Control arms Audi B8 2009

buzzing147

Hi just wondering if anyone had problems with these front suspension control arms before? I have 2 bushens gone in mine. One left and one right. Dealer said will possibly be a big job, because of a possibility of a seized bolt on each side, then might need replace all 4, depending on how the job goes.

Regards

Alanstrainor

I wouldn't be bringing a 2009 to a dealer for that kind of servicing tbh... I don't see how a seized bolt would complicate things hugely. Any garage should have the tools to deal with that in no time. Cutting them off is usually what they do which would only take a few minutes.

buzzing147

Alanstrainor wrote: »

I wouldn't be bringing a 2009 to a dealer for that kind of servicing tbh... I don't see how a seized bolt would complicate things hugely. Any garage should have the tools to deal with that in no time. Cutting them off is usually what they do which would only take a few minutes.

Cheers yea main dealer charging a crazy price so going to buy the parts and take to local mechanic. Maybe best buying 4 new arms instead of just the 2 that are gone?

tossy

Do your research on spurious parts, the quality for Audi suspension arms varies greatly, you could be back buying again sooner than you'd like.

rex-x

These also suffer from balljoint issues and the arms are very expensive being aluminium one piece

buzzing147

Do the bushens fit at end of arms or do u have to buy whole new arm? Bushens are only a few bob

rex-x

You buy new arms complete, they also have streel retaining bolts and when the steel and aluminium corrode it can be a nightmare

buzzing147

rex-x wrote: »

You buy new arms complete, they also have streel retaining bolts and when the steel and aluminium corrode it can be a nightmare

Yea the bolts are seized so need 4 new arms and 2 new bolts. Better off buying 4 anyway cause the 2 good ones cant be far off now from acting up. How much are these arms in main dealer? Probly very expensive?

rex-x

buzzing147 wrote: »

Yea the bolts are seized so need 4 new arms and 2 new bolts. Better off buying 4 anyway cause the 2 good ones cant be far off now from acting up. How much are these arms in main dealer? Probly very expensive?

Even from the motorfactors you won't have change from about 500 for all 4, from Audi I'd say double it however the lower arms were subject to recall a few years ago because of the balljoints

buzzing147

rex-x wrote: »

Even from the motorfactors you won't have change from about 500 for all 4, from Audi I'd say double it however the lower arms were subject to recall a few years ago because of the balljoints

Firstline oem control arms are 45each in local autoshop, guy said they're good hasnt had any complaints. Wonder are they good though

firstlight

If it's the same style suspension as mine,the pinch bolts seize,lash wd40 into them for a week or so,use copper grease when putting in the new bolts,should make them easier to change next time,don't use a dealer

rex-x

Are we talking the same thing? this is your rear lower control arm on the front: https://www.micksgarage.com/d/wishbones/audi/audi-a4/a4-2007-to-2015/2-0-tdi-143-1968/products/291626-6418-23301/quinton-hazell-wishbone

There is another almost as expensive arm in front of that one and then 2 arms on the upper wishbone area which are cheaper. That QH one is cheap and not great quality and still over 140 each.

George Dalton

buzzing147 wrote: »

Firstline oem control arms are 45each in local autoshop, guy said they're good hasnt had any complaints. Wonder are they good though

Firstline are the worst possible brand you could buy. Absolute scrap.

kildarelad

Completely agree with George firstline Parts are terrible.I replaced the ball joint on my own B8 Audi recently wasn't the worst job in the world.I pressed out the old balljoint and pressed on the new one onto the arm.
I used lots of WD40 as i was expecting seized steel bolts in the aluminium housing

ION08

OP, what’s the mileage on your A4 do you mind me asking?

I always hear of issues with Audi suspension parts but have had 3 relatively high mileage audis and never a squeek or rattle out of them ??

buzzing147

rex-x wrote: »

Are we talking the same thing? this is your rear lower control arm on the front: https://www.micksgarage.com/d/wishbones/audi/audi-a4/a4-2007-to-2015/2-0-tdi-143-1968/products/291626-6418-23301/quinton-hazell-wishbone

There is another almost as expensive arm in front of that one and then 2 arms on the upper wishbone area which are cheaper. That QH one is cheap and not great quality
and still over 140 each.

Dont think same part mine look straighter? Front axle left and right upper and lower, 4 altogether. Top arm rearmost wishbone bushings, and front ones too because bolts seized

buzzing147

kildarelad wrote: »

Completely agree with George firstline Parts are terrible.I replaced the ball joint on my own B8 Audi recently wasn't the worst job in the world.I pressed out the old balljoint and pressed on the new one onto the arm.
I used lots of WD40 as i was expecting seized steel bolts in the aluminium housing

So u can actually replace the bushens on the arms instead of buying full new arm?

buzzing147

George Dalton wrote: »

Firstline are the worst possible brand you could buy. Absolute scrap.

