Suspension & Control Arm Kit Prep

[Jborch8]

Hey everyone,
I bought myself a control arm kit to replace all upper and lower control arms, sway bar links, tie rods, etc. Along with that I'm putting in some coilovers. I don't have air tools, nor do I have a lift. I'm giving myself a weekend and a garage with jack stands to do this job on my daily driver. Should I hesitate to do this job without air tools or a lift? The only tool I really need is the tie rod tool. Any insight, helpful tips, warnings, etc is appreciated!

[Rus_ninja]

I would say it is possible, I gave myself 2 days Friday night and Saturday to do the suspention and 2 6packs.

[Jborch8]

I would say it is possible, I gave myself 2 days Friday night and Saturday to do the suspension and 2 6packs.

Thank you sir! I'll have some help, so I'm not too worried about it. Although the help I have is more worried than I am, haha.

[SJorge3442]

Don't even need the tie rod tool. Just a big adjustable wrench. Its a pretty easy job as long as the pinch bolt cooperates. I did all 4 shocks and the whole control arm kit in a Sunday afternoon and drove for an alignment the next morning.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

[cschuster]

If you do want to use a tool, rent the Powerbuilt SUV tie rod kit from Advance or somewhere. The regular one does not work.

[diagnosticator]

You need to be able to jack up one wheel at a time in order to properly tighten the suspension pivot bolts at the normal loaded ride height of the suspension. This is very difficult to do with the limited ground clearance and no room to swing a torque wrench on most of the main pivot bolts. I tightened the suspension nuts and bolts leaving them slightly loose, then drove the car to the Audi dealer nearby and had all the suspension fasteners correctly torqued to specification on a lift with the suspension placed at the loaded normal ride height position before torquing the bolts fully to spec. After the suspension is correctly torqued to spec, an alignment should be done immediately before driving the car much.

If the suspension is not placed at the loaded normal ride height position before torquing the pivot bolts, the suspension bushings will be ruined due to over twisting of the bushings after torquing the pivot bolts then setting the car back onto the ground.

[chris_72]

You need to be able to jack up one wheel at a time in order to properly tighten the suspension pivot bolts at the normal loaded ride height of the suspension. This is very difficult to do with the limited ground clearance and no room to swing a torque wrench on most of the main pivot bolts. I tightened the suspension nuts and bolts leaving them slightly loose, then drove the car to the Audi dealer nearby and had all the suspension fasteners correctly torqued to specification on a lift with the suspension placed at the loaded normal ride height position before torquing the bolts fully to spec. After the suspension is correctly torqued to spec, an alignment should be done immediately before driving the car much.

If the suspension is not placed at the loaded normal ride height position before torquing the pivot bolts, the suspension bushings will be ruined due to over twisting of the bushings after torquing the pivot bolts then setting the car back onto the ground.

^ you might want to read that over 3 times... Only reason I say that is because I didn't know this info about 10 years ago and I junked a complete set of OEM replacement ($1100 set) on my B5 S4. They didn't last a year.

Anyway gotta say - lots of great info from diagnosticator.

[Kevin C]

A Harbor Freight ball joint splitter will make the job a lot easier; You will need to widen the slot a bit. 18 mm hand wrenches... Having two is nice when you have to to the final torquing rotation (why do all of my sets skip 18 and 16 mm? Also 5/8 works for 16 mm). A 3/8 drive torque wrench with a short 18 mm socket makes torquing the lowers a bit easier. You need one that goes to at least 100 nm ( from memory). My breaker bar was not helpful during reassembly. Double wrenches worked pretty well.

18 mm and 16 mm seem to make up the bulk of the bolts that need a bit of muscle. A decent breaker bar is good to have. The old trick of hooking wrench ends together also helps... It might be bad for the plating...

I ended up making a strut tool to loosen the upper strut nut. A spring compressor might be a good call when taking ot originals apart.

I set set the angles on the uppers using the factory measure the distance method. Lowers? I got the car level and at normal ride height and just jacked up the suspension to the height of the wheel. It was a good shoulder workout. BTW, for anyone that has failed bushings on good arms, its not that hard to replace them. A good floor jack helps, and of course a couple of good jack stands. I have two floor jacks, one good one and a cheapo small one for moving the suspension up and down and supporting it when parts are disconnected.

