Front Wishbones, Warning of Incompatability

MG man

Member
My A2 has been off the road for 3 months with a long saga of problems with the front Wishbones. I ordered a pair from a very large German parts supplier who advertises on Ebay. I was supplied a pair of BUGIAD wishbones part numbers BSP20504 and BSP20503. these were the 2 part wishbone with the replaceable outer ball joint. I fitted these prior to the MOT and booked it in for a test and re-tracking. The car passed the test but the tracking was way out and could not be adjusted within the length of the thread on the track rod ends.
My MOT station tried to source another pair of wishbones and I contacted the German supplier . None of the aftermarket sources available to my garage could supply all said that they were no longer available. My German supplier eventually agreed that the parts were faulty/incorrect but they also were unable to supply an alternative, either one piece cast or 2 piece.
The plot thickened then when Audi were approached. They had no stock in UK or Germany but they said that they could supply (presumably by having a small batch made) in about 6 weeks. In the event this ran to 2 months before we saw the parts, which were supplied bare with no joints or bushes at a cost of £276 for the 2 arms and £88.82 for the mounting kit of bushes etc.
This lot was all fitted on Monday and the car is now back in fine fettle.
So ...... if you have impending wishbone trouble I suggest you start looking for parts early, avoid BUGIAD at all costs, and hopefully you will turn up some old stock somewhere in the country. Otherwise Audi do have (very expensive!) stock at the moment but I have no idea if they will continue to have stock for long or if they will ever make another batch.
 
I think most users are switching back to the earlier cast wishbones with integrated ball joint. Minimal risk of rust damage, and (now it seems) a lot cheaper too.
 
I think most users are switching back to the earlier cast wishbones with integrated ball joint. Minimal risk of rust damage, and (now it seems) a lot cheaper too.

i think i'll be picking some cast ones up when they come up on the market just to have them. My pressed ones are in pretty good shape due to accomodating oil leak coating it all nicely and preventing rust but doubt it'll last long once i fix that.
 
i think i'll be picking some cast ones up when they come up on the market just to have them. My pressed ones are in pretty good shape due to accomodating oil leak coating it all nicely and preventing rust but doubt it'll last long once i fix that.

I got an advisory on my front wishbones from MOT today saying they couldn't assess properly as they were painted.

Funnily enough I remember putting Bilt Hamber anti corrosion material (turns black on contact with rust) and wax on them to protect but its the lengths now that some garages go to to cover themselves in case of issues.

I also had a chat with them about the bonnet which they removed for the MOT but thats another discussion..
 
I got an advisory on my front wishbones from MOT today saying they couldn't assess properly as they were painted.

Funnily enough I remember putting Bilt Hamber anti corrosion material (turns black on contact with rust) and wax on them to protect but its the lengths now that some garages go to to cover themselves in case of issues.

I also had a chat with them about the bonnet which they removed for the MOT but thats another discussion..
Almost scared to ask. I wouldn't let someone remove the bonnet (or replace it). My last (not usual) Mot tester asked for the bonnet to be removed, usual place doesn't.
 
When I took mine for its first test a my local garage I took th.e bonnet off I was surprised when he told me that he was not allowed to do it,I asked how he was supposed to check components under the bonnet he said you carnt!
 
The plot thickens.... The German supplier , despite admitting that they had supplied the wrong parts, is refusing to accept them for refund as they have been fitted. Instead they are asking me to submit what I feel amounts to a fraudulent warranty claim to transfer the responsibility to the manufacturer. I am very dubious about getting involved in this.
Also in response to two members who have responded above, although many suppliers list the wishbones, we were unable to find any stock of one piece or 2 piece wishbones either in the UK or Germany, My MOT station who I have used for years spent a lot of time on my behalf trying aftermarket UK suppliers and the German supplier of the Bugiad ones did try their extensive list of suppliers when the problem first raised its head. Maybe that is why Audi were prepared to run off a batch knowing A2 owners would have to pay their exorbitant prices.
 
More pertinently - which precise model of control arms are they remaking? 7zap suggests (for the cast ones) that AMF and AUA/BAD-engined cars had different versions (as well, obviously as the very different Aluminium cast ones for the ANY-engined car) ; and then once the transition to the pressed version was made, this was used across all engines barring the ANY.

To make life more complicated these are supposed to go into distinct models of 'console' - but when you go to the page with the consoles on it, only models for AUA/BBY/BAD/ANY are cited, and I can't find another diagram with AMF/BHC/ATL consoles.

