Cv Axle Replacement - Any B6/7 S4 Specific DIY's available?

[Lugi20]

I'm getting a replacement passenger side Cv Axle from Raxles, and was wondering if anyone has tackled this on their own and whether or not they needed to use a writeup or DIY out there?

Also, were you able to get it out without disconnecting anything else? I'm talking about the upper control arms specifically. I'd love to be able to do this without removing anything more than my wheel.

Thanks for any input.

[rockstar]

I have done this many times.

Easiest way for me has been in this order:
Loosen axle bolt
Loosen lug nuts
Lift car
Remove wheel
Support spindle
Remove rotor
Remove dust shield
Disconnect both upper control arms
Disconnect tie rod
Remove axle bolts
Remove axle
Installation in reverse

Took me about 30-45 min at most.

Pm me if help is needed.

No specials tools other then the hex nuts for the axle bolts.

[aroderick56]

anyone have the torque spec on the axle bolt

[JimmyBones]

It is a stretch bolt so it should be replaced. I remember the torque spec as 140 Nm + 180 degrees.

I don't take the brakes off to change out an axle and I have had to replace quite a few on my car. Hopefully the pinch bolts for the upper control arms come out easily. If they don't then you can loosen the curved lower control arm instead and turn the whole thing to the side so the front of the axle can come out.

[JayDog747]

According to "The Bentley"

With the vehicle on the ground loosen the axle bolt no more than 90 degrees.
Lift vehicle
remove wheel and replace all 5 lug bolts.
remove axle bolt
remove the drive axle from the transmission.

Seems simple enough...However

If there is not enough room to maneuver the axle out you have to

Remove the pinch bolt(good luck with that) and pop out the control arms and let the spindle/hub move to the side.

Install is reversed except before you lower the car have someone apply the brakes and pre tighten the axle bolt to:

M14 bolt 115 Nm
M16 bolt 200 Nm

Replace the wheel and lower the vehicle. Tighten the axle bolt an additional 180 degrees.

Test drive vehicle for six months only to find out you should have replaced the drivers side too.

[mholme]

If you jack up the upright once all the inner and outer axle bolts are removed, the inner joint will come off the flange. Turn the steering wheel in the opposite direction of the side you are working on and you can pull the axle assembly out and put it back in without disturbing any other bolts.

[Lugi20]

Removing the pinch bolt is what I was afraid of. I JUST got an alignment on my car and I was hoping to leave all of the suspension alone. If I remove the pinch bolt while the wheel is hanging, can I put it back while the wheel is hanging without disturbing the alignment?

Also, I was going to do the drivers side as well but Raxles only had the passenger side in stock, which happened to be the side I had a problem with.

[WolfS4]

Removing the pinch bolt is what I was afraid of. I JUST got an alignment on my car and I was hoping to leave all of the suspension alone. If I remove the pinch bolt while the wheel is hanging, can I put it back while the wheel is hanging without disturbing the alignment?

Also, I was going to do the drivers side as well but Raxles only had the passenger side in stock, which happened to be the side I had a problem with.

That shouldn't upset the alignment.

Awhile back I noticed cracks in my boots, and replaced both fronts with cheap EMPI axles and kept my stock ones. Recently the EMPI's started vibrating, so re-booted/packed my OEM axles and re-installed them. The drivers side was easy, but on the passenger side I ended up removing the pinch bolt.

[Lugi20]

Is there a need to concern myself with jacking the suspension up to ride height before or after replacing the pinch bolt? To me, the most concerning part of this entire job is possibly disturbing my 3-4 day old alignment (where they identified the leaking Cv joint).

[JayDog747]

No you will not disrupt the alignment. Before you wrestle with ol' pinchy, try mholme's recommendation of trurning the wheel.

[Lugi20]

No you will not disrupt the alignment. Before you wrestle with ol' pinchy, try mholme's recommendation of trurning the wheel.

If you jack up the upright once all the inner and outer axle bolts are removed, the inner joint will come off the flange. Turn the steering wheel in the opposite direction of the side you are working on and you can pull the axle assembly out and put it back in without disturbing any other bolts.

Just to clarify, do you mean jack up the entire wheel assembly from, say, just behind the brakes at the lower control arms? Also, turn my wheels to the left if I'm doing the right (passenger) side? Sorry I'm an engineer and nothing can ever be specific enough for me.

