Information SE pressed steel suspension advice

Owls1867

Member
Hi there,

First post so bear with me. I have a 1.4TDI SE with one rotted pressed steel suspension arm and another not far behind. New ones are on back order with Audi, who suggested a delivery date of December(!)

I’m not mechanically minded, so this is not something I can do myself. I’ve had a look through the forum and I’m a little confused if there’s a viable alternative. The garage I use has tried an arm for (I think) a Cordoba but this isn’t right (sorry, I can’t be more specific).

Can anyone out there offer advice so I can get my otherwise roadworthy A2 back on the road?


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There are several on here that break a2s so hopefully they will be able to help ..but if you go on e bay lots for sale uk or direct from Germany ..
 
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Depending on how much of a rush you are in, I will have a set of factory forged ones available next week at £30 each from my current breaker.
 
Depending on how much of a rush you are in, I will have a set of factory forged ones available next week at £30 each from my current breaker.

Forgive my ignorance, but are these the pressed steel ones?


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how can you tell the difference between the good ones and bad ones?

The easiest way to describe it is the 'bad' pressed steel ones are hollow in the centre whereas the forged/cast steel ones are one solid piece of metal.

Or if you mean how can I tell the difference between a good cast one or a bad cast ones, the only difference is if the ball joint has too much play in it. If the ball joint is naffed then I won't sell them.
 
No, they are the solid forged ones that are one piece and do not rust through.

Will I need to buy some other parts as well? Or will these be a direct replacement? I can see the earlier ones come with the integral ball joint, but with zero knowledge of mechanics I’ve no idea what I need!


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Will I need to buy some other parts as well? Or will these be a direct replacement? I can see the earlier ones come with the integral ball joint, but with zero knowledge of mechanics I’ve no idea what I need!


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There is a rubber dust cover over the ball joint (£1 each from most motorfactors) that inevitably gets damaged when I remove them with the ball-joint splitter. You would have to get the garage to replace these, but its a simple job for them and would be good practice to change them in any event to ensure longevity.
 
Depending on how much of a rush you are in, I will have a set of factory forged ones available next week at £30 each from my current breaker.

So I’ve done a bit of digging on here and elsewhere, and just want to confirm these are definitely interchangeable with the pressed steel ones? I won’t be doing the work myself and just need to check whether anything else would need doing (one thread talked of having to realign the axle, sorry, means nothing to me).
 
We had pressed steel and changed to the forged (cast) items. They are a straight swap, no problems. That was on a 2003 1.4 petrol
 
Cheers, thanks for letting me know.
@A2Steve has a very solid and well established reputation here for fair dealing and the quality of his used parts. Unless you prefer to buy new (at around 4x the cost) I'd suggest you accept his offer of a pair of used forged arms. I'm sure he'll confirm the condition with you once he has removed them.
 
@A2Steve has a very solid and well established reputation here for fair dealing and the quality of his used parts. Unless you prefer to buy new (at around 4x the cost) I'd suggest you accept his offer of a pair of used forged arms. I'm sure he'll confirm the condition with you once he has removed them.

Cheers, I’ve sent him a message about it


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Cheers, thanks for letting me know.


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Heres the proof:

 
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