Hi George, are Frontline the same company as mapco? Think arms are actually mapco. Are they bad too?

buzzing147

ION08 wrote: »

OP, what’s the mileage on your A4 do you mind me asking?

I always hear of issues with Audi suspension parts but have had 3 relatively high mileage audis and never a squeek or rattle out of them ??

95,000, I did go over a crazy pothole one night few months ago don't think that helped:)

George Dalton

Never heard of mapco. But any of those non OE supplier brands are all just as bad as each other in my experience.

Do you even know which arms are supposedly worn in your car? There are 4 arms on each side. 2 upper and 2 lower. None of them are especially troublesome on the B8 so maybe you should get a second opinion before you go removing a perfectly good part and replacing it with poor quality rubbish.

buzzing147

George Dalton wrote: »

Never heard of mapco. But any of those non OE supplier brands are all just as bad as each other in my experience.

Do you even know which arms are supposedly worn in your car? There are 4 arms on each side. 2 upper and 2 lower. None of them are especially troublesome on the B8 so maybe you should get a second opinion before you go removing a perfectly good part and replacing it with poor quality rubbish.

Front of car, LH and RH top arm rearmost wishbone bushings. Got my mechanic check it out yea they're gone. Bolt at the hub where arms meet is seized also.

George Dalton

Ok. You are best off getting all 4 arms in that case because the other 2 will likely get damaged while removing the seized bolts. Make sure your mechanic knows what he is at because those hub carriers are easy to crack when attempting to remove the seized pinch bolts.

Lemforder and TRW are the OE suppliers for those arms. No other aftermarket brand will be as good as those two no matter what people tell you. Some of the other brands aren’t too bad, eg Febi/Swag or Meyle. But the majority of them are so bad as to be a complete waste of time.

buzzing147

George Dalton wrote: »

Ok. You are best off getting all 4 arms in that case because the other 2 will likely get damaged while removing the seized bolts. Make sure your mechanic knows what he is at because those hub carriers are easy to crack when attempting to remove the seized pinch bolts.

Lemforder and TRW are the OE suppliers for those arms. No other aftermarket brand will be as good as those two no matter what people tell you. Some of the other brands aren’t too bad, eg Febi/Swag or Meyle. But the majority of them are so bad as to be a complete waste of time.

Cheers George, yea mechanic said because of seized bolt I will need 4 new arms as the 2 good ones will get damaged removing bolts.

Looked up the mapco ones online they're an OE supplier good reviews, German brand, the carshop said they're good quality.

(Just hopeing he's right)

Don't wanna get main dealer do this job, already got full service and timing belt done in main dealer few months ago so that was enough to spend!

George Dalton

Who are Mapco an OE supplier for? Not Audi anyway.

buzzing147

George Dalton wrote: »

Who are Mapco an OE supplier for? Not Audi anyway.

Unsure tbh, but reviews are good and they're based in Germany so might be ok. Will the car need realligned after this work? I guess so. Slight steering wobble when travelling over 60ish has started happening since bushens went

The Bishop Basher

buzzing147 wrote: »

Don't wanna get main dealer do this job, already got full service and timing belt done in main dealer few months ago so that was enough to spend!

Agree with George on buying spurious parts. The price is always tempting but you get what you pay for. Just spend the extra, buy the original parts and you can have confidence that they’ll last.

And honestly why are you going to dealers.. you could be doing a basic service yourself or for timing belt etc take it to an Indy. Mad paying dealer prices on an 09.

Good luck getting this sorted.

mickdw

George Dalton wrote: »

Ok. You are best off getting all 4 arms in that case because the other 2 will likely get damaged while removing the seized bolts. Make sure your mechanic knows what he is at because those hub carriers are easy to crack when attempting to remove the seized pinch bolts.

Lemforder and TRW are the OE suppliers for those arms. No other aftermarket brand will be as good as those two no matter what people tell you. Some of the other brands aren’t too bad, eg Febi/Swag or Meyle. But the majority of them are so bad as to be a complete waste of time.

My mechanic wrecked the hub carrier on my A5 when swapping ball joints. He is generally excellent but wasn't so familiar with them I guess.
Bit of a pain to find used too due to demand from others in same situation.

buzzing147

Had them done this morning, no rattle now, hopefully stays that way🀫

buzzing147

Thought the rattle was away but just noticed theres still a slight rattle when going at very low speed on uneven roads, especially going down a hill. No noise at all at speed. Seems under drivers side.

rex-x

Balljoint on big arm I posted causes a noise (hence the recall) not sure would I call it a rattle though?

buzzing147

rex-x wrote: »

Balljoint on big arm I posted causes a noise (hence the recall) not sure would I call it a rattle though?

