[s-cars] Front control arm fell off

[Igor Kessel]

Aaron wrote:
> Hi folks,
> Im in need of some advice.  Two weeks ago I had my front end redone by 
> my local allignment shop who as done a few audis and seemed pretty 
> knowledgable.  I consulted the archives and made sure he had the correct 
> parts.  He installed both control arms as a kit with all bushings 
> including those for the sway bar.  He also did a tie rod, steering 
> damper and strut tower bearings.  Well today we feel lucky to be alive.  
> My wife was driving slowly around town ( 10 min after being on the icy 
> highway) and to her surprize the front end "dropped" and she stopped 
> immediately.  Turns out the outer control arm nut came off and the 
> spindle assy came free and jammed in the wheel well!
> This is one day after returning from a long - fast - road trip across 
> eastern idaho where shall we say the road was empty.
> The car has been towed back to the shop but I have not yet spoken to the 
> guy who did the work as he was out today.  Im pretty shaken up and am 
> unsure how best to handle it.  The bill for the orig work came to around 
> 700$ and has not yet been paid.  Im not sure I want to pay it.  We are 
> talking about a serious liability issue here.
> On the technical side im not sure if the control arm nuts were replaced 
> (im assuming they are supposed to be).  What about the bolt holding the 
> ball joint to the spindle and the bold holding the inner end of the tie 
> rod.  Should these have been replaced also?
> Luckily it appears nothing else was damanged.  The strut tower, jack 
> shaft, wheel well etc all appear OK.  Anything else I should look for?
> Thanks
> Aaron

Aaron,
I am glad that your wife was lucky to come out of the deal alive. If 
this happened at a higher speed she would've spun off either into the 
incoming traffic or into the ditch.

I can bet Grey Goose against Popov in a plastic bottle on the bottom 
shelf that the tech either did not replace the big a$$ (a scientific 
term) nut on the end of the anti sway bar and/or did not torque it 
properly to 120Nm + 1/4 turn if memory serves me roght. Our control arms 
are straight. The anti sway bar provides the needed extra link that 
makes the whole construction a rigid triangle. If you disconnect the 
antisway bar from the control arm while the car is standing on its 
wheels the control arm will swing to the side and the wheel will jam in 
the wheel well. Ask me how I know this <insert a blushing smiley>

-- 
Igor Kessel
two turbo quattros