Anti roll bar and bushes

My wifes A2 petrol 1.4 developed a loud bang when it went over a bump.Turned out the front anti rol bar had moved over to the off side and the upright link arm was banging on the body.
The bushes had migrated and the anti roll bar was moving side to side!
Went to my local Audi garage and a helpfull stores guy sold me a new roll bar ,bushes,clamps and bolts for £80.The bar has been modified so I could not just change the bushes.I will post photos of the parts and replacement.
Yes you have to drop the front suspention attachments ! may be the steering rack too!
I dropped the bar over the weekend and the bushes are different as is the roll bar.No top hat bushes on the bar just washer type sleeve to stop the bar moving side to side.
As the car need suspending and suspention dropping out to extract the bar I will get a local garage to do it now, as it looks like Audi start with the front anti roll bar and build the car around it!

Sounds nasty - I take it that the car is out of warranty, otherwise you would have had Audi do the work for you?

Incidentally, Smith Knight Fay in Stockport are replacing Tanks bushes and seals under warranty, which is a bit of a result!

Cheers,

Mike

Given that your motor seems to have been upgraded in every possible fashion since leaving the dealer, are they still keen to honour the warranty?

I bet they are fairly impressed when they take it off you. I had my A2 delivered to me from Belfast to Dublin by the dealer last week. The driver said he couldn't believe what a great car it is. And he apparently drives A8, Q7, RS6 etc. all on a regular basis and on fairly long runs. The week before he had to deliver a car to Glasgow.

My dealer honours the warranty on all parts of the car that are unmodified, or would be unaffected by the modifications done.

Don't forget that most of my mods are done using Audi parts and to Audi specifications, so they still come under warranty (stuff like cruise, accoustic parking etc).

The sales manager is always impressed by what I've done and what Tank now is - it's a pity that the A2 is no longer made, as he's said that he would use it as an example of how good the A2 could be and that it is in no way the 'cheap' or 'baby' in the Audis range.

Cheers,

Mike

I know we should try not to be too negative about our A2's - and Mike does a great job in standing up for them - but I do think these early Antiroll bars and their integral bushes are a faulty piece of design. The mechanic who replaced ours had spent a career working for Honda and thought that if the same thing had happened on a Honda it would have been recalled.

We were quoted £400 to replace our bar by Tonbridge Audi - including a 4-wheel alignment check, needed they said as the front subframe has to be dropped to get the bar in and out. The alignment check was £160!!!

Oh, and Warranty Direct didn't want to know as the Anti-roll bar was specifically excluded - even though it was the bushes that had failed, and bushes were included. Small print! Didn't renew that policy....

GrayB said:

We were quoted £400 to replace our bar by Tonbridge Audi - including a 4-wheel alignment check, needed they said as the front subframe has to be dropped to get the bar in and out. The alignment check was £160!!!

Click to expand...

Looks like they've pulled the wool - there is no need for an alignment check, BECAUSE of the subframe.

The fact that it is bolted to the main chassis means that it can be removed and re-installed without the need for an alignment check. It is the positioning of the main axel/suspension frame that determines the tracking and because this is not being worked on, there is no need to do the work to re-align something that hasn't moved!

Cheers,

Mike

Hi GrayB
Just to endorse to Skipton's comments, the dealers (should) use special alignment pins (see attached picture) when dropping the subframe. This ensures that it goes back in exactly the same place to maintain all the suspension settings. If uneven tyre wear indicates an alignment check is required then it's reasonable for the Dealer to recommend it is done at the same time as subframe adjustment is used to equalise camber setings between the front wheels.Indexing the subframe over to one side increases camber on one wheel and reduces it on the other. After a couple of attempts they should get both sides even - (there is no individual camber adjustment on each wheel as most other cars have)

For anyone interested the service tool p/n for the 4 locating pins is T10096

Cheers Spike

Does any body what audi's policy on supplying special tools for purchase to the general public is, because when I tried to purchase a special tool for a golf, VW refused.

Hi Colin
In the past my Audi dealer has been more happy to sell service tools but last time I asked (for the alignment pins above) I was advised Audi had changed the rules. I was shown a letter from Audi which indicated that tools should not be sold to the public in case impropper repairs or personal injury resulted from their mis-use. Aparently they can still be sold to 'professionals' so an order on headed paper from a friendly workshop may do the trick.
Maybe it's also worth checking if VagParts can supply.

Cheers Spike

I've now got the dreaded noise! Took it into Audi yesterday and they have diagnosed the anti roll bar on the front left. Luckily it is still under warrenty so they are replacing it FOC.

However they did not mention doing an alignment check on the car. Is it worth insisting on getting this done? Should I also try and get them to replace the drivers side too whilst I have warrenty!

Hi Gexx
From your description they are probably going to change a roll-bar droplink and not the anti-rollbar bushes. Audi warranty rules will dictate that only failed parts can be replaced. Preventative maintenance is usually only allowed if safety related or catastrophic failures are likely.
Suspension settings will not be disturbed while fixing the droplinks.

Cheers Spike

Just got my car back from the used garage i got it from as the anti roll bar had also failed.It has now been fixed with no banging noise when going over bumps.