Having a tool store nearby for just in case stuff helps. I have a second car= failsafe mode.

Not too bad a job. I did notice that my inner tie rods were really tight... Ordered a new set just in case.

Weekend job at a very leisurely pace. That included putting new bump stops in the struts and lots of parts cleaning.

[y0itzflip]

easy stuff. lots of diy online. I did mine wit one widow maker 2 jack stands and a half working floor jack. alone in a day. just take your time. oh and order rear strut bushings.

[Seerlah]

You need a spring compressor. As for loading suspension before tq, there are angles you can use specified in the Bentley manual. What I did was just jack each side by the spindle before torquing down. Tq spec isn't right, but very few parts I go by tq spec on with my vehicle (all engine related components). I go with the old Gudentite method.

I suggest you try and take out your pinch bolt first. If you can't get that out, don't expect to get this fully done in one weekend as a first timer. Maybe you can, but I'm being realistic. I say this because there is also the whole getting the alignment completed afterwards before your Monday pops back up (ie late to work, called out, miss class for school, etc)

[19jdog]

At some point you should invest in air tools. At least a compressor and a impact wrench I got mine from Sears 15 years ago. Like all tools you should have them for life, or till they break!!!

[SJorge3442]

I have been doing a ton of mechanical work over the last 10-12 years and I have only ever had an electric impact and thats worked for 100% of my repairs. Air is overkill for most, but it's certainly a luxury. For the control arm job, you can only really use an impact on the wheel lugs, the upper shock tower bolts, pinch bolt, and maybe the sway bar link bolts.

Measure your hub to fender length before you start (if you're going to be using the same ride height) and then just jack the hub up to that length when you tighten down the bolts. I agree with Seerlah, the Gudentite method for this sort of repair is fine. Save the torque wrench for internal engine repairs (about the only place I use a torque wrench)

[Kevin C]

When you go to remove the strut it will be held in at the top by three bolts and a tinnerman nut ( push nut). To undo the push nut, loosen the head of the bolt closest to to the fender (other two bolts removed) so it sits about a 1/2' proud. Tap on its head to loosen the push nut.

On the bolts the get torqued to a value and turned 90° or 180°, I used a sharpie to draw a couple of lines (one on the bolt head, one on the shank) to indicate how far I had turned the bolt.

Have fun... I know I didn't.

[viceprp]

Spray down the pinch bolt with penetrating lube a day or two before the job. I suggest buying a 2.5'/3' 1/2" breaker bar & 2" aluminum pipe (3-4' long) for leverage.

It can be done, just would be easier renting air tools.

[Jborch8]

Thank you everyone for the advice!

[SlickFix]

I wouldn't bank on this only taking one afternoon of work. Unless you've got a ton of wrenching experience, this could be a multiple day job. I guess it all depends on how fast the pinch bolt comes out.

Since you don't have an air hammer, I recommend purchasing a long punch that is just smaller in diameter than the pinch bolt, and a 4lb sledge hammer. If the pinch bolt is seized in the knuckle, you may have to resort to these tools, along with a healthy dose of harsh language.

Some other things to have handy:

- mapp gas torch to heat up bolts before trying to break them free.
- If you can afford it, a front end kit like this will make removing the ball joints much easier. You might be able to rent a kit like this for free from your favorite auto parts store.
- I've only used this set of sockets once, and that was in removing the front struts from the strut tower. I'm having difficulty remembering why it was so difficult to access that top bolt head, but I do remember that this kit saved my bacon that day. Not sure if it's a requirement for you, though.

One word of caution when breaking the lower ball joints free: If the other end of the lower control arm is loose enough, when they pop out it will be with great force, accompanied by a loud POP! Just be careful to not have any body parts within striking distance when they pop. Ask me how I know.

Good luck! This is quite the job, but I think you'll like the results when finished.

[jayiszraw]

Make your own penetrating oil by mixing synthetic atf/acetone 50/50 and using an oiler (think tin man) and put it every where. Better penetration than anything store bought. Or online bought ie. Kroil

[Kevin C]

This is the only separator I needed to for my lowers and it prevented the steel sleeve in the upright from coming out. From the bottom pullers will cause problems.

http://www.harborfreight.com/3-4-qua...tor-99849.html

If your car has always been on the west coast (AKA never seen road salt) you're probably not going to have too many problems. None of my bolts were stuck ( Oregon)

For the strut top I made a tool from a Harbor Freight socket adaptor. Basicly, I hammered out the center plunger the opened the hole up with a drill. Since it was hardened, I did have to anneal it before I drilled it. Easy to do... Hit it with a torch till its got a little bit of a dull red look and let it air cool. Once it's cool, a standard drill can open it up.



