Audi TT subframe damage

MagicSean

My girlfriend owns a 05 Audi TT. She bought it last year. She was told that it had been in a minor collision and had some material body work done to the front passenger side, had some parts replaced and had been repainted. She was told it would pass an NCT and would be safe to drive. After a few months she brought it back as there was a problem with the steering. Apparently it was something to do with something called a boot which needed to be replaced. She left the car in for a few days and got when she collected it she was told it was completely ok and fully repaired. She has since noticed that the steering wheel is not properly alligned. It has to be slightly turned for the car to travel straight. I asked a mechanic to have a look at it. He has discovered that the sub frame of the car is damaged and an attempt has been made to straighten it were it was bent. Does anyone know how serious this is? Will it pass an NCT and is it safe to drive? Should we have been told this when we bought the car?

Ratchet

damage is one thing but maybe guy which was replacing steering rack gator (ruber boot) didnt set wheel alignment correctly....or wasnt done at all

i will start with laser wheel alignment and make sure that it is set correctly

Gumbo

05 Audi should of been NCT'd in 2009, did it pass the NCT then?
in regards to the boot, was it a CV Boot?

Also, the steering could be a simple laser alignment issue.
I would get the alignment sorted then put it through the NCT as its over a year late judging by your post (sorry if im wrong).

Anan1

I would have thought a new subframe is the only way to properly rectify this.

mickdw

It could just be a little kink somewhere on the subframe that has no bearing on its strength & dimensions or it could be damaged beyond repair.
I wouldnt be so quick to write it off seeing as it appears the car was perfect until someone did some work on the steering.
Get a good 4 wheel alignment done & see do all parameters meet manufacturers recommendations. If they do, and it handles properly & is not wearing tyres, all is ok.

MagicSean

It was the cv boot and when we brought it in they also said they did the laser allignment. My mechanic seems to think the subframe should have been replaced. Its the same steering problem since we got the car. It wasnt NCT'd last year. Its booked in next week.

MagicSean

k_mac wrote: »

It was the cv boot and when we brought it in they also said they did the laser allignment. My mechanic seems to think the subframe should have been replaced. Its the same steering problem since we got the car. It wasnt NCT'd last year. Its booked in next week.

Just a little update. It failed on Saturday on the front tracking. Brought it to a garage and got the front tracking done and brought it back for retest yesterday. It passed. But I noticed that the rear tracking almost failed this time. It would seem the distance between the two drivers side wheels is shorter than the distance between the two passenger wheels.

Neilw

k_mac wrote: »

Just a little update. It failed on Saturday on the front tracking. Brought it to a garage and got the front tracking done and brought it back for retest yesterday. It passed. But I noticed that the rear tracking almost failed this time. It would seem the distance between the two drivers side wheels is shorter than the distance between the two passenger wheels.

Stick a new subframe on it, should be easy to pick up as it's the same as a mk4 golf gti/seat leon/skoda octavia.
The subframe could have a twist in it causing one wheel to be further back, are the wishbones ok, were they replaced?

MagicSean

Neilw wrote: »

Stick a new subframe on it, should be easy to pick up as it's the same as a mk4 golf gti/seat leon/skoda octavia.
The subframe could have a twist in it causing one wheel to be further back, are the wishbones ok, were they replaced?

Wishbones are fine as far as I know. Is it a big job to get the sub frame done?

One thing I was wondering. When we brought it back to the dealer they said they got the laser alignment done. Can they do the alignment properly if the subframe is damaged like that? Would it not have caused trouble and prevented it being aligned properly?

mickdw

k_mac wrote: »

Wishbones are fine as far as I know. Is it a big job to get the sub frame done?

One thing I was wondering. When we brought it back to the dealer they said they got the laser alignment done. Can they do the alignment properly if the subframe is damaged like that? Would it not have caused trouble and prevented it being aligned properly?

There is an allowable tolerance for the distance between the front to rear wheels. Dont know how much it would be though.
They can stick any car on the alignment machine & attempt to get it within specs. If its bend it may not be posible to get it within specs.
Ok, so yours has passed the NCT alignment test.
I would get it checked for alignment at a main dealer or someone who has the correct settings for the car. If it is or can be aligned to meet the manufacturers tolerence, then all in good. If not, replace the bend stuff. I wouldnt worry if it approaches the edge of the allowable tolerance as that is what it is for.
Also note, many independant garages or chains may have alignment specs for your car but they cannot search for settings based on your chassis number (as a dealer can do). Therefore they will be applying a 'standard' setting for your car type. If your car happened to have lowered suspension from the factory, the setting may be slightly different or the allowable/normal camber tolerance may be different to that of a standard height car.
The NCT alignment check would not be as exact as the manufacturer alignment tolerances so you may well fail the manufacturer alignment.