[s-cars] Qu: Control Arms

[djdawson2 at aol.com]

Tony,
I'm afraid it has been too long for me to definitively answer your question.? I *think* they can be removed as a single piece.

Thing I do know for certain:

1) The 2B plates must be removed first, and the stockers put back in place.
2) Those bearings you speak of are the interface between the upper spring perch and the strut tower.? When they're bad, they bind and release, causing a fairly alarming banging noise... most often noticeable while backing out of a parking spot.

Other things...

If you are replacing your tie rod ends, make sure that the bushings in the rod assembly are tight where they attach to the steering rack.? I've?seen those good bad just as often as the actual ball joint in the tie rod end... and you can't buy them.? Sometimes it is best to buy the whole assembly.

Dave


-----Original Message-----
From: jpb3 <jpburns3 at gmail.com>
To: djdawson2 at aol.com
Cc: tony.curran at sympatico.ca; s-car-list at audifans.com
Sent: Wed, 30 Jul 2008 9:54 am
Subject: Re: [s-cars] Qu: Control Arms



Tony,

I just purchased TRW control arms from partsquick.com for $97 each.
They ship quickly too.

On a side note (Dave) I am planning on pulling both front struts soon
to replace the wheel bearings and at the same time I am going to
replace the control arms, tie rod ends, swaybar bushings (inner), DS
axle and the strut bearings.  My question is can I pull the entire
strut assembly without removing springs and replace the strut bearings
(the big plastic circles) without a spring compressor?  I have not had
the struts out of the car before and cannot wrap my mind around the
set up.  I have 2B plates and know I have to put the OEM mounts
(bearings or mounts as they seem to be called both) to get the strut
to drop through the top hole and I believe I have read that this will
keep the whole assembly together?  I can then press out/in the
bearings with the whole strut (spring and all) together?

So, once I loosen the 3 bolts up top and have everything disconnected
at the bottom the entire strut assembly just falls out?  I presume
these plastic strut bearings I have are the interface between the body
of the car and the top spring plate and if I have the whole assembly
out of the car I can just stick the new ones up against the top plate
as I put everything back together?

Sorry if this is OT and confusing, but I am confused.  I imagine I am
making this more complicated than it is and it is probably pretty
evident once I start unbolting things.

Also, the metal sleeve.  I have read you can use a lug bolt to remove
these without messing them up?

John

On Wed, Jul 30, 2008 at 1:03 AM,  <djdawson2 at aol.com> wrote:
> I've purchased control arms from Blau in the past... german parts.? They have 
worked as good as anything I've tried, and are priced at about $86 each.
>
> This is a DIY job if you have typical shadetree experience.? The only trick is 
getting the swaybar back into the "eyes" on the control arms.? I prefer to 
compress the suspension to maximize the distance between the two eyes on the 
control arms, making re
install of the swaybar quite easy.
>
> One point to keep in mind... each control arm bolts to the subframe with a 
single long bolt.? That bolt has a sleeve (looks like a large valve guide) that 
typically gets ruined during disassembly.? You'll want to make sure to buy a 
pair of these to insure that you don't get stuck halfway through the job.
>
> Dave
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Peter Schulz <pcschulz at comcast.net>
> To: Tony Curran <tony.curran at sympatico.ca>
> Cc: S-Car-List at Audifans.Com <s-car-list at audifans.com>
> Sent: Tue, 29 Jul 2008 8:41 pm
> Subject: Re: [s-cars] Qu: Control Arms
>
>
>
> Tony:
>
> Yes, they are better ...and (no stated brand is a risk not worth taking).
>
> Related case - I needed to replace the outer tie rods on my S6,
> decided to try the TRW/Moogs.
> Compared to the Febi/Bilstein Tie Rod ends, they are larger, the
> rubber on the boot appears to be thicker, there is a spring retainer
> for the boot, and even the tie rod stud has a dimple to center the
> tie rod puller.....
>
> -Peter
>
> At 09:35 PM 7/29/2008 -0400, Tony Curran wrote:
>>Hi all,
>>
>>Control arms are up for renewal. Just wondering if this is a DIY job for
>>reasonably savvy home wrench? And are TRW arms that much better for the
>>extra $$$$ - $247 pair from Canadian online source for (TRW) or $187 from
>>German Auto Parts (no stated brand).
>>
>>TIA
>>
>>Tony
>>96 S6
>>_______________________________________________
>>S-CAR-List mailing list
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>
> -Peter Schulz
> Chelmsford Ma, USA
> http://www.naaclub.org/
>
> 1995.5 S6 Avant Emerald/Ecru
> 1995.5 S6 Avant Silver/Platinum
> 1991 200 20v Q Avant Titan Grey (for sale)
> 1991 90 20v Q Red
> 1991 CQ silver  (eS2 recipient)
>
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