Before I got my wings clipped by IKEA (unplanned visit at the weekend) I managed to acquire a pair of cast wishbones in the UK from Febi that appear to be the AUA/BAD version - for my BHC car. Is there any significant difference between these and the AMF version? Wondering if I can get hold of a set of AUA consoles here from a dismantling that I could match these up with for the eventual fitting or if this is necessary. For reference, the Febi models I have are part numbers 39644 and 39645, obtained for 56 and 63 quid respectively, corresponding to 8Z0407151J and 8Z0407152J rather than the L suffix version for the AMF.
 
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More pertinently - which precise model of control arms are they remaking? 7zap suggests (for the cast ones) that AMF and AUA/BAD-engined cars had different versions (as well, obviously as the very different Aluminium cast ones for the ANY-engined car) ; and then once the transition to the pressed version was made, this was used across all engines barring the ANY.

To make life more complicated these are supposed to go into distinct models of 'console' - but when you go to the page with the consoles on it, only models for AUA/BBY/BAD/ANY are cited, and I can't find another diagram with AMF/BHC/ATL consoles.

Before I got my wings clipped by IKEA (unplanned visit at the weekend) I managed to acquire a pair of cast wishbones in the UK from Febi that appear to be the AUA/BAD version - for my BHC car. Is there any significant difference between these and the AMF version? Wondering if I can get hold of a set of AUA consoles here from a dismantling that I could match these up with for the eventual fitting or if this is necessary. For reference, the Febi models I have are part numbers 39644 and 39645, obtained for 56 and 63 quid respectively, corresponding to 8Z0407151J and 8Z0407152J rather than the L suffix version for the AMF.
Well this sounds like a can of worms well done robin for bringing it to peeps attention ..I have one car with cast early model amf but the other bhc model with pressed arms I was hoping to fit an early set of cast arms on it ..found these from redline confirmed they fit QH so ordered a pair cheap enough for future proofing ..now have virtually complete rebuild kit inc front and rear brakes Susp etc ..
60F3A290-ABA0-4FD5-AD67-90E11D77F3BD.jpeg
 
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Aha.. I read that ages ago but had forgotten having done so. There are a couple of key quotes - regarding the J versus L - in essence, the cast bit is the same, but there is a difference in the prefitted bushing, being heavier-duty in the diesel than the petrol.
 
The plot thickens.... The German supplier , despite admitting that they had supplied the wrong parts, is refusing to accept them for refund as they have been fitted. Instead they are asking me to submit what I feel amounts to a fraudulent warranty claim to transfer the responsibility to the manufacturer. I am very dubious about getting involved in this.

This makes no sense. I presume you used PayPal, in which case just claim the refund from them. Or eBay, if you purchased the wishbones from a listing there. Or your credit card company, if you paid with a credit card.
It's the supplier, not the manufacturer, who is legally responsible for sorting this out.

eBay has a broad choice of options for the original cast arms.
 
This makes no sense. I presume you used PayPal, in which case just claim the refund from them. Or eBay, if you purchased the wishbones from a listing there. Or your credit card company, if you paid with a credit card.
It's the supplier, not the manufacturer, who is legally responsible for sorting this out.

eBay has a broad choice of options for the original cast arms.
Thanks for that Steve, I had forgotten the credit card approach to get a refund. I did try to source cast arms on Ebay 3 months ago when the problem arose but at that time, although some were listed by a couple of suppliers, when I tried to purchase there was no stock. It was very frustrating.
 
Thanks for that Steve, I had forgotten the credit card approach to get a refund. I did try to source cast arms on Ebay 3 months ago when the problem arose but at that time, although some were listed by a couple of suppliers, when I tried to purchase there was no stock. It was very frustrating.

Is it autodoc?


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Hi folks. Wee wishbone related enquiry. I'm changing mine out and the tech has requested me to buy new bolts as some are stripping. The bolts between the wishbone mount and the aluminum cradle part. Would anyone be able to give me the part numbers for these bolts please?
 
Hi folks. Wee wishbone related enquiry. I'm changing mine out and the tech has requested me to buy new bolts as some are stripping. The bolts between the wishbone mount and the aluminum cradle part. Would anyone be able to give me the part numbers for these bolts please?
Is this the appropriate parts diagram?

I think you're wanting part 5 (?)
 
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