New control arms and now car very unstable

[L A Z]

I cant for the life of me figure out what happened. I had all front control arms changed along with stabilizer links (all Meyle), and one drivers side rear. Since I got the car back from mechanic, it feels like the car is riding on rubber bushings not a suspension. Every little bump makes the car feel like the wheels are dancing left and right under the car, and when taking a turn, it feels like the front outer wheel tilts outward half way through the turn.

I put the car on ramps thinking that some bolts were loose on the control arms, but everything is firms. When the car is lifted there is absolutely no loosed joints when I tug and push on the wheels. First i thought maybe the sub-frame is loose, but nothing.

Anyone ever experience this or have any idea what it could be? Before the new control arms were put on, the car handled great except for the occasional knock from one of the control arms.

I have a feeling these guys overlooked something, and I cant seem to find what it is.

Any help or ideas?

Thanks,
Laz

[techguy512]

I have a feeling these guys overlooked something......

Thanks,
Laz

Did they do an alignment after the work?

Rgds,
Bob

[L A Z]

Alignment was done...

[Seerlah]

No good input here, other than many people have troubles with Meyle. That is why many go with Febi.

[L A Z]

No good input here, other than many people have troubles with Meyle. That is why many go with Febi.

I have not heard that... i thought meyle's were just as good as Febi if not better...

[Seerlah]

Nope, my mechanic was the first to tell me about the troubles he has with Meyle. He is an enthusiest with an Passat (I think it is AWM, not too sure) with a VR6 swap and Quattro conversion (don't know what turbo he placed in). After he told me this I did searching on it and it seems that nobody wants to run with Meyle. Febi is more expensive, but well worth the money ($500 for a full kit, nuts, bolts, and washers). I can not recall what issues he told me they gave him, but he does not recoomend them. Most everyone on this forum board also runs from Meyle control arm kits and use Febi. Better to spend good money and not worry too much.

[A4 Effort]

I'm just tossing this out there, but can you confirm that they torqued everything with the suspension loaded?

I replaced my arms back in October with Meyle's and i haven't had any problems

[njm23]

I'm just tossing this out there, but can you confirm that they torqued everything with the suspension loaded?

I was also going to suggest this

[Mike@PureMS]

Post your alignment numbers.

[wasup0818]

sorry not try to Hijack your post but what is exactly it mean torqued everything with the suspension loaded? do i need to have a person sit inside the car while doing the control arm?

[ghost6303]

it means with the wheels on the ground with all the cars weight on the suspension, not up in the air with the wheels dangling in the air.

[L A Z]

I was also going to suggest this

This is exactly my thought at this point. I think ill just put it up on my ramps and loosen all of them up and re-torque them myself... I hate bringing my car to any mechanic.

[L A Z]

Post your alignment numbers.

I was there when they did the alignment and if I remember correctly the fronts were .20 deg and the rears were .14 deg (not too familiar with alignment numbers but I do notice when its off..). From what i saw on the screen they looked fine. The one thing i did notice was the right front camber was a bit off (dont remember by how much), but to my understanding there is no camber adjustment except for the minor sub-frame adjustment.

Thanks for the feedback.

Laz

[D's Avant]

it means with the wheels on the ground with all the cars weight on the suspension, not up in the air with the wheels dangling in the air.

I don't know how you are going to get a torque wrench on say the upper control arm bolts with the car on the ground or even on a ramp. When I did mine I used a jack to lift the lower control arm up to ride height. Then you can get your torque wrench in their and tighten everything up to the proper specs.

[L A Z]

I don't know how you are going to get a torque wrench on say the upper control arm bolts with the car on the ground or even on a ramp. When I did mine I used a jack to lift the lower control arm up to ride height. Then you can get your torque wrench in their and tighten everything up to the proper specs.

I hear you, thats how i did it the first time around but i cheeped out on the arms and bought some knock offs that lasted a year and a half so hence the reason I had to get new ones. I just didnt have time now to change it myself and do I regret it now...

[A4 Effort]

I don't know how you are going to get a torque wrench on say the upper control arm bolts with the car on the ground or even on a ramp. When I did mine I used a jack to lift the lower control arm up to ride height. Then you can get your torque wrench in their and tighten everything up to the proper specs.

x2 that's how i tightened mine. As for the upper arms, you can measure from the upper arm to the bottom of the shock tower. That measurement should be 47mm +/- 2mm. From there, you can then torque the bolts. Here is a reference photo:



It should go without saying, but it's easier to torque the bolts with the shock tower removed

[stubbs]

I'm gonna dig up an old thread: any updates on this?

I replaced my control arms with the full FCPGroton kit a few weeks ago, and it's started clunking again and making "loose" noises, if that makes sense. Almost feels like the wheel is moving some from side to side as I drive, esp. on the driver's side. I did get an alignment after the installation, and the numbers were good. Rather unnerving. I jacked the car up a week ago and everything felt tight, except for my mildly worn inner tie rods.

Any ideas?

[walky_talky20]

x2 that's how i tightened mine. As for the upper arms, you can measure from the upper arm to the bottom of the shock tower. That measurement should be 47mm +/- 2mm. From there, you can then torque the bolts. Here is a reference photo:



It should go without saying, but it's easier to torque the bolts with the shock tower removed

Just so its clear. These numbers will work fine for stock suspension, but if the car is lowered, the measurement will obviously be different.