control arms upper link bushings replacement

[VeNoMS4]

Hey guys,

so i went for an oil change today and was shown cracked upperlink bushings on both driver and passenger side on both control arms for each side. I have ~64k miles on my B8 S4 and i infact had the upperlink bushings, and engine mounts (which were leaking) replaced by the dealer around ~55k miles when i did my scheduled maintenance with them. They replaced the bushings and mounts using my extended warranty.

Is it possible to get the bushings worn out in like 9k miles? Or did i just get scammed by the dealership and they never changed it in the first place?

thanks

[mjwolff35]

Sounds like they torqued the control arms in the raised position, so when the weight of the car is on the suspension it's twisting the bushings past their flex limit and ripped them.


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[VeNoMS4]

Sounds like they torqued the control arms in the raised position, so when the weight of the car is on the suspension it's twisting the bushings past their flex limit and ripped them.


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that's exactly what the shop i went to the oil change said. I guess it because of dealership mechanics still paid under a flat rate so they try to get the job done as fast as possible.

In your experience, how many miles can you go before having to change the bushings assuming they were installed correctly?

[mjwolff35]

that's exactly what the shop i went to the oil change said. I guess it because of dealership mechanics still paid under a flat rate so they try to get the job done as fast as possible.

In your experience, how many miles can you go before having to change the bushings assuming they were installed correctly?

Its hard to say exactly. I bought my 2010 S4 with 60K on it and the bushings were gone in the upper and lower control arms.
I had the lower control arm bushings pressed out and replaced for 3 hours labor and $120 for bushings.
Just replaced the upper controls arms with brand new ones from Europa parts $260 for the set with new hardware.

[Race Shooter]

I'd take it back to the dealer and make them fix it again under warranty. Tell them they either did it wrong or didnt do it in the first place since its only been 9000 miles and they need to be done again.

[S4'ed]

Even when properly installed, these bushing start to crack starting at only 20,000 to 30,000 miles....This has been a problem with the Audi multilink front suspension design, back to when it first started to be used, in 1997.....(B5 Audi A4 and B5 VW Passat)

[Jroyalty7]

Sounds like they torqued the control arms in the raised position, so when the weight of the car is on the suspension it's twisting the bushings past their flex limit and ripped them.


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This may be dumb but serious question as I'm still new to this... how would one torque the control arms on a lowered car with the car not raised? TIA

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[mjwolff35]

This may be dumb but serious question as I'm still new to this... how would one torque the control arms on a lowered car with the car not raised? TIA

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Measure from the top most point of the fender opening to the center of the wheel before you take the wheel off.
Then jack up the spindle assembly without the wheel till it matches the lowered ride height.

[Jroyalty7]

Ahhh!!! Thank you! Very much appreciated. Time to go redo my spcs I guess!

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[Cooper993]

Measure from the top most point of the fender opening to the center of the wheel before you take the wheel off.
Then jack up the spindle assembly without the wheel till it matches the lowered ride height.

Not sure why you would have to measure.

If you place the jack and block in the right spot (i.e. below the hub) and jack up until the car starts to come off the lift, it would be the same height as when the wheel is on.

[VeNoMS4]

I'd take it back to the dealer and make them fix it again under warranty. Tell them they either did it wrong or didnt do it in the first place since its only been 9000 miles and they need to be done again.

Yea. I intend on getting the dealership to do this. No way am I paying for it. Also if anyone else gets into a situation, make sure to let the dealership rep know you haven't filled out a survey on them. This gets them motivated to fix it for you since now their own commission money is involved.

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[AudiS4SD]

Hey guys,

so i went for an oil change today and was shown cracked upperlink bushings on both driver and passenger side on both control arms for each side. I have ~64k miles on my B8 S4 and i infact had the upperlink bushings, and engine mounts (which were leaking) replaced by the dealer around ~55k miles when i did my scheduled maintenance with them. They replaced the bushings and mounts using my extended warranty.

Is it possible to get the bushings worn out in like 9k miles? Or did i just get scammed by the dealership and they never changed it in the first place?

thanks

Bump. Just did my 75k service and the dealer said all my front guide link and control arms are split. Estimate came out to $1600! What extended warranty do you have? I'll have to ask in the morning if I can use my "Audi Platinum Warranty" to fix this.

[VeNoMS4]

Bump. Just did my 75k service and the dealer said all my front guide link and control arms are split. Estimate came out to $1600! What extended warranty do you have? I'll have to ask in the morning if I can use my "Audi Platinum Warranty" to fix this.

Hey man. Sorry to hear that. I no longer have the s4. I've been through 2 cars since the s4 lol. I believe I had smart Auto Care or fortegra ... Something like that. They are a bunch of scammers as they all are. Do you have lowering springs or coils? That would most likely deny any warranty work you need.

[AudiS4SD]

Hey man. Sorry to hear that. I no longer have the s4. I've been through 2 cars since the s4 lol. I believe I had smart Auto Care or fortegra ... Something like that. They are a bunch of scammers as they all are. Do you have lowering springs or coils? That would most likely deny any warranty work you need.

Lol!

No, I'm stock. I looked again at the warranty agreement and it appears that these parts would be covered. Will be calling the dealership in the morning to see if they will honor it...

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[theweebabyseamus]

Not sure why you would have to measure.

If you place the jack and block in the right spot (i.e. below the hub) and jack up until the car starts to come off the lift, it would be the same height as when the wheel is on.

Having done control arms, this isn't accurate. The car will come off of the lift before it gets to the typical ride height. In fact, even if you were to lower it down it still wouldn't really be at typical ride height as the suspension settles after driving a little. For example, if the center of the wheel is 11" from the center of the wheel normally it may be 13" when its first lowered to the ground and just using a corner lift on the spindle might lift the car when its only 15".

If I do it again, I will measure the static height and use spring compressors to assist the lift in bringing up the spindle high enough.

[Cooper993]

Having done control arms, this isn't accurate. The car will come off of the lift before it gets to the typical ride height. In fact, even if you were to lower it down it still wouldn't really be at typical ride height as the suspension settles after driving a little. For example, if the center of the wheel is 11" from the center of the wheel normally it may be 13" when its first lowered to the ground and just using a corner lift on the spindle might lift the car when its only 15".

If I do it again, I will measure the static height and use spring compressors to assist the lift in bringing up the spindle high enough.

If the springs are new, you are correct, they will settle. Not sure there would still be 1-2" of room for the suspension to settle if only replacing control arms and no other parts of the suspension.

Regardless, I've done it with the jack until it lifts off the stand on many different cars over 20+ years and have never had an issue with bushings tearing prematurely.

Just my .02

[theweebabyseamus]

If the springs are new, you are correct, they will settle. Not sure there would still be 1-2" of room for the suspension to settle if only replacing control arms and no other parts of the suspension.

Regardless, I've done it with the jack until it lifts off the stand on many different cars over 20+ years and have never had an issue with bushings tearing prematurely.

Just my .02

Glad it works for you, mine went the other way really quickly. Could be do to having lower than stock springs, I suppose. I wish it was that easy for me, because while I definitely do most jobs myself, this is going to be one of the few I pay for. Want some cash? Haha.