[Biturbos4] Rear Suspension Rattle (was: Dealer excuses...)

Tue Aug 9 12:50:13 EDT 2005

Hi Keman, 

I understand that people make mistakes.  However in my case, I paid for an pre-sell inspection, then asked them to specifically check the rear pads for loose spring clips, and they still missed it, this is what boggles my mind.

Maybe they really think customers are stupid that our suggestions mean nothing cause they think they know it all, as someone suggested.  Or maybe they simply used my aftermarket suspension as the scapegoat for everything and didn't bother to check at all.  My impression is that it's a bit of both here.  Then again it maybe actually be an honest mistake, but the whole issue with window tinting causing extra stress on the lift mechanism BS just irrated me too damn much that I'm no longer capable of giving them the benefit of the doubt.

My dealer is supposed to call me when the window parts arrive, it shall be an interesting conversation with them about this brake problem ;-)

Quincy

----- Original Message -----
From: Keman <keman at interwolf.net>
Date: Tuesday, August 9, 2005 8:56 am
Subject: Re: [Biturbos4] Rear Suspension Rattle (was: Dealer excuses...)

> Just as a data point...
> 
> On my biturbo S4 I had this pretty annoying rattle coming from the 
> rearwhen I went over bumps. I noticed that it wouldn't happen if I 
> was on the
> brakes, and I had done the rear brakes not long prior.
> 
> Well low and behold to my surprise.. -somehow- I had managed to 
> put one of
> the pads in such that the anti-rattle spring was sticking out 
> through the
> hole in the caliper rather than riding under it.
> 
> I felt brilliant at that moment, since I did a rear brake job at least
> once a day...
> 
> Luckily it was my car.
> 
> These things can happen ... and I'm meticulous about the work I 
> do. Of
> course, there was that one time when I accidentally proved to 
> myself that
> not torquing the lugbolts to spec and instead just using an air 
> impact to
> tighten them will indeed warp the front rotors... but that just 
> proves I
> maybe work a bit less meticulous on my -own- car.. :P
> 
> - Keman
> 
> On Tue, 9 Aug 2005, David Kavanagh wrote:
> 
> > I can't freakin believe they missed this, or that the person who
> > installed the pads missed this! Those springs don't just pop out 
> like> that. They can't! You have to make sure they are tucked in 
> the caliper
> > when it goes on over the pads. In fact, they provide resistance 
> to the
> > caliper as you move it into position. With this popped out, the
> > resistance would be less, but any tech should have spotted that 
> doing> a quick visual check after things were put back together 
> (which I
> > always do), or this idiot at the dealer who just inspected the car..
> > but did he take the wheel off?
> > Anyway, I would just fix it myself and not let the dealer touch 
> the car again.
> >
> > David
> >
> > On 8/8/05, Quincy Chiang <b5quattro at shaw.ca> wrote:
> > > Hi all,
> > >
> > > Hi all,
> > >
> > > Last week I had my dealer looked at the rattle from the rear 
> of my car while the car was in there for other repairs and 
> inspection.  They claimed it was the rear lower spring perches of 
> my Stasis Tracksport that're loose, such that the springs can move 
> up and down when the wheels are completely unloaded.  I didn't 
> make any sense to me and I knew it was BS.  Quite a few fellow 
> AWer here suggested checking the rear brake pads, as the anti-
> rattle springs might have come off or not seated properly casing 
> noises.  I asked my dealer to look in to it, they said they would 
> have to anyways while doing the pre-sell inspection, and found 
> nothing wrong.
> > >
> > > Well I performed my own inspection yesterady, with the wheels 
> off the car, suspension fully unloaded, here's what I found:
> > > - all rear suspension linkages are nice and tight
> > > - the spring perches are NOT loose, however they can be turned 
> fairly easily with the coilover adjustment wrench, which is a good 
> thing I suppose, meaning the finish on the threads had not been 
> oxidized.> > - the rear springs do not have any up/down play 
> (unloaded), but you can turn/rotate them around the damper body 
> fairly easily.  Since both do the same, I assume this is normal.
> > > - However if you use flat head screwdriver and pry between the 
> bottom of the springs and the spring perches, the spring will move 
> up slightly and you'd get a gap there. But this is what springs 
> do, compress when a load is applied!
> > >
> > > Brakes were next.  On the passenger (right) side, the caliper 
> looked normal, nothing loose. But as soon as I looked at the left 
> side, first thing I saw was a loose anti-rattle spring clip on the 
> inner pad.  I could grab it and move it around, making the exact 
> noise that's been plaguing my car for months.  And all along I was 
> worried that there might be something wrong with my Stasis or the 
> install.  So here a big thanks to those who pointed me to the 
> right direction!!  I took pictures and a video clip, my dealer 
> have absoutely excuse this time not to fix this!!!
> > >
> > > Which brings me to my next point... How could the tech 
> overlook something as obvious as this??!! For...
> > > 1) they were supposed to inspect the brakes as part of the pre-
> sell inspection which I/potential buyer paid for, and
> > > 2) I told them the rattle could be from the rear pads spring 
> clips being loose, and they still missed it.
> > >
> > > I know there're some good dealer techs out there, but the one 
> who worked on my car surely wasn't one of them. If they can 
> overlook something like this, I really question what exactly did 
> they do for my "inspection".  Or Perhaps as soon as the dealer saw 
> my aftermarket suspension, they automatically assumed all abnormal 
> noises/issues must be caused by the non-factory parts.  As I said 
> before I'm getting more and more frustrated by Audi's incompetent 
> service, maybe I really should sell my car, which btw, the Mini 
> Cooper S I order has arrived, it's just a matter of finalize my 
> deal with my buyer and I can get the Mini by end of week, 
> mmmmmm...........> >
> > > Below is the same post on Audiworld, it's got a picture of the 
> offending brake pad spring clip...
> > >
> > > http://forums.audiworld.com/s4/msgs/2076604.phtml
> > >
> > > Quincy
> > > '01.5 S4 - with crappy warranty/dealer service
> > > '90 CoupeQ - what warranty?
> > >
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> > >
> >
> >
> > --
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