Check your front suspension arms people

Just had arm replaced on mine rotted right through passenger side drivers side ok ? Could not get part from motor factors they did try looked the same but was a fraction too big . Had to go to Audi for the arm bushes and ball joint all separate from the arm £208 for parts :(
 
Keep checking these Control Arms folks. After reading this thread a few months ago I checked mine and the NS looked a bit crusty, solid but crusty. So I scrubbed it down and filled/covered it in Bilt Hamber rust products. Checked the OS and it looked good, semi shiny paint and very few rusty rust stains.

4 months later and it fails the MOT on an excessively corroded OS front control arm. A large section along the leading edge pressed metal seam was rotten and the MOT inspector popped a 4 inch hole along the length of the Control Arm. Immediate fail and flagged as dangerous to drive!
I VERY cautiously drove it over to the boys at Stealth who are as we speak replacing both Control Arms.

Check your Front Control Arms peeps.

Scary stuff. :-l
 
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CoroTheCat said:
the 1.2TDI arms are aluminum, i don't know if they fit the larger models but it could be a nice upgrade
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Very, very doubtful. There's almost no commonality between the front suspension of the 1.2Tdi and the Lupo 3L, even though they are mostly aluminium. Even the drive shafts are different lengths, although it's only the shaft itself that's different.

RAB
 
RAB said:
Very, very doubtful. There's almost no commonality between the front suspension of the 1.2Tdi and the Lupo 3L, even though they are mostly aluminium. Even the drive shafts are different lengths, although it's only the shaft itself that's different.

RAB
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From my understanding the a2 3L and the lupo 3L share a lot of the drive train parts, I am almost certain that the a arms are the exact same. But the 3l parts probably don't fit the larger 1.4 cars.
 
CoroTheCat said:
From my understanding the a2 3L and the lupo 3L share a lot of the drive train parts, I am almost certain that the a arms are the exact same. But the 3l parts probably don't fit the larger 1.4 cars.
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No, they are similar but nearly all the parts are different with different part numbers. The only common part is the wheel bearing assembly; even the wheel bearing housings are different!

RAB
 
This might be the same on other Audis as well, the A2 is 2002 so has cast ones and are still in good condition, our 2003 TT despite only doing 50k miles were much much worse, just caught them right and cleaned off all the rust and repainted them.
 
Keithb said:
Stealth fitted the cast spec arms and the car is now MOTed :D.
Safe again. :)
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Sounds like the pressed steel and the cast iron arms are completely interchangeable. I wonder what the difference is in weight.

May I ask what it cost to change both sides? Mine must be due to be changed soon. They were starting to rust in 2005 when a year old. I complained to Audi but they said the arms were regarded as consumable items! I have firmer shocks and springs so could do with a little more weight ;)
 
I'm thinking of buying some standard steel front arms and treating them prior to fitting. Don't want anything that stays sticky. Just scanning the internet some people use Bilt Hamber Dynax UC which is almost clear. Anyone experience of this or another product?
 
Hi Alan,

A suggestion a bit off the wall. Hot dipped galvanising - is there anything better? Had a quote for two 3' x 3' new pedestrian garden gates of £150, this included pretreatment, galvanising and quality powder coating. Tried a couple of firms and they admit the cost is actually much lower but almost apologised I was caught in their minimum order value 'trap'. Maybe there are firms who will throw your arms in with other orders. Just an idea.

Andy
 
I checked ours, they are rusty but a good coat of waxoyl may save them for a while, the difficulty is getting full coverage inside.
 
To be honest I would just pay a few hundred quid and get the pressed metal arms replaced with the cast steel type. No future worries about corrosion :).
 
Keithb said:
To be honest I would just pay a few hundred quid and get the pressed metal arms replaced with the cast steel type. No future worries about corrosion :).
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I was looking at some old posts and got the impression they were not interchangeable, but happy to be proved wrong.
 
Hi Andy
Andrew said:
A suggestion a bit off the wall. Hot dipped galvanising - is there anything better? Andy
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I've been looking into this for the rear subframe. I read a number of articles saying that hot dipping can distort the metal. Have yet to approach some galvanisers to see if they agree or can take preventive measures. Alternatives would seem to be powder coating (would that need the paintwork on new arms stripped back?) or an extra layer of a rust/stone protection.
 
Has anyone any views on what make of arms to use, i.e. is best quality brand? I found this website https://www.buycarparts.co.uk/audi/...-links-control-arm-trailing-link-diagonal-arm that lists quite a few makes. Eliminating the cast iron ones I'm left with:

MOOG @ £60
Ruville @ £66
MEYLE @ £80
LEMFÖRDER @ £119 (not too sure if pressed steel or not based on the photo)
Vaico @ £49 in Aluminium - I would think this is only for the 1.2 3L

Does Audi still make them, i.e. sell them as Audi even though bought in?
 
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