S4 B7 Front Suspension Details needed

[orsum]

After finding a crack on my front left wheel rim I ended up having all five rims completely refurbished buying new tyres and replacing lots of bits on my S4 can anybody offer some advice when refitting the front suspension.

Inner CV rubbers was easy job with the right tool. Done
Rear Koni Sports shocks and bump stops easy job. Done
Front left inner wheel arch support bracket easy job. Done
Replace rocker cover gaskets. Not done yet.

Now for the front top left mounting plate, Koni Sports Shocks, bump stops and a complete set of Lemforder top and bottom arms and C links.

First is the front shocks.
Is there a method to align the bottom of the shock (fork) with the top mounting plate before installing it into the car or is it a case of twisting the bottom of the shock until the bottom section slots over the bottom arm when the strut is installed in the top turret?

Next is the position of the top arm before installing the assembly back into the car.
Does anybody have the correct OEM method of setting the top arms positions so they will not be under tension at the S4 B7 normal ride height. The method I am aware of is jacking the wheel to its ride height and only then locking the top arms into position. The S4 suspension is standard from factory and I think I am correct in saying the S4 B7 comes stock factory lowered (sports suspension). Not sure if the setting is different to the normal ride height of an A4 B7.

Lastly the bottom arms.
Will be tackling them when my 29mm ball joint separator arrives. Any tips on setting them?

PS All bolts are being replace with new.

[B5NUT]

For the shock absorber Just get it roughly in the right position then once fitted to the car get spring compressors to take the tension off and then you can rotate the shock to get perfect alignment.

For tightening all of the bolts while under compression. With the wheel back on, first measure your at rest ride height will all the bolts lose. Then jack the car up and remove the wheel. put another jack under where the lower arms meet the wheel bearing housing then jack up the suspension. Lower the first jack so the weight of the suspension is now resting on the second jack and move up/down to get your ride height. Then for safety use the first jack so it's just touching the jacking point of the car.

That will give you all the room you need to get the spanners in and tighten all the bolts up. Pictures are from my old A6 but it's the same setup as the B7 A4, and the same pinch bolt from hell.
1-jacks.jpg
2-jack.jpg

For the lower arms that attach to the housing it's just the case of pushing them in and tightening the nuts up. The nuts are single use so will also need to be replaced.

Hope that helps.

[orsum]

Thanks.

This is how I was going to do the suspension arms if I could not find the Audi OEM procedure.

Spring compressor for rotating the shock how come I never thought of that

[B5NUT]

Think the oem way required access to a 4 post ramp, which I don't have access to. So that was the only way possible for me to do it.

[orsum]

Does anybody know which way the bush fits on the bottom arm.

[orsum]

Picture of bush alignment from Lemforder.

[Jaswan]

This was mine when I did my 3.0tdi quattro.

[orsum]

All good now just waiting for the punches to be made to press the bushes out and the new ones in.

[Jaswan]

Then can I bring by b8 over for new bushes?

[orsum]

Think getting the B8 to South Africa could be a bit costly but no problem just let me know so I can get a few beers in

[orsum]

Parts made to push the old bushes out and the new in.

[orsum]

All bushes, new top arms and 4 new Koni Sports shocks done. Its a bit like driving a new car

Just found RHS driver inner tie bar has some play. Not worth doing just the one inner tie bar so I will order 2 inner tie bars, bellows and 2 track rod ends.

BTW its easy to push the old bushes out and the new ones in

[Jaswan]

Any top tips for removing the pinch bolt of doom?

I need to do the same job on my B8 soon.



Jase.

[B5NUT]

2 methods I've used in the past. If your replacing the the tops arms then heat is a must. So you could get a socket on the bolt end and turn it until it snaps off. then put a spacers between the two gaps. then heat the area and use the nut to press the bolt out. You will need to use spacers at some point as the bolt is not fully threaded.

Other option is removing the hole upright from the car and pressing the bolt out, again using spacers between the two gaps. I've done them on various A4's & A6's over the years, and almost all the time it's required lots of heat, lots of swearing and a press.

There is one other option of buying the correct tool but it's very expensive.

Also get yourself the redesigned pinch bolt, New design is on the top
1-old.jpg

I also serviced the bolt every 2 years, which involved jacking up the car but leaving the wheel on clamping the two top arms in place and removing the bolt, cover in copper slip or another grease and refitting the bolt. Takes about 10minutes a side V hours trying to get the very seized bolt out.

[orsum]

I never had any issues removing mine but i did use copper slip when putting the new bolts back in.