Basically, it lets you put a wrench on a socket with an allen wrench in the center. It took me less time to make it than it would have taken to go out and buy a special wrench. Does anyone make anthing like this? It worked really well.

[Seerlah]

If you guys are talking about the center strut mount bolt, I just used vice grips on the strut rod. Held it in place to take the nut off. Or you can use a vice grip on the socket, then use an allen key.

[Jborch8]

I wouldn't bank on this only taking one afternoon of work. Unless you've got a ton of wrenching experience, this could be a multiple day job. I guess it all depends on how fast the pinch bolt comes out.

Since you don't have an air hammer, I recommend purchasing a long punch that is just smaller in diameter than the pinch bolt, and a 4lb sledge hammer. If the pinch bolt is seized in the knuckle, you may have to resort to these tools, along with a healthy dose of harsh language.

Some other things to have handy:

- mapp gas torch to heat up bolts before trying to break them free.
- If you can afford it, a front end kit like this will make removing the ball joints much easier. You might be able to rent a kit like this for free from your favorite auto parts store.
- I've only used this set of sockets once, and that was in removing the front struts from the strut tower. I'm having difficulty remembering why it was so difficult to access that top bolt head, but I do remember that this kit saved my bacon that day. Not sure if it's a requirement for you, though.

One word of caution when breaking the lower ball joints free: If the other end of the lower control arm is loose enough, when they pop out it will be with great force, accompanied by a loud POP! Just be careful to not have any body parts within striking distance when they pop. Ask me how I know.

Good luck! This is quite the job, but I think you'll like the results when finished.

Thanks man. We're giving ourselves this weekend to do it. Should be purchasing an air compressor today for some air tools so that will help I've been told. I can't say I'm expecting it to go smoothly, but I'm not anticipating complete hell.

[old guy]

Thanks man. We're giving ourselves this weekend to do it. Should be purchasing an air compressor today for some air tools so that will help I've been told. I can't say I'm expecting it to go smoothly, but I'm not anticipating complete hell.

If you are getting some air tools here is a suggestion. Clicky click® Be sure to also read post #23 in the thread for an air tool suggestion.

[Jborch8]

If you are getting some air tools here is a suggestion. Clicky click® Be sure to also read post #23 in the thread for an air tool suggestion.

Thanks old guy. I actually read through that thread prior to posting mine. I'll have that page open this weekend just in case. We've broken those pinch bolts free before a couple years ago on another job, so we're hoping it's not going to be too difficult again.

[Jborch8]

Update:
Installation went smoothly! Did not have any issues with the pinch bolts. Came right out with an air hammer. Installed upper control arms, inner and outer tie rods, sway bar end links, and my Solowerks S1 coilovers. The only issue I ran into was when removing the lower two control arms, the seals came with. To prevent possible damage when removing them, I reinstalled the originals. The bushings looked fine on the original and did not really need to be replaced, but I do have new lowers when I need them. If anyone is interested, I have my original Eibach sport lowering springs. They have about 35k miles on them. PM me with an offer if you're interested.

Thanks again for everyone's helpful suggestions and recommendations!

[lyates1987]

Update:
Installation went smoothly! Did not have any issues with the pinch bolts. Came right out with an air hammer. Installed upper control arms, inner and outer tie rods, sway bar end links, and my Solowerks S1 coilovers. The only issue I ran into was when removing the lower two control arms, the seals came with. To prevent possible damage when removing them, I reinstalled the originals. The bushings looked fine on the original and did not really need to be replaced, but I do have new lowers when I need them. If anyone is interested, I have my original Eibach sport lowering springs. They have about 35k miles on them. PM me with an offer if you're interested.

Thanks again for everyone's helpful suggestions and recommendations!

What route did you go when doing the final torque down?

[Jborch8]

What route did you go when doing the final torque down?

I measured the distance between the strut assembly hat and the original control arms, and set the new ones to that measurement before tightening. Same with the lowers.