[Kookie]

If you jack up the upright once all the inner and outer axle bolts are removed, the inner joint will come off the flange. Turn the steering wheel in the opposite direction of the side you are working on and you can pull the axle assembly out and put it back in without disturbing any other bolts.

I may have to do one soon.. and I really hope this works. Can anyone confirm they've done this as well?

So you're saying take nothing off except for axle hardware and then use the steering to give the play needed to remove?

[Gosser]

Just to clarify, do you mean jack up the entire wheel assembly from, say, just behind the brakes at the lower control arms? Also, turn my wheels to the left if I'm doing the right (passenger) side? Sorry I'm an engineer and nothing can ever be specific enough for me.

That is exactly how I read it and would perform it. Maybe thats why the manual version seems so simple.

I would just have a spotter while turning the wheel and would go pretty slowly. I hate turning a wheel while jacked up, and one tire is still on the ground.

[Lugi20]

I hate turning a wheel while jacked up, and one tire is still on the ground.

Its easy enough to put both sides in the air.

[mholme]

Put the entire front end in the air on stands, jack the upright up at the lower control arms and turn the wheel away from the side you are removing. With nothing holding the axle in place, it will pull away from the flange and you can wiggle the axle out.

[RPMtech147]

Its pretty self explanatory. It sucks if you dont have an impact. Im sure it's rusted in the hub so you'll need a pushing too to get it out. Eww, chicago, get two, You probably break the first one. oh, and soak that b*tch in wd40 over night before you try and get the axle out. You couldn't pay me enough to be a mechanic in a state like Illinois or Wisconsin. I hate working on rusty cars.

[Baggio]

Anybody know the torque specs on the 6 bolts (triple square 10mm) that attach to CV axle to the differential/transmission? I keep getting different numbers looking around the Internet and I even asked a tech at the Audi dealership and he found 2 different numbers in their system. Thanks!

[aroderick56]

Anybody know the torque specs on the 6 bolts (triple square 10mm) that attach to CV axle to the differential/transmission? I keep getting different numbers looking around the Internet and I even asked a tech at the Audi dealership and he found 2 different numbers in their system. Thanks!

raxles told me 59 ft lbs in a star pattern

[Baggio]

raxles told me 59 ft lbs in a star pattern

Thanks!

[EhEhEhEINSTEIN]

I just replaced both front axles on my 05 S4, this thread was superbly helpful but I ran into some trouble and I'm hoping one of you guys can help an S4 noob. I'm not sure exactly when it happened or exactly what I was working on but I had the door open with the key in so I could listen to music and it just stopped.. I didn't think much of it at the time so I just went about my business putting the axles back in. Now that everything is back together, the car is in some kind of coma! The only thing that it will do is show the ESP light when I put the key in. No starter turning, no interior lights, nothing. My key won't even lock/unlock the doors. I was really trying to be careful taking everything out and putting it back together but obviously I'm not 100% graceful having owned this car for 6 months. I'm hoping I didn't damage something more expensive than the axles I just put in.. Idk if it's relevant but I had to take the pinch bolt out on the driver side and I'm fairly sure I was on that side when everything shut off. Also not sure if it's relevant, I have a brand new optima redtop. I don't have a VAG cable yet but it's in the mail

[aroderick56]

try charging your battery

[jr1415us]

This video showing axle removal is for a VW, but is essentially the same suspension setup:

http://youtu.be/8bTGA4z876A

[badger.]

raxles told me 59 ft lbs in a star pattern

Maybe use some loctite too. I did my axles last year and when under there for an oil change a few months later, I had a few loose ones.

FWIW I had to pull everything apart to get the axles. I just ended up replacing my control arms and wheel bearings as PM at that point since I had literally everything diassembled. Also, those pinch bolts can burn in hell. I spent more time on those two damn things than the rest of the project combined.

[EhEhEhEINSTEIN]

Maybe use some loctite too. I did my axles last year and when under there for an oil change a few months later, I had a few loose ones.

FWIW I had to pull everything apart to get the axles. I just ended up replacing my control arms and wheel bearings as PM at that point since I had literally everything diassembled. Also, those pinch bolts can burn in hell. I spent more time on those two damn things than the rest of the project combined.