The sound is similar to an anti roll bar rattle I had in a previous car

buzzing147

Just wondering, seems to be after control arms replacement, I notice there's a vibration in car when going over 70, hadn't noticed this before. Guy said he did allignment after the job. There's a rattle too when going at low speed over bumpy roads, but it's been there a long time. Haven't really noticed the vibration before though as I said.

Kenny Logins

That sounds like a wheel weight. Might have fallen off.

buzzing147

Kenny Logins wrote: »

That sounds like a wheel weight. Might have fallen off.

Cheers I'll get that checked, does that mean re allignment again😥

Kenny Logins

buzzing147 wrote: »

Cheers I'll get that checked, does that mean re allignment again��

Nah, just wheel balancing. It's usually between 55mph and 70 that you will feel a wobble in the steering wheel. If that's not what you're experiencing, it's probably something else.

Have a look for the wheel weights, and then look for evidence of absence on the front wheels.

buzzing147

Kenny Logins wrote: »

Nah, just wheel balancing. It's usually between 55mph and 70 that you will feel a wobble in the steering wheel. If that's not what you're experiencing, it's probably something else.

Have a look for the wheel weights, and then look for evidence of absence on the front wheels.

Seems to be 3 on each front wheel can't see any missing ill get it checked in Tyre centre in morning just to be sure, yea vibration seems to be over 60, but not all the time, if that makes sense

Kenny Logins

buzzing147 wrote: »

Seems to be 3 on each front wheel can't see any missing ill get it checked in Tyre centre in morning just to be sure, yea vibration seems to be over 60, but not all the time, if that makes sense

Is it through the steering wheel?

buzzing147

Kenny Logins wrote: »

Is it through the steering wheel?

Yea seems to be, wheel shaky and front of car kinda feel.

buzzing147

buzzing147 wrote: »

Yea seems to be, wheel shaky and front of car kinda feel.

Just noticed now that one of front wheels is hot and very dusty looking, maybe a caliper? Causing the shaking?

George Dalton

Sticking calipers are quite common on them.

buzzing147

George Dalton wrote: »

Sticking calipers are quite common on them.

Cheers George, would I need a new caliper or can the sticking ones be released? Already replaced one caliper a year ago

buzzing147

buzzing147 wrote: »

Cheers George, would I need a new caliper or can the sticking ones be released? Already replaced one caliper a year ago

Balancing wud hardly cause heat? Had wheels balanced this morning guy said few weights missing. Only noticed the warm wheel after driving afterwards. The vibration going over 60 seems to have gone after balancing.

rex-x

buzzing147 wrote: »

Cheers George, would I need a new caliper or can the sticking ones be released? Already replaced one caliper a year ago

You will need a new caliper

buzzing147

rex-x wrote: »

You will need a new caliper

Ok yea was thinking that. Cheers

Kenny Logins

buzzing147 wrote: »

Balancing wud hardly cause heat? Had wheels balanced this morning guy said few weights missing. Only noticed the warm wheel after driving afterwards. The vibration going over 60 seems to have gone after balancing.

Sounds like two unrelated issues.

I had a sticking caliper on the rear of an A6, just needed a guide pin cleaned and re-greased. Wasn't bad enough to cause heat though, just a very annoying droning sound.

buzzing147

Kenny Logins wrote: »

Sounds like two unrelated issues.

I had a sticking caliper on the rear of an A6, just needed a guide pin cleaned and re-greased. Wasn't bad enough to cause heat though, just a very annoying droning sound.

Yea I can hear a strange sound too similar to a wheel bearing but not as loud. Just replaced control arms was hopeing for another trouble free 5-6 months ahead but once it rains it pours!

buzzing147

buzzing147 wrote: »

Yea I can hear a strange sound too similar to a wheel bearing but not as loud. Just replaced control arms was hopeing for another trouble free 5-6 months ahead but once it rains it pours!

It's making a grinding sound now when turning right. Away this weekend wont be using car. Probably caliper?

buzzing147

buzzing147 wrote: »

It's making a grinding sound now when turning right. Away this weekend wont be using car. Probably caliper?

Anyone know what's best brand of brake pads for 09 a4? Maybe get them in dealer? Front pads are done, just hoping discs are ok

buzzing147

buzzing147 wrote: »

Anyone know what's best brand of brake pads for 09 a4? Maybe get them in dealer? Front pads are done, just hoping discs are ok

Problem sorted can close thread, it was a loose brake pad causing the trouble, caliper was fine.

Cheers

buzzing147

Just a quick question, noticed a shakiness in car since new control arms fitted few weeks ago, no heat from wheel now, so ruling out caliper, wonder would it be the new arms, or something else. Mechanic who replaced them is away.