When fitting coilovers to Audi A3 8P, what else may as well be replaced at the same time?

[Part-Timer]

New member but I've being reading threads here for a long time. First post, hopefully in the right place.

I can't find anything related specifically to this concern with A3 8P

Any advice and information replied would be much appreciated.

Car is a 2004 A3 8P 2.0 TDI S Line with high mileage 180,000+ . first when going down speeds bumps (the full road width ones), the back end squeaks over around 10mph. If I open the drivers door and stand above the side skirt thing, and bounce the car you can hear it squeak. I now can hear it squeaking on a bumpy country road above around 40mph. Front end suspensions seems to be past it as well, squeaking, I know of a Front Control Arm rear bush what needs replacing as well. That's it.

I've always wanted to go lower so I've bought some coilovers. Whilst these are been fitted and before it gets four wheel alignment, I would like every part possible which would be beneficial to the ride quality and the long run, all to be changed at the same time.

From other posts about other cars, I've heard about camber adjustment, front strut bushings and bearings, ball joints, tie rod ends, control arm bushings, downlinks, and Polyurethane Bushing Kit , could someone please indicate exactly what is best replacing? Where is best to buy these parts from? Upgrading quality is what I would also prefer.


Kindest regards

 

[Tom5190]

You should change the front top mounts & drop links. The top mounts need to be removed from your OEM strut, & re-fit onto the coilover strut. The fact that they need swapping over & they have covered that mileage means you may as well change them. Its a bearing that's covered high mileage and is relatively cheap.

The drop links need to be disconnected from the strut for the coilovers to be fit. This can be a royal pain in the **** with drop links that are old as the nuts can be a bit of a pain to get off un-damage. For the hastle, you may as well change these too as it means the old ones can simply be cut off in the space of 10 minutes, rather than spending lengths of time trying to remove the link properly.

Top mounts & drop links are both items that wear a fair bit and can cause knocks & bangs. I've recently fit coilovers to mine & I replaced both of these. You CAN buy better top mounts, that are camber adjustable. But unless your taking the car on track, OEM replacements from Audi/TPS will be sufficient, the same applies for the drop links.

That is pretty much the only other replaceable parts that you will disturb whilst doing the job. You could replace bottom ball joints, any rubber mounts such as bottom arms, rear swing arms etc but they are extra parts that will need removing/replacing/

 

[Part-Timer]

Thanks for that information.

So just to clarify , I need Front Top Strut Mounts & Bearings

And drop links, sorry for the lack of intelligence in this department but does that mean

Front Axle Stabiliser Drop Links or Anti Roll Bar Drop Links ?

Does this sound right 2x Audi A3 8P 2.0 TDI Genuine Delphi Front Left & Right Stabiliser Drop Links (Fits: Audi A3 2004) ?

I'm wanting to order now straight off ebay, they seems to be many different components

Thanks again

 

[Tom5190]

Neither of the two are a MUST, but for piece of mind I did them.

Correct, it is front strut top mounts & bearings that you need. The black item at the top is the top mount, the bearing is there but hidden from view.

DSC07021 by T.walker5190, on Flickr

Anti-roll bar drop links/Stabiliser drop links/Sway bar links are all the same thing. That link there has the correct image. I'm not 100% sure on the listing as I don't have part numbers to hand but I'm pretty sure all of the 2WD drop links are the same.

 

[Part-Timer]

Great, so if you dont mind telling me please, what are exactly all the other parts you mentioned?
Replacing these as well, would this make much more of a difference?
Thanks again

 

[Tom5190]

The bushes shown in Purple are what Poweflex sell. You could change the bushes at the same time but its not really going to save you any labour costs etc by doing it at the same time. Probably better to just leave them to be honest unless its something you want to do. You can buy them individually. Im about to change the hole lot on mine. You can buy from:

https://www.dpmperformance.co.uk/

And then the other parts are basically just the bottom ball joints & track rod ends which are easily accessible by just removing the wheel and a few bolts anyway so again there's not really much point in changing them unless they are damaged.

 

[Part-Timer]

Thanks for this information. Also would rear struts and rear drop links be needed and make things easier?

 

[Tom5190]

Not so much, the rear doesn't have McPherson struts so its not a coilover unit at the rear. The rear 'Top mount' Is essentially just a block to convert the single bolt fix of the rear damper into a 2 bolt fixing onto the body. Its not a wearing part. The rear drop links don't need to be disturbed to do the job, so really they should just be replaced if they are worn.

 

[Part-Timer]

For future readers, : oval rear bump stops was found to be badly worn and also replaced.