I feel kinda bad saying this.. because I read all the axle DIY threads and I was really nervous about having to take the pinch bolt out of the driver side.. but the pinch bolt was about the easiest part of the whole job lol. My car grew up in Santa Monica, then moved to San Jose and now resides in Santa Rosa so there isn't a spec of rust anywhere :) That I can see around all the axle grease from the passenger side inner boot blowing out and the oil smear originating from God only knows where.. Coming from the DSM world, I am so at home in this car!

Also, kudos to aroderick56. My red top was showing 4v after listening to one 50 minute CD. Hopefully everything will just work after the battery is charged, I was freaking out that I damaged something cuz the ESP light was on and that was IT.

[2004B6S4]

There is one more step that hasn't been mentioned in any of these posts. When you are tightening the new axle bolt, you're supposed to tighten it to a specified value while the car is still raised in the air (I think it was something like 90 ft lbs but I don't remember off the top, and I just got some horrible news when I tried to look it up and found out that my pirated copy of elsawin isn't working anymore!!! dammit). Then you lower the car and tighten it the rest of the way (iirc our cars use the m16 bolt which means it needs 200nm aka 147 ft lb, plus an additional 180 degrees). Keep in mind these specific numbers should be checked first as I'm guessing from memory, but the point is that you could damage your wheel bearing if you lower the car onto a completely loose/unbolted axle.

[2004B6S4]

I feel kinda bad saying this.. because I read all the axle DIY threads and I was really nervous about having to take the pinch bolt out of the driver side.. but the pinch bolt was about the easiest part of the whole job lol.

lol I was going to say the same thing just to be a jerk! ;) sucks to be those guys who live places with lots of moisture and salt on the roads, dealing with rusty bolts all the time. I reused my original pinch bolts because they came out with very little effort at all, my car has been in AZ (water? rust? what are those?) all it's life

[badger.]

lol I was going to say the same thing just to be a jerk! ;) sucks to be those guys who live places with lots of moisture and salt on the roads, dealing with rusty bolts all the time. I reused my original pinch bolts because they came out with very little effort at all, my car has been in AZ (water? rust? what are those?) all it's life

damn southerners... I have a picture somewhere, can't find it atm, of the carnage of my drivers side bolt. It came out in about 8 pieces. Broke a handful of drill bits and a few punches, toasted a couple hack saw blades...
I've been wanting to do piggies and toying with the idea of doing the timing service, but anything that involves removing an underside bolt anymore is becoming more and more of a gamble.

There is one more step that hasn't been mentioned in any of these posts. When you are tightening the new axle bolt, you're supposed to tighten it to a specified value while the car is still raised in the air (I think it was something like 90 ft lbs but I don't remember off the top, and I just got some horrible news when I tried to look it up and found out that my pirated copy of elsawin isn't working anymore!!! dammit). Then you lower the car and tighten it the rest of the way (iirc our cars use the m16 bolt which means it needs 200nm aka 147 ft lb, plus an additional 180 degrees). Keep in mind these specific numbers should be checked first as I'm guessing from memory, but the point is that you could damage your wheel bearing if you lower the car onto a completely loose/unbolted axle.

Interesting, I haven't heard of this. Wonder if I did any lasting damage.. I think I snugged the axle bolts up a bit while the car was up, but definitely not to 90ft-lbs. I can see how dropping the car back down with very loose bolts could definitely mess something up, though

[EhEhEhEINSTEIN]

lol I was going to say the same thing just to be a jerk! ;) sucks to be those guys who live places with lots of moisture and salt on the roads, dealing with rusty bolts all the time. I reused my original pinch bolts because they came out with very little effort at all, my car has been in AZ (water? rust? what are those?) all it's life

Haha yup, just tapped it out with a screwdriver and a hammer and it slid in nice and easy after i got the control arms lined up correctly. I'm not sure if my 140+180 degrees is really what it should be.. Those are the numbers my research came up with as well and I'm pretty sure I got them to 140 in the air easy enough, but after I put the wheels back on and got it on the ground, it wouldn't go past about 100 degrees on both sides no matter how hard i pushed. You guys think that's enough?

