Audi A6 C4 lower arm replacement

[spink]

its not the condition you need to worry about as such, its the length of the shoulder.i have a pic somewhere of a good vs bad i took out of qkids car a month or so back,will have a look for it.whats up with your alarm?

[waveydavey]

for future ref,you can wind a wheel bolt into the sleeve and then pull it out

Very good tip indeed. I had to drop the subframe out when I did mine cos the sleeves just wouldn't come out from below.

Cheers

David

[gunman]

They aren't completely round, they are crimped one end so they stay in place while you do the bolt up. The oval end is at the bottom, hence why they are difficult to get out from below. I suppose putting the wheel bolt in releases it as it forces it into being round.

[K7ERG]

Replacement bolts £3.30 from Audi each.

I have to take the struts out now but can't get the arm low enough to get bottom ball joint out. Any tips

[AndyP]

Replacement bolts £3.30 from Audi each.

I have to take the struts out now but can't get the arm low enough to get bottom ball joint out. Any tips

I had the same problem when I tried to remove the strut. I gave up in the end but it does need to come out to find the source of the knocking I have from the front end.

Let me know if you fix it!!

[Duffelcoat]

I had the same problem when I tried to remove the strut. I gave up in the end but it does need to come out to find the source of the knocking I have from the front end.

Let me know if you fix it!!

I posted the solution on Audifans about 2 years ago, I go and find it!

Here it is:

BTW I found a neat trick to remove the bottom balljoint:

I used the car jack, the screw windy one supplied with the car and put it between the lower anti roll bar and the strut steering arm (that links to the steering arm ball joint) and wound it up and it separated very easily provided you get the jack in the right place and wedged nicely!


Bear in mind you need a big bar to wedge between the subframe and the lower anti roll bar to lower it back to reattach

[K7ERG]

Hi Andy

I need to fix it. My daily drive and it needs the struts replaced (PM). I sourced some dampers. I though today I could get the struts out but managed everything except getting the lower ball joint out. Its loose just can't get enough leverage. Having new bushes/arms don't help as its all tight. Have tomorrow to get it sorted hopefully.

[AndyP]

I posted the solution on Audifans about 2 years ago, I go and find it!

Great, thanks

[Duffelcoat]

Great, thanks

Updated my post (above) with post I made from Audifans.

User D-9 added the following for reattachment:

"Put a ratchet strap between the arb and the chassis leg"

[Ryss]

You have some good ideas here, but what I do if thats any help is...

Jack both side of the car up, to relieve tension on the ARB.
Remove the wheel on the side to be removed, leaving disc and caliper in place.
Hold disc in place with two wheel bolts.
Remove the retaining bolt on the ball joint.
Leave lower control arm retaining bolt on subframe in place.
Tap a large screw driver into the gap where they pinch bolts goes to relieve some tension.
Place trolley jack under disc and jack up to compress strut.Use screw drivers, inserted in vent slots of disc, in front and behind caliper to stop disc from turning or get assistant to stand on the brake pedal.

Good whack with rubber mallet on the control arm them should release ball joint.

Keep hands and feet away from under the disc while the strut is under compression.

Hope you find this African method useful.

[diesel des]

I used a 5 ft long bar at the weekend to do mine. I replaced everything so had car up in air with all wheels off ground. I used the ratchet strap arround the anti roll bar on both sides and it helped getting it all together.

[K7ERG]

Will try the jack. Done this on another car years ago. I have a large bar. Just not the easiest doing it yourself. Will get the other side off the ground aswell.

Cheers for the suggestions.

Craig

[philj]

The insert caused me major ballache the first time I did it, so much so that when it came to replace the bottom arms on the new one, I thought I'll drop the subframe and do the those bushes while I was down there, avoiding that ballache again.

Ironic thing is, in my rush to put it back together I put the bottom arms on the wrong way round and had to get the whole thing apart straight after thinking I'd finished. Whilst sulking at the extra work, I sized up the end of the insert with a 10mm socket I had, got a torch out, lined it up and jacked up the subframe slowly. Popped out 20mm, and the rest pulled out in seconds. I literally spent hours trying to knock a wheel bolt in there the first time!

Hope that helps someone anyway.