2004 lowered A4

[James333]

Hello Everyone. Can anyone tell me what size pickle fork I will need for my ball joints? 11/16",15/16"?

[James333]

So I've replaced my upper and lower control arms on the passenger side. I'm quite curtain everything went back in as planned but I went to move it to check it out and noticed the car all over the place. My right tire is way off compared to the left. Like turned a quite few degrees to the right compared to the drivers wheel. Can anyone think of anything I might have done wrong? Thanx in advance.

[James333]

I've had to replace the inner cv boot on the axle and when putting it back in I noticed a small, about 1" stainless ring fell out of I'm not sure from where. Does anyone here know where this might be from. I'm kind of in a jam and any replies would be greatly appreciated.

[elewsader]

I've had to replace the inner cv boot on the axle and when putting it back in I noticed a small, about 1" stainless ring fell out of I'm not sure from where. Does anyone here know where this might be from. I'm kind of in a jam and any replies would be greatly appreciated.

So you're saying your passenger toe is off? I would think the only way that could have occurred is if you altered the length of the passenger side tie-rod. you may be able to adjust the raised toe setting to help some, but you're probably going to need to take it in for alignment. Oldguy references it here



if you replaced the inner cv-boot covering the tripod end, that could possibly be the c-clip which holds the tripod portion to the cv-shaft.

[James333]

Thank you for your reply. That stainless ring that fell out of where ever is definitely not the snap ring that holds the tri pod on. It's a round full ring that has a split in it. I'd take a picture but I don't know how to post them.

[elewsader]

Thank you for your reply. That stainless ring that fell out of where ever is definitely not the snap ring that holds the tri pod on. It's a round full ring that has a split in it. I'd take a picture but I don't know how to post them.

only way to post photos within a thread is to have them hosted on a photo sharing site; i.e. photobucket, flickr, imgur, and then link them here with the corresponding markup tags.

example [IMG]your_image_url[/IMG]

[James333]

I don't believe that ring is from anything on the car. I've asked an Audi performance shop close to me and they've never seen it. Anyways now I'm trying to adjust my toe out issue. I shouldn't have replaced the tie rod end. I adjusted it close to what the old one was but it is way out of wack. So I've taken it out 4 or 5 times now and adjusted it more but it's still pointing outward. Not as bad as before. Am I doing this right? When it gets an alignment is this what they do? I'm sorry this is all new to me.

[elewsader]

I don't believe that ring is from anything on the car. I've asked an Audi performance shop close to me and they've never seen it. Anyways now I'm trying to adjust my toe out issue. I shouldn't have replaced the tie rod end. I adjusted it close to what the old one was but it is way out of wack. So I've taken it out 4 or 5 times now and adjusted it more but it's still pointing outward. Not as bad as before. Am I doing this right? When it gets an alignment is this what they do? I'm sorry this is all new to me.

Oldguy has a write up here that might help you

http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...t-toe-settings

[James333]

Ok so I've replaced all the control arms and all the creaking is gone but there is still some clunking going on under there. Could this be shocks? I've just read here VWVortex.com - How to replace front strut mount rubber without a spring compressor.....long
05-08-2004 11:02 PM #1
Here is a way to replace the front upper strut mount rubber when they have collapsed and worn out making a nice clunking sound when bad.. I've done this many times and it is an easy way to replace the rubber mount without a spring compressor or removing the front struts or tires. All you need is a floor jack, a few sockets, and the key to this DIY is to have a nut from the front strut mount that comes on a 1992-1997 Passat. You can buy the nut at the VW dealer for like $1 or if you have an old tie rod from numerous VW models, use the nut the locks the tie rod end to the tie rod shaft. What is important is to make sure that you NEVER jack up the car until the nut that holds the strut bearing down on top up the upper spring seat is tight. I accept no responsiblity if you attempt this DIY.
First acquire the Passat nut from the dealer when you go to buy your upper strut mount rubber. I never replace the actual strut ball bearing assembly because they ever rarely fail. It is just the rubber piece that gets worn out. Open the hood and while the car is resting on the tires remove the plastic dust cover that fits over top of the strut shaft. Next remove the nut that secures the round plate that sits on top of the strut.

While the tires are STILL RESTING on the ground, remove the nut that fits down inside the rubber strut mount. This looks like it has a washer (shoulder) made onto the nut.

Now install the Passat nut onto the strut shaft that is protruding though the strut mount and tighten this nut. This nut does not have a 'shoulder' .

Jack up the side of the car you are working on and the strut assembly will drop down allowing access to remove the rubber mount and side it out from where it rests in the body of the car.

Slide out the old rubber mount and slide in the new mount and fit it over the stut shaft.

Center the new Strut mount in the body and lower the car until it is COMPLETELY resting back on the ground.

Remove the Passat nut you had installed.

Install the Jetta/Golf original nut with shoulder.

Reinstall the upper strut mounting plate

Proceed to the other front strut and repeat procedure.
Here is a pic comparing the 2 different nuts

Simple and quick. Please read completely and thoughly this post before attempting.....better yet print it for reference. Oh by the way this works on late model A3 chassis cars as well.

Does anyone know if this is possible on a 2004 a4 b6?

[James333]

Just a heads up. If you tighten all your subframe bolts your clunking and creaking will be gone. At least mine is from doing this.

[SimbadCA]

Just a heads up. If you tighten all your subframe bolts your clunking and creaking will be gone. At least mine is from doing this.

For the front,...how many bolts are we talking about? Perhaps 8?


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[James333]

For the front,...how many bolts are we talking about? Perhaps 8?


Sent from my iPad using Audizine mobile app

This didn't last very long at all. The clunking and creaking is worse than ever. I'm wondering if it's the strut mounts or something.