I actually used some blue loctite on all the m10 bolts like badger mentioned, coming out it looked and felt like they originally had some

[2004B6S4]

it'll keep going, you might feel like you're going to break it before you get it tight enough but it'll stretch. I'm 200lbs and I had to stand on the end of a 4 ft breaker bar and then jump on it to get it the full 180 degrees

[EhEhEhEINSTEIN]

it'll keep going, you might feel like you're going to break it before you get it tight enough but it'll stretch. I'm 200lbs and I had to stand on the end of a 4 ft breaker bar and then jump on it to get it the full 180 degrees

Explains why my 160lbs wasn't enough.. I had my jack handle on the end of a 2 ft breaker bar. I'll enlist some help and really rip on it, thanks for the advice

[Squrl]

it'll keep going, you might feel like you're going to break it before you get it tight enough but it'll stretch. I'm 200lbs and I had to stand on the end of a 4 ft breaker bar and then jump on it to get it the full 180 degrees

Necroing an old thread - FYI according to Raxles its 140 lbs + 90 degrees, not 180.

[Fourpoint282]

what brands of axle are people using? I only see Audi brand (yuk $$$$) and GSP (way cheap). Is GSP a solid brand? Know of any other brands out there?

[mtwallace85]

Personally, I wouldn’t go with anything less than genuine. FCP Euro has them for $479 with a lifetime replacement guarantee. They’re remanufactured, but I wouldn’t consider that a big deal with the warranty. Mine both looked brand new when I got them, couldn’t tell they were remanufactured at all.

https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/aud...ag-8e0407451jx

https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/aud...ag-8e0407452jx

[Lugi20]

Personally, I wouldn’t go with anything less than genuine. FCP Euro has them for $479 with a lifetime replacement guarantee. They’re remanufactured, but I wouldn’t consider that a big deal with the warranty. Mine both looked brand new when I got them, couldn’t tell they were remanufactured at all.

https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/aud...ag-8e0407451jx

https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/aud...ag-8e0407452jx

Although I don't have the car anymore, I'd like to give the nod to Raxles again. Quality people doing superior work. The product was AT LEAST as good as OEM, maybe better.

[mtwallace85]

Although I don't have the car anymore, I'd like to give the nod to Raxles again. Quality people doing superior work. The product was AT LEAST as good as OEM, maybe better.

I would also agree that the Raxles are superior in quality. However, I neglected to mention them due to the price. Aren’t they like $1000 per side? Also, I believe they won’t honor your warranty if your car is lowered.

[alexberlin]

I would also agree that the Raxles are superior in quality. However, I neglected to mention them due to the price. Aren’t they like $1000 per side? Also, I believe they won’t honor your warranty if your car is lowered.

I'm lowered, they confirmed that I have aftermarket suspensions, so I had to pay $50 more for my raxles (I have no clue what the different is though). Had to send my old oem axles to them with a prepaid shipping label. Paid for both sides together $689.75

[mtwallace85]

I'm lowered, they confirmed that I have aftermarket suspensions, so I had to pay $50 more for my raxles (I have no clue what the different is though). Had to send my old oem axles to them with a prepaid shipping label. Paid for both sides together $689.75

Oh nice, that’s nowhere near as bad as I thought. What’s the policy if you have a broken axle? Can they still work with you and just charge more, or do they need to be in working order? The $50 is probably just a tax for being lowered so it’s not as much out of their pocket if and when they break. You have a warranty, correct?

[alexberlin]

Oh nice, that’s nowhere near as bad as I thought. What’s the policy if you have a broken axle? Can they still work with you and just charge more, or do they need to be in working order? The $50 is probably just a tax for being lowered so it’s not as much out of their pocket if and when they break. You have a warranty, correct?

Sorry, I just checked the email, it was $100 more. So if you aren't lowered they're only $250 per side. About the warranty they stated "All Raxles™ axles feature the famous Raxles™ Lifetime Warranty." Just give them a call, I talked to Marty, nice guy. And of course they still will work with you, and just charge more. I think to remember it would have been $300 more for both sides or so but I'm not sure. I asked because I wasn't sure if I have OEM in there until I had them replaced with the raxles.

[JimmyBones]

Sorry, I just checked the email, it was $100 more. So if you aren't lowered they're only $250 per side. About the warranty they stated "All Raxles™ axles feature the famous Raxles™ Lifetime Warranty." Just give them a call, I talked to Marty, nice guy. And of course they still will work with you, and just charge more. I think to remember it would have been $300 more for both sides or so but I'm not sure. I asked because I wasn't sure if I have OEM in there until I had them replaced with the raxles.

Marty flat out told me that he wouldn't warranty any axles for my S4... I wonder why!

[Fourpoint282]

Thanks, I’ll check these out


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