Suspension Control Arms

will try some heat on the pinch bolt then as i cant turn it at all the moement and will be putting copper grease all over it for next time.
 
I had a nightmare as well releasing the passenger side pinch bolt (drivers side was fine). Helps if you jack up the hub to release the tension on it.
 
Thanks to a handy angle grinder I have now cut the lower rear bolt and have managed to get the lower arms out, now im just having a problem getting the front lower arm chassis bolt back in. Oh, and to add insult to injury it has now started raining here and as I dont have a garage Ive been doing this work on my driveway.

Something tells me I wont be getting the passenger side finished today.
 
put the bolt back in from the other side the original one was.its a bit fiddly but it does go.
 
Hi Ian, I've done that with the rear lower arm but cant appear to do that with the front lower arm
 
front ones should be fine to go back in the way they were from what i remember.it was only the rears that were a problem.
 
On the front lower arm you feed the bolt backwards into a gap in the subframe (head first, towards the front of the car), which allows you to get it straight to go thru the arm.
 
Cheers guys progress at last, I was trying to get the bolt in the way aragorn mentioned above but was getting nowhere at the weekend, after leaving it for a few days and 'calming' down I managed to realign the control arm and slide the bolt straight in!

So now I have completed the change on the drivers side I just need to do the passenger side..... despite soaking the pinch bolt for over a week now it still refuses to budge, trip to Homebase tomorrow to pick up a thinner cutting disc for the angry grinder and some decent drill bits as i am going to cut it and try to drill it in situ because I dont want to remove the upright. Once thts done I will be good to go to replace all the arms as i have already loosened or 'broken) the rest of the bolts.

I know there is already a good how to over on audiworld but would it benefit anyone if i got some photos of the passenger side whilst i do it and then write it up with the recommendations from everyone else in this thread?
 
if you have a new pinch bolt and nut i would leave the nut on so the threads are below flush and heat the top of the hub and set about it with a hammer and see if it starts to mave first.even get a mate on the head of the bolt with a spanner applying pressure as you knock **** out of it and it should move.better that tring to drill it out.
 
Yeah the kit came with a new pinch bolt, i've tried some heat from a blow torch, multiple spanners and lump hammers but it still doesnt want to budge, the angry grinder and drilling it out was always going to be a last option but after a week of trying I have to admit defeat and get the the thing out now. I've managed to work from a local office all week but my work want me at the head office for a few days next week so i need the car back on the road asap.
 
You really cant get into it properly with the upright on the car, especially if your going to start drilling it etc.

Smashing it with lump hammers will just wreck the top mounts etc.

On ours we took the upright out. Oneside came right out once the upright was on the floor after hitting it hard with a 4lb mallet, the other one ended up in the pillar drill to get drilled out. Saves you a LOT of time messing around, its only a case of undoing the CV joint nut and removing the brake caliper (in that order, you need the brakes to remove the big nut)

Also makes it easier to unbolt all the arms with the upright out the way.
 
Yes, definately remove the upright. I tried exactly all the things you've tried and wasted hours on it. Once I'd calmed down I removed the upright and life became a lot easier.
 
right aftertrying last week and giving up on the pinch bolt as no replacement pinch bolt was available got some new bolts and decided thats it its comeing out!! undone the nut and leathered it no joy,try turning it after heating it up no joy,snapped both ends off and melted both ball joints so it has to come out now.tryed drifting it out no joy tryed drilling it and after 3 hours managed about 5mm still cant get it out getting desperate need the car back for monday morning whats my choices?? any ideas???
 
take the upright out and put it on the ground and give it a good few whacks.

If that doesnt shift it then you'll need to drill it out like i did. We used a pillar drill, low speed and plenty of cutting fluid. If you go at it with a high speed drill you'll blunt the drill bit in seconds and get nowhere.
 
gave up!!couldnt get the hub carrier of as the steering tre would not come out and i could not get the abs sensor out of the hub carrier,thought it was supposed to just pull out tryed turning it out no joy now the abs light wont go out what have i broke now????really annoyed dont like things like this defeating me.put it all back together now and will gingerly drive it to a garage and hope they can sort it hope it dont cost much as i'll end up looseing a days pay from work if they can do it in a day????
 
prob need an abs sensor now by the looks of it.if you follow the wire it unplugs just behind the gromit.mine was a nightmare to get out,i had to brake it up and eventualy pull it out. got a new one on ebay for about £20.should not take a garage long to do. 2hr i would say at most.
 
Steering TRE's are usually pretty good on these. You remove the little 10mm nut from the top, and then remove the pinch bolt, then it usually just taps out;

ABS sensor is best if you remove it where it goes thru the bulkhead rather than trying to remove it from the hub.

