Driver's side front spring

spartacus 68

spartacus 68

Member
Replaced the discs and pads on my wife's A2 1.4TDi today, Thought something was slightly odd as the trolley jack wouldn't go under the car. I know it's a tight fit - but not that tight. Cut a long story short, the spring has gone on the driver's side. Looks like the bottom couple of inches which has dropped the ride height slightly.

Can't get the parts until next week. Will replace top mount too. I did this same job last year on the passenger side - which was relatively straight-forward. Looks like the brake reservoir and air intake has to move so I can get access to the top mount. Found 'Schnelletrecker's PDF instuctions' on the site - which is useful. http://www.a2oc.net/forum/attachment...8&d=1236198218

Remind me - do I need to undo the hub bolt to do this job, the tie-rod end and the lower ball-joint? Any other words of wisdom? I know the allen-key bolt on the strut is easily threaded - so I'll take it easy when undoing.
 
I did mine recently.I undid the tie rod.removed the cabling around the strut and knocked the hub down , didn't touch the hub nut at all or the ball joint.When you build it all together again give the strut bottom a clean and rebuild.Drivers side is a pain the local tyre exhaust place wanted £80 to supply an fit.Hope this helps cheers Davy
 
davidmac said:
I did mine recently.I undid the tie rod.removed the cabling around the strut and knocked the hub down , didn't touch the hub nut at all or the ball joint.When you build it all together again give the strut bottom a clean and rebuild.Drivers side is a pain the local tyre exhaust place wanted £80 to supply an fit.Hope this helps cheers Davy
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Cheers David

I was planning to do it before i headed off to the west coast at the weekend, but it's snowing here, so it'll have to wait until I get back. Noticed you're from Lanarkshire - tragic news about the schoolgirl who died in that bus crash... very sad indeed.
 
A pain is an underestimate. It took me hours to do it and was a complete nightmare. All the bolts were siezed (even although I'd sprayed Duck-oil penetrating release on them a couple of weeks prior and wire brushed the exposed threads). It's also as tight as a gnat's chaff - space wise! I moved the brake fluid reservoir, dismantled the MAF and tried to move it all to one side. The drop link allen key aperture sheared off (still managed to remove it), then I couldn't get the strut out. Resorted to a couple of heavy blows and hammered in a wedge where the lower strut pinch bolt sits. I also undid the tie-rod end which was a mistake. I think it's possible to do this job with the tie-rod in place. The tie-rod nut came half way off and siezed. Oh for an oxy-actylene torch for Christmas! Ended up cutting it off. Dropped my 10mm socket into the load bay twice due to the space restrictions at the top mount and ended up having to remove the engine tray which looks like it's held in place with 16 star-drive self-tapping screws!

 
I still have a problem with this. Fixed it last weekend and the car drives great, however I've noticed that the ride height, although improved by the new spring, is definately lower than the other side. I double-checked the spring in case Audi parts gave me a 'sport' coil by mistake, but part numbers check out (6Q0411105AC), (also in terms of the colour-coding dots), so it's definately the same as the other side.

One thing I noticed on stripping down the driver's side strut, was there was a slight gurgling from the shock absorber. Spoke to a colleague at work and he reckons it's possibly lost fluid and allowed air into the system. I didn't have a new shock absorber, so refitted the old one. What do you reckon - is this the culprit? Everything else is fine, and the spring is definately sitting right. Not looking forward to re-doing this job again. Only saving grace - is it should strip down relatively easily as all the bolts have been off.:mad:
 
I think the front shocks are gas pressurised so if there were any sort of leak the suspension could drop slightly as a result. I have some old parts in the garage (fitted FSD's) and will check tomorrow if they are actually gas shocks

Cheers Spike
 
spike said:
I think the front shocks are gas pressurised so if there were any sort of leak the suspension could drop slightly as a result. I have some old parts in the garage (fitted FSD's) and will check tomorrow if they are actually gas shocks

Cheers Spike
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Thanks Spike - appreciate it.
 
Bad news, the standard front shocks are not gas pressurised. Sorry I can't think of anything else which would make the car sit lower on one side.

Cheers Spike
 
Thanks Spike, I think I will probably go ahead and change the shock absorber. The 'gurgle' sound makes be think it's either lost fluid, or the integrity of the absorber has been compromised in some way. Can only try.
 
dan_b said:
I always thought you should change shocks in pairs on the axle for safety reasons?
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I agree, however Audi repaired one side when it was purchased, and made no attempt to do both. Springs have been repaired on both sides too. If money was no object - I'd have done it. It's perfectly safe in my opinion.
 
spartacus 68 said:
Cheers David

I was planning to do it before i headed off to the west coast at the weekend, but it's snowing here, so it'll have to wait until I get back. Noticed you're from Lanarkshire - tragic news about the schoolgirl who died in that bus crash... very sad indeed.
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Hi Spartacus sorry I have been away for a while and not keeping up with things here.Wee Tasha was a lovely kid we knew her and other kids on the bus personally and was a great shock very sad indeed
 
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