Front Lower Control Arm Replaced

[xanyan]

Hi guys,

Hope you are all staying healthy and safe!

Recently I took my car to my usual mechanic for an oil change. They provide complimentary courtesy checks for common car parts for wear and tear and maintenance.

They pointed out that my 2013 Audi A4 b8.5’s front lower control arms bushings are torn. They recommend me to replace all 4 lower control arms of the car at a $1700 quote which includes the control arm, bushings, ball joints and a wheel alignment.

I noticed a slight very low squeak on some bumps I hit on the road but it is very faint. To give some context, my car is only 56K miles and while I can’t avoid all bumps on the road I always go around them. Do I really need to replace the entire control arm set up or just the bushings?

Also for carbon cleaning they reccomend I do this for my car at 60K, what are your thoughts?

[Spawne32]

I'll do it for $500 if you buy the arms. $1700 dollars is outrageous.

[xanyan]

I'll do it for $500 if you buy the arms. $1700 dollars is outrageous.

Lol I’m located in NYC so maybe that’s another reason why the price is ridiculous but I am still unsure if it’s needed to replace the entire lower control arms at 56K and only slight squeaking noise and nothing else.

[Spawne32]

Lol I’m located in NYC so maybe that’s another reason why the price is ridiculous but I am still unsure if it’s needed to replace the entire lower control arms at 56K and only slight squeaking noise and nothing else.

The squeak noise can be the ball joints or the rearward bushing most likely. Pick up the Meyle HD lower forward and lower rearward arms and the associated ball joint for the forward lower from ECS tuning. They are a piece of cake to put in.

[ps2cho]

Doubtful all the arms are torn at 56k. How are the tires wearing?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Yc-y3o_kR4

[xanyan]

Doubtful all the arms are torn at 56k. How are the tires wearing?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Yc-y3o_kR4

What are the definite signs that I should change / replace control arms, bushings, etc.?

[PedroA4]

I just had all six front lower bushings replaced on my 2014 A4 in March for $794.36.
I’d call around to some different shops and get quote.
Find a place that specializes in German autos.

[stelvio]

Hi guys,

Hope you are all staying healthy and safe!

Recently I took my car to my usual mechanic for an oil change. They provide complimentary courtesy checks for common car parts for wear and tear and maintenance.

They pointed out that my 2013 Audi A4 b8.5’s front lower control arms bushings are torn. They recommend me to replace all 4 lower control arms of the car at a $1700 quote which includes the control arm, bushings, ball joints and a wheel alignment.

I noticed a slight very low squeak on some bumps I hit on the road but it is very faint. To give some context, my car is only 56K miles and while I can’t avoid all bumps on the road I always go around them. Do I really need to replace the entire control arm set up or just the bushings?

Also for carbon cleaning they reccomend I do this for my car at 60K, what are your thoughts?

$1700?! Are you being serious?
Replace what is broken; at your mileage there should be no need for an entire suspension refresh.

Also, stay away from that place of business if you care about your wallet.

[rcprato]

From my experience the bushings can show signs of cracking without being torn, get under the car and turn the wheel outward and have somebody rotate steering wheel (car running) 180 degrees back and forth and look at all the bushings with a flash light for movement. This will tell you if the bushings are actually torn and causing movement in the suspension geometry.

I'm at 145K with my 09 and have only replaced front upper control arms when replacing the shocks/springs because it was so easy to do at that point, my lower CA bushings show cracks but car drives great and no abnormal tire wear.

All cars are different, just sharing my experience with control arms.

[ps2cho]

What are the definite signs that I should change / replace control arms, bushings, etc.?

They show you in the video.

[Theiceman]

From my experience the bushings can show signs of cracking without being torn, get under the car and turn the wheel outward and have somebody rotate steering wheel (car running) 180 degrees back and forth and look at all the bushings with a flash light for movement. This will tell you if the bushings are actually torn and causing movement in the suspension geometry.

I'm at 145K with my 09 and have only replaced front upper control arms when replacing the shocks/springs because it was so easy to do at that point, my lower CA bushings show cracks but car drives great and no abnormal tire wear.

All cars are different, just sharing my experience with control arms.

so i gotta ask ... how was the PBFH experience ?
i have a 14 and i'm tempted to try and get it out while i still can ... if i can .. but if break it off im down the pinch bolt rabbit hole on a car that was working fine.

[rcprato]

so i gotta ask ... how was the PBFH experience ?
i have a 14 and i'm tempted to try and get it out while i still can ... if i can .. but if break it off im down the pinch bolt rabbit hole on a car that was working fine.

Not fun.... look at post #23 in the thread below and did you watch video in post #5 above
https://www.audizine.com/forum/showt...ckle-Bolt-Free

I ended up having to replace steering knuckle on driver side because I broke outside piece because I forgot to have washer in the gap.

Even with force of a press it still is a bitch to get the PB out, the dissimilar corrosion of the bolt and spindle is wicked !

I think in your case I would put a little effort in getting the PB out and if you can't leave it alone and know what you are up against if you ever end up needing to remove it.

