see the suspension has never been touched, with every component still with the original date stamp, and this is the first time I've worked on a S4,
I psyked myself up for an afternoon of big hammers, much cursing and swearing and sezed pinch bolts.

40 mins later the car was back on it's wheels, job done! not a single bolt sezed and the leg came in and out nice and easy with no fecking about.
Well impressed, but I still can'd see why Audi decided to put all the bolts in the wrong way

 

[Siena]

Glad you got her done, with the minimum of skin loss, and / or chipped bone...

 

[Lee Goodall]

Good work mate.. love it when a job turns out to be much easier than you were expecting (very rare though lol).

 

[aragorn]

Did you just change the one arm?

Its probably worth changing the others too as it will tighten the car up a treat. 130kmile bushes tend to be a bit soggy!

Took me nearly 8 hours to change all 8 arms at the weekend. That was mainly because i decided to swap my 170k shocks for a pair that came off my bro's S4 and had only done 80k, and after dismantling everything realised i had no idea how to line up the shock and the top mount! Few hours of cursing, head scratching and guessing and i managed to work it out. Needless to say the second side took half the time the first side took!

 

[Tuffty]

I changed all of the upper arms, will look at doing the rest at a later date when I put some better shocks and springs on her.

 

[dieselfitter251]

Go on... do tell. How many grazed knuckles....? I've never know a car for having the nuts in the wrong place!!!!!!! Also had a torque bar bounce and hit me on the forehead once... grrrrrr!!!!!!
Enjoy your B5!

p.s. just turned 232000 miles and I think I'm on my 2nd set of arms (bought the car at 171k) so you're probably about right for your replacements...

 

[Siena]

I'm not far behind at 215,000.

 

[audinary]

I'm at 58,500 now, I'm more worried about the car seizing up...

 

[aragorn]

seizing up?

 

[dieselfitter251]

Speaking of siezing up, timing belt is about 5k off.... If is wasn't for christmas I'd get it done now. I'm hoping that I'm not tempting fate....

 

[Tuffty]

Although it's important to change the belt regually, it's not going to snap 2 miles after the service says its due.
I've seen belts that are 30k past their due and still look fine. But at the same time people have had them fail before it was due. It's mostly down to who fitted the belt and how the car is driven, ie does it spend most of it's life reving hard.
usually it's not the belt which fails anyway, it's usually the bearings in the idler / tentioners which seize up and take the belt with them.

 

[audinary]

seizing up?

Yeah, due to lack of use! Poor little ****** has been mollycoddled for its first 10 years, as soon as I got it it has been subjected to being flung 4000 miles across Europe and a 50 miles a day commute....

 

[audinary]

It's mostly down to who fitted the belt....

Oh Christ, I'm stuffed then. DIY here... but I was careful... Hasn't fallen off yet....

 

[Tuffty]

Oh Christ, I'm stuffed then. DIY here... but I was careful... Hasn't fallen off yet....

being in the trade and seeing the state of some so called "profesionsal" mechanics, I'd feel safer knowing someone who had had a go themselves had done mine, knowing that they will have double checked everything, and then again to make sure.

 

[dieselfitter251]

I'm just pooing myself now, the garage that put the belt on did a bunch of work for at the time.... had mad vibration after taking the car away, both front wheels had directional tyres on the wrong way, and when they'd put an ABS sensor back in the front right they'd knacked the copper retainer sleeve, so they had wrapped it in a latex glove and wedged it in place...

 

[Tuffty]

I'm just pooing myself now, the garage that put the belt on did a bunch of work for at the time.... had mad vibration after taking the car away, both front wheels had directional tyres on the wrong way, and when they'd put an ABS sensor back in the front right they'd knacked the copper retainer sleeve, so they had wrapped it in a latex glove and wedged it in place...

Good lord!
did they have horses tied up outside and spurs on their shoes?

 

[dieselfitter251]

Didn't notice, and believe me I didn't go back to check.... only 'Specialists' in the area too....incidently, not where I am just now.
I now use a place in Carlisle, couldn't be more helpfull and are really 'Professional'.... The belt's one of the things I get 'The Fear' about tackleing, a bad experience with my old Jetta...