Need help with rear upper control arm replacement

[Gearman]

Hello Members - I am new to the forum purchasing a used 2006 A4 Quattro base sedan earlier this year.

I need some information to help me replace rear an upper control arm, ( Transverse link in Audi service book speak) on the passenger side in order to get my alignment corrected before installing new tires, (toe is +0.10 out of spec). I have two main questions

1. I have a discrepancy of information between my factor service book information and my dealer's parts department information regarding how the upper mounting bolt attaches. My service manual shows just a bolt going through the link for the upper mount, (leading me to think there is a welded nut in the sub-frame and for the lower attachment/adjusting point a special bolt, washer, and a nut. (See attached image from my service book; bolted joint in question is Number 10). The dealer's parts department claims their image on the screen and BOM shows that the upper mount is attached using a bolt, washer, and nut.

My issue here is that I can barely get my fingers up into that RH side area to even feel around, (there is no real clearance) and I am not sure I could get a socket up in there and have clearance to remove a nut and washer. Not counting the fact that it is bound to be rusted and I cannot a spray can of penetrant up in there very well to coat the end of the fastener as it comes through the frame. I tried looking with my inspection camera but could not Identify conclusively what I was seeing.

2. My service manual indicates that I need to drop the rear sub-frame to get access to the upper bolt, (although it does state when standing on wheels) "Due to the inaccessibility of the inner bolt -1- when the vehicle is standing on wheels, the transverse link can only be removed after the sub-frame has been removed"

Both using a nut up top and having to drop the rear sub-frame seems silly to me. I am asking someone that has done this replacement to shed light on these two issues. I looked for some U-tube video for the replacement of the rear upper control arm but could not find any.
I did see some information in the How-To's section on the another forum , (Audi A4 B7: How to Replace Ball Joints/Control Arms), that went into detail with pictures on changing the front upper control arms but only showed a single picture of the rear upper control arm with a statement that it is easier to replace, see below.
Step 5 – Replace the rear upper control arm
The rear arms are a lot easier to replace.
• Thoroughly lubricate each side of the control arm.
• Use an 18mm socket to remove the front and rear bolts.
• Install the new rear control arm.
I am sorry for the long post/explanation here. I would really appreciate any help you can provide to sort this out.

Thank you in advance for your help!

[charmar]

The service manual is right, the bolt on the inner end of the control arm threads into a nut attached to the subframe. Unfortunately, it is press fit instead of welded fast. If the bolt is at all rusty, expect the nut to break loose. That's what happened to me, anyway. I was able to use a Vise-Grip to grab it and I think I used a flex head ratchet and an assortment of extensions to reach the bolt. I believe I dropped the subframe slightly to make it easier to reach. It's a real pain for sure. Good luck!

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[Gearman]

Charmar - Thank you for your response to my inquiry.

You mentioned you had to drop the subframe slightly. About how far did you drop the subframe to get access? where the bolts still engaged? did you only drop one side?

From what I am seeing to get to the backside of the subframe where the nut is, I will need to remove part of the exhaust system on RH side as the tube going into the muffler is helping block the way, and even with the exhaust tube out of the way there is still a heat shield up above it (attached to the body with very rusted nuts attaching it), partially blocking the way. There is only about a 2" inch wide slot going up before turning at a 90 degree to reach back to that pressed-in nut. Quite a trick to reach with a pair of vice grips.

If you could give me a few more details I would appreciate it.

[charmar]

I dropped the subframe maybe 2-3 inches. Bolts were still threaded in part way. This was on the left side, though. What you're describing on the right side sounds a little different than the left side, so not sure what to tell you. I think I'd unhook the exhaust from the rubber hanger on the right side and let it hang. Maybe it's possible to bend the heat shield up slightly? If you can just get the jaws of the Vise Grip clamped on, you won't even need to hold on to it. It will be prevented from turning because there's so little room. Hope this helps!

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