[s-cars] epilogue....was Re: Adventures in C4 control arm & strut replacement..

[Peter Schulz]

Went back to Mike's on Saturday to tackle the pesty driver's side control arm bolt.

It took elevating the front end of the car on two jackstands, and a 6ft cheater pipe on a 1/2 Sears Craftsman Drive, but we finally got it out...(felt like a half hour of cranking ;-(

Extracting the bolt sleeve also took some effort, but using the wheel bolt with the sway bar washer and a pry bar trick eventually got it out.

The control arm bolt sleeve was a bit twisted, and the top was folded over?  but some work with a hammer on a vise reshaped it so it would easily rotate around the control arm bolt, which I replaced with a new one.
Evidently the collar had been mangled at some point, so it dug into the side of the control arm bushing, which means I was fighting it and the bushing rubber when trying to extract it.

Installed the new control arm, old sleeve, new bolt, used a cargo strap to ratchet the sway bar close to the subframe to be able to install the outer bushings, then Mike got on the 6 foot bar and pipe so we could reinstall the ball joint, finished with new ball joint bolt & nut. Lowered the car and torqued all the fasteners to spec.

HTH someone who plans on tackling this in the future...
BTW, there is NO way, short of drilling a hole into the frame rail, to get penetrant on the threaded end of the rear subframe mount.
Had the bolt snapped I would have had to drop the entire subframe...

-Peter


On Apr 10, 2011, at 7:59 AM, Peter Schulz wrote:

> Spent Saturday at my friend Mike S, doing something that was relatively easy on both my former 1991 200q20v Wagons...not so with an S6 Avant...
> 
> Tackled the control arm and front strut replacement on the Silver Avant which included a pair of powder coated struts from Brian Weldon, S6 pus springs, Bilstein sports, new bearings and oem top mounts.
> Drilled approximately 1/4 inch hole in bottom of strut housings per Bilstein for drainage.
> 
> Thoughts....
> #$!#!#@!#! New England salted roads and ABS sensors...
> Had to torch one out in order to get the  brass cage, luckily my friend Mike gave me a pair of used sensors.
> 
> Next @#!@#! - removing the control arm ball joint from the strut housing... Mike and I bent his 6 foot pry bar and had to resort to sliding a piece of pipe over it to pop the ball joints...definitely a two man job, and not for someone weighing less than 200lbs.
> 
> Found a neat way for removing the metal bushing from the control arms.
> Remove the control arm/subframe bolt, get an old wheel bolt, large washer, and thread it into the bottom of the collar.  Use a pry bar against the washer and the bushing should come out of the subframe.
> 
> Final @!#@! - driver side control arm bolt did not want to come out. Met alot of resistance with a 18inch breaker bar, so I decided to not replace that control arm for fear of snapping the bolt.  Installed the powdercoated strut housing, tightened everything up, and headed home..what was Audi thinking when they eliminated a separate subframe & control arm bolt....the type 44 design was much better for R&R
> 
> Need to get all the torque specs from Bentley today and check every fastener, and schedule an alignment.
> 
> Impressions on the ride home...much firmer ride with the Bilsteins and S6+ springs - no wonder the stock springs and Boge struts had 168k miles on them.  (I replaced the rear struts & springs already)
> 
> Something I need to tackle soon however, is that control arm/subframe bolt.
> Any advice on extraction, other that cutting a hole in the inner fender to access bolt end?  Its a matter of time for having to replace that control arm as the ball joint is looser than a new one.
> 
> 
> 
> -Peter Schulz
> Chelmsford Ma, USA
> http://www.naaclub.org/
> 
> 1995.5 S6 Avant Emerald/Ecru
> 1995.5 S6 Avant Silver/Platinum
> 1991 90Q 20v Q Red
> 1991 90Q 20v Indigo
> 1991 CQ silver  (eS2 recipient) 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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Peter Schulz
36 Westford St
Chelmsford MA 01824 USA
p.schulz at verizon.net