[Theiceman]

Not fun.... look at post #23 in the thread below and did you watch video in post #5 above
https://www.audizine.com/forum/showt...ckle-Bolt-Free

I ended up having to replace steering knuckle on driver side because I broke outside piece because I forgot to have washer in the gap.

Even with force of a press it still is a bitch to get the PB out, the dissimilar corrosion of the bolt and spindle is wicked !

I think in your case I would put a little effort in getting the PB out and if you can't leave it alone and know what you are up against if you ever end up needing to remove it.

holy crap .... kind of figured though, ive seen the video before guess your car was similar. .. My 2006 B7 is not getting touched...

after reading the post i remembered the busted knuckle story . I forgot that was your car.

[xanyan]

They show you in the video.

So based on this video, I do not hear any clunking or metallic-like noise when moving the steering wheel. I also do not feel any vibrations in my wheel nor does my car steer away. The alignment is just a tad bit off but nothing too drastic.

The only symptom I can possibly bring up is the faint squeaking noise when i hit some bumps on the road. If the bumps are very small, I might not even hear the noise at all.

Do you guys think I should hold off this install for now? The video doesn't look too difficult but I dont have all the tools or great space to work on my car so it is a bit hard for me.

Also, in terms of carbon cleaning, is it worth getting at when I hit 60K? I always used premium gas, 93 Octane, from reputable brands such as BP and change my oil every 5-6K miles with liquimoly oil. I do live in NYC so its a bit of stop and go but I do drive my car on the highway often to let the engine run and get oil through out my car properly and heat the car up.

What are your guys thoughts?

I attached the pic of my control arms and bushings below:



control arm a4 pic 2.jpgcontrol arm a4.jpg
Thanks for all the help in advance!

[Theiceman]

carbon build up has nothing to do with gas or driving style or oil changes.

how much of an impact carbon cleaning will have is debatable.

[Spawne32]

So based on this video, I do not hear any clunking or metallic-like noise when moving the steering wheel. I also do not feel any vibrations in my wheel nor does my car steer away. The alignment is just a tad bit off but nothing too drastic.

The only symptom I can possibly bring up is the faint squeaking noise when i hit some bumps on the road. If the bumps are very small, I might not even hear the noise at all.

Do you guys think I should hold off this install for now? The video doesn't look too difficult but I dont have all the tools or great space to work on my car so it is a bit hard for me.

Also, in terms of carbon cleaning, is it worth getting at when I hit 60K? I always used premium gas, 93 Octane, from reputable brands such as BP and change my oil every 5-6K miles with liquimoly oil. I do live in NYC so its a bit of stop and go but I do drive my car on the highway often to let the engine run and get oil through out my car properly and heat the car up.

What are your guys thoughts?

I attached the pic of my control arms and bushings below:



control arm a4 pic 2.jpgcontrol arm a4.jpg
Thanks for all the help in advance!

The bushings don't look like they are in horrible condition, but its the lower rearward bushings you really gotta look at.

[xanyan]

carbon build up has nothing to do with gas or driving style or oil changes.

how much of an impact carbon cleaning will have is debatable.

So maybe what I’m reading isn’t all valid about carbon buildup. I know that the hot air and carbon from the valves Blow out which eventually accumulate and build carbon.

What is your recommendation? I haven’t noticed any mpg or performance issues yet. Is it worth doing a walnut blasting carbon buildup removal process?

- - - Updated - - -

Thanks for the response, hmmm, I don’t have a picture of those but I can have a look later. Thank you!

[Theiceman]

dont get me wrong there are lots of guys that believe carbon cleaning should be part of routine maintenance. im just not one of them.
my car got to 130K , zero issues. i just cleaned it because i was doing a total rebuild due to bad rings.
if you were having cold start misfires people would be all over you about it, im kinda in the camp of unless you are in there for other reasons , leave it alone camp.

[stelvio]

dont get me wrong there are lots of guys that believe carbon cleaning should be part of routine maintenance. im just not one of them.
my car got to 130K , zero issues. i just cleaned it because i was doing a total rebuild due to bad rings.
if you were having cold start misfires people would be all over you about it, im kinda in the camp of unless you are in there for other reasons , leave it alone camp.

When you're making well over 400whp/tq, you can def. tell the difference of excessive carbon deposits. The build-up literally restricts flow. But as always, to each his/her own.

[Theiceman]

Possibly, i wont argue because i don't know. But realistically how many Audi owners are doing this ?

Certainly OP is not building this

[stelvio]

Possibly, i wont argue because i don't know. But realistically how many Audi owners are doing this ?

Certainly OP is not building this

You're 100% right.

It's one of those exponential things; you won't really feel much of a difference on a B8 audi but on say an I6 TT that's got more of everything compared to these Audi's, you do.
10% power loss [hypothetical] of 200hp is 20hp. 10% of 500hp is 50hp...you feel it for sure.
All about how pedantic/detail oriented each owner is. It can get annoying when it starts interfering w/ idling from what I've heard...