Not sure what you've done to it...
 
tre pinch bolt being the problem wont just tap out!!!by the sound of it i think ive shorted out the abs sensor but how do i get it out the hub??would be best to find a replcement then just grip it with molegrips and twist and pull till it breaks or comes out??
 
mole grips and twist.thats what i did and broke the insides out and just grabbed the edge of the metal(it will be like a coke can with one end off now)and turn it till it started to move. its a **** design if you ask me.
 
all of its a **** design all them pinch bolts that get cover in everything and all seize!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
audi upgrades
garage sorted the upper arms out for me.ordered a new abs sensor of ebay but they sent me the wrong part!!!sent it back in the week and waiting for a replacement.i was only replaceing the upper arms as was told on the mot they would need sorting soon and i had a knocking noise from the front.after changing the upper arms and one lower rear as could see it was knackered i still had a knocking noise so replaced both anti roll bar links still knocking so will be doing the lower front one as its the only one left to do!!i wish i had replaced the whole lot now as was originally only going to do the upper fronts as advised by the mot garage live and learn,trial and error and all that!!!hope i never have to do this agan as its been a nightmare!!!!
 
Well as long as you used good parts (meyle, lemforder, or genuine) then you should be fine, and they'll last many years just like the original ones.

If you've used cheap ones then you may be under there again sooner that you wish. I had fitted some cheap ones all round (i got them from ebay for £140 iirc) and they lasted about 3-4 months, the car was MOT'd about 3 months after fitted and they gave an advisory on the top arms on one side, they had already started creaking at that point and started knocking pretty soon after the MOT, and in the process of failing managed to fail in such a way that they killed both front tyres.

So 4.5 months after fitting the first set i had to spend a further £330 on some Meyle arms and install them, plus replace both front tyres at a cost of £120 and get the tracking done again. Trying to save £200 the first time round ended up costing me over £500!
 
All's well that ends well.

After 3 weekends of problems I finally managed to get the whole Meyle kit fitted last weekend and the car was MOT'd this week and passed with no advisories.

The main problem I had is the same as most people and that was one of the pinch bolts ceasing, After 8 hours on a Saturday myself and my dad managed to grind and drill our way through it and then everything went back together nicely with good dollop of Copper Ease just in case I need to take any of it apart again.

I'm not sure I want to do the same job again though knowing the problems I had, my problem was that I couldn't afford to put the car in a garage to get the work done. All the sweat and swearing has paid off though and the car feels great, I didn't realise how bad the steering actually felt before, much better reposnse and no knocking noises now.
 
all parts so far have been lemforder and the next one will be as well.it is knocking more now than it was before i replaced any of the arms sounds like a bad tesco shopping trolly driving down an uneven road!!!
 
Oh dear somethings not right, you still have more bit to change. Whats left to do?
 
Just wanted to add that OE is Lemforder and they are the best to get. The full kit for
320 is a bargain. I just paid Audi 130 quid for only the two upper front arms - I needed
them in a hurry. My ebay.de ones lasted for 20k miles. When putting the pinch bolt back
in make sure you use a coated bolt and cover it in grease.
 
changed the arb droplinks hopeing that was the problem.all upper arms and the lower rear arms have been changed now so it can only be the front lower arm now [i hope]everything is tight been checked and checked again.should of just changed the lot in one go but funds were tight so just changed what was advised on the mot.hopeing my new abs sensor turns up before the weekend so i can do it all in one go
 
I also bought the hopeless cheapy kit off ebay and now have all sorts of groaning as well as a horrible (and quite worrying) vibration when braking or slowing down. So what is the best bet, Meyle or Lemforder and how much and where from?
I really only want to do this god awful job one more time in my life!
 
AndyMac, I'm not planning on doing these again which is why I went for the Meyle kit as recommended to me by aragorn right at the beginning of the thread, I even ended up getting them from the ebay supplier he recommended as they worked out at £297 shipped after converting from Euros.

http://cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160288247372

The Meyle ones were also mentioned in a lot of the threads I used as research when I realised I would have to change mine. Mine arrived quicky, were well packaged, everything was all in one box and they appear to be well made.

I have also since heard lots of good stuff about the Lemforder ones, as they are apparently the OE supplied parts? I dont think you would go far wrong with either of the kits going from what I have read but im sure there wil be many other opinions on here.
 
well my abs sensor turned up so i thought right i'll get a front lower arm aswell as its the only one left to do and get stuck in yet again.sorted the sensor replaced the arm and the ball joint had seen better days,took the car for a spin and IT STILL KNOCKS ON UNEVEN ROADS!!!!!!checked to see if all was tight and it is,no wooble or movement from the wheel when rockin it side to side i cant see what it is and now i have no ideas what it can be???anyone got any ideas
 
All arms and TRE's have been replaced? If so top strut mount would be my guess, they can work loose, or knock under pressure with upgraded springs and stuff
 
i was thinking the top strut mount or replaceing the whole anti roll bar as the knocking is comeing from the drivers side and all the suspension arms have been done now.suspension is still all standard and the car has done 142k
 
im about to order a set so is german ebay the best place to get them? i wish the pound was stronger against the euro now.
 
I would thoroughly recommend All German Parts,very quick next day delivery Linky got Lemforder ones which looked like the Audi logo had been grinded off.

They also can get Meyle however they dont have them instock
 
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