I broke down and ordered a pair of new/reman inner CV joints a couple of days ago. Of course, no stock in NA, so they’re being shipped from Germany to the west coast and then to Michigan. :
10-14 day wait.
So, I’ll finish getting everything else prep’d and installed, awaiting axles to be reinstalled. In the meantime, I’ll also do the rear rotors and pads while the car is down. The rear rotors are original and have 102k miles on them! They are a tiny bit below the wear limit, so they’re due.
Upon inspection, how would I determine whether they need to be changed? They seem tight, but I suspect that’s from tension from the seal between the inner and outer race?
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Pretty hard to tell, unless they are making noise already. Sounds like a humming noise that can go away while turning one direction or another.
You can also jack the car up and wiggle the wheel by grabbing the tire and seeing if there is any play.
Alright, clearly I’m a moron. I swear I have no problem on other forums, but this one stumps me. Seems like there’s all sorts of user limitations? Anyway, I have no idea how to post pictures. I can’t post pictures directly. I created an album and put picture in it. Can’t figure out how to post the picture from the album to the this thread. I’m only 45 yo, and can usually figure this out. :
The joints looked ok I guess, but clicked a bit. Who knows how long they were open to the elements.
Replacements here next week.
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By the way, can someone give me the torque for the inner CV bolts? The Bentley manual says “refer to electronic parts catalog ETKA”.
Was going to reuse the bolts and apply a some blue locktite. Thoughts?
Ok, got reman inner CVs installed. Waiting on spring clamp tool two days longer than expected (thanks, Amazon! : )
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Had to break down and get some help from the dealership on the pinch bolts. I tried and tried, but to no avail. I soaked in ATF/acetone, and tried using the air hammer…no joy. Figured they do them all the time, have the tools, and would be responsible if they screw up. Cost me $400…ouch, but they are done.
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They said they soaked them upside down in a gallon pail of liquid wrench, then drilled the centers out, and finally pressed them out. The pinch bolt is a little loose in its bore, so I hope that is ok. The control arm ends are very tight, and I suppose that is what matters. I am assuming that the clamping load applied by the pinch bolt is sufficient to prevent the ball joint from moving relative to the housing.
Anyway, this is where I’m at right now:
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At this point I’m degreasing the trans area (leak from somewhere…hopefully not trans?). Already cleaned up the oil pan, which looks to be leaking around the rear flange. Confirmed weeping coolant leak from water pump…some crystallized coolant evident.
I’m also going over the subframe and spot treating any rust with POR15. Already sanded down and repainted one end of the front stabilizer bar, which was pretty rusty from where the powder coating got scraped off.
I’ve got to say I’m appreciating the build quality on this car. As an example, everything seems to be powder coating rather than painted. Fastener plating is outstanding. This car has seen 9 harsh midwest winters and is holding up quite well.
All done, except one last step…
Those darn large outer CV bolts. I torqued them to 200 Nm per the repair manual so I could lower the car and load the wheels with the full weight of the car. Now I have to rotate each bolt 180 degrees. I bought a very beefy pro-grade 1/2" drive breaker bar for the task (after snapping my cheapy bar removing them).
Tips for this? Just add one incredibly long cheater bar? What kind? I don’t want to injure myself doing this.
Thanks guys for helping me up to this point.
as for the pinch bolt, you can see on the ends of the ball joints there is a small indent that will hold in by the pinch bolt on top of the pressure from tightening it. If you didn’t do it, it would be advisable to put some antiseize on the pinch bolt for the next time you want to remove it. $400 isn’t that terrible to remove that bolt, but it can be trying on the patience to do it yourself. You need alot of heat to get it out without a press, and will destroy the ball joints in the process.
For the axle bolt I’ve used a 36" breaker bar and pulled as hard as I could. Haven’t had an issue with that bolt on 3 different audis using that method. I think the most I’ve ever gotten it to go is 120 degrees after 140ft-lbs with a torque wrench.
Ok, so your saying that I might not be able to get to 180 degrees, but that’s ok? No long term issues with wheel bearings?
yes. also I am assuming you are using new axle bolts too?
Yes, I got new bolts. Just picked up a 4 ft pipe fro HD.
If I can get 90 degrees from the 200 Nm without breaking the breaker bar I’ll be thrilled and call it good.
ok, I got to about 135 degrees before feeling like something was going to break. Unless someone chimes in and says that 180 degrees is a must, I’m going to call it good.
Did about 10 miles of road testing, and the ride is markedly better. Firm, but not harsh. Surprisingly quieter too.
I was surprised to see the repair manual does not consider the need to get an alignment after a suspension R/R. So I won’t get one unless there’s info to the contrary.
One tip regarding axle R/R: the axle can only just barely not be removed from the knuckle. I am convinced you can remove the heat shield to get the additional space needed to get the axle in and out, as previously discussed. For what I was doing it made more sense to remove the LCA bolts from the frame to get the clearance.
Feel free to contact me if I can help anyone.
I have my own technique to get this done but sounds like you did a great job wrapping it all up.
Keeping the suspension in good working order will really make the driving more enjoyable as you have mentioned. With the suspension, there are so many tips and tricks to get parts in, out and tightened down, it’s just finding out what path works for you.
It’s tough to get that 180 degrees.
The only suspension adjustment up front is the toe via the tie rod, so if you do not touch those, there isn’t really any other movement done in the suspension.
Went from Detroit to the vintage races at Road America over the w/e. Logged over 1,000 trouble free miles.
Some a-hole somewhere along the way keyed my hood, so that’s nice. >:(
Tallied up the receipts for the job: $2800. That’s just parts (but includes the $400 for dealer removing the 2 pinch bolts). I cannot imagine what this would have cost to have the dealer or someone else to do. :o
I appreciate everyone weighing in now and again, which gave me the confidence to complete the job. Suspension should be good for a VERY long time. Thanks again!
Well, the drive side front wheel bearing crapped out this week at 117k miles. Suspension job was about 15k miles ago. I’m in the middle of a 1100 mile round trip to Milwaukee. I’ve ordered the parts and will keep the speed reasonable on the return trip.
Based upon my suspension job, what I intend to do is 1) remove the lower control arms from the wheel housing, 2) remove the axle with the wheel housing in place, 3) R/R the wheel bearing with the lower control arms temporarily attached, and 4) do the reverse of 2) and 1). Other ideas welcome.
I’m sorry, but how unfair is that? You’ve practically rebuilt the entire suspension… new control arms, cv axle, spindles, bushings/springs, etc… and it gives out on a road trip? fuck lol.
Will be as good as new once that’s replaced. Keep on keeping on! Great work here, kudos to you!