Suspension and Driveshaft

R

Redhull

Member
I am about to do the usual supension maintenance (drop links, track rod ends, shocks etc) based on all the advice on this forum and the noises I can hear!
1.4tdi, 03 plate, 88k
The mechanic also mentioned that both the inner driveshafts are loose and leaking. Given this, should I be looking to buy a complete, secondhand/new driveshaft or are there individual new parts that will fix this driveshaft leak issue? Hope this makes sense, I do not have more infromation yet.

thankyou
 
I replaced the driveshafts in my TDI yesterday with ones from J&R (I got them from ebay) as the old ones were very badly corroded and the inner joints had lots of play in them due to the boots having failed and were letting water in. They also sell the CV joints only if the driveshaft itself on your car is okay and it is just the joints that need replacing. The CV kit is something like £15 from them and then the complete driveshaft with the nut for the end is ~£60.
 
Ah great...thankyou for this hydo14.
There seems to be a huge price difference between the left and right (£60 vs £362 for the driveshafts)!! I will see if I can just renew the cv boots/joint.
Out of interest, are there any typlical symptions of a failing driveshaft, without opening everything up? I have lots of knocking noises but they could equally be from the drop links/track rod ends??
 
Oh no! I literally bought that exact item last week for a lot less. They have put the price up quite a bit, might be worth contacting them to check if that's right. Although the inner CV's are available and are replaceable with the driveshaft out of the car and some persuasion with a rubber mallet, at that price, that would be my preferred and much more affordable solution.

The symptoms that I had were (I am sure that this is not an exhaustive list though):
  • Steering pulling left and right under acceleration (this was only very minor and barely noticeable on my TDI but when the outer CV failed on my FSI A2 this was very severe, scary even)
  • Cruise control could not modulate speed going downhill due to rotational play in the drive shafts (you can check for this with the car on axle stands and check for play by rotating the wheel while looking at the gearbox drive flange to see if that also moves)
  • Juddering when slow speed manoeuvring (especially on hills)
The droplinks can make a lot of noise on these cars and the OEM ones seemingly don't last many years before they start getting a lot of play in them - Meyle HD are well respected on here. While the suspension is out replace the strup top bushings
 
Excellent thanks...fortunately mine has none of those symptoms so I might just be fine with changing the boots etc
Any tips on who best to buy the track rods and Meyle bits from?

thanks
 
I replaced both driveshafts with ones supplied by J&R, off the top of my head the o/s was £65 and n/s £55. This was purchased via eBay.
Its not hard replacing the inner and outer CV's but only if you have a decent sturdy bench, strong vice, circlip pliers etc. Its a bit of a mucky job. I didnt have this facility so purchased both shafts.

3 of my 4 rubber boots were split and the joints barely had any grease in, I did not know how long it had been in this condition and how worn th joints were. I know its personal preference but I wanted to replace the whole lot for peace of mind and to eliminate this as an issue. You may have problems getting the driveshaft splines out of the hub. I had to borrow the 'big press' at the local garage.

Hope that helps.
Redhull said:
Ah great...thankyou for this hydo14.
There seems to be a huge price difference between the left and right (£60 vs £362 for the driveshafts)!! I will see if I can just renew the cv boots/joint.
Out of interest, are there any typlical symptions of a failing driveshaft, without opening everything up? I have lots of knocking noises but they could equally be from the drop links/track rod ends??
Click to expand...
 
On my 1.2tdi I just changed the driveshafts (the new ones are SKF), the shock absorbers for good condition used but aluminium ones and new springs. It makes the car feel new again. Quieter and feels so much better to drive. I also did the hand brake cables including the guide tube at the front and now the handbrake feels new too. Well worth doing.
 
Redhull said:
Excellent thanks...fortunately mine has none of those symptoms so I might just be fine with changing the boots etc
Any tips on who best to buy the track rods and Meyle bits from?

thanks
Click to expand...
I got the parts from a number of online motor factors places, I found that once I had a part number (7zap is a really useful resource as is the "definitive suspension parts" thread on here) I could just shop around for the place that had the best price. A sort of unhelpful answer I suppose though
 
Thankyou all for the replies...much appreciated.
Whilst changing the shocks/droplinks etc my friend advised that that the right wishbone has corrosion in it and needs to be changed. It looks to be the original Audi one (8Z0 407 153), sandwich construction type (I'm very impressed if it is the original...17 years of service!). The left wishbone is fine.

Questions
Can I just change the corroded one or do I have to change them both? If I change just the corroded one, does it have to be of the same style as the one on the left side or can I mix and match?

thanks
 
Yes you can just change the one wishbone IF you are really sure the other is not corroded. No mix and match though both have to be cast or both pressed steel.
 
audifan said:
Yes you can just change the one wishbone IF you are really sure the other is not corroded. No mix and match though both have to be cast or both pressed steel.
Click to expand...
I appreciate it's best practice to change suspension components in pairs, so the above advice I 100% agree with. I'm also of the understanding that the diesel and petrol ones are slightly different in geometry. Are the pressed steel ones different geometry too meaning there are in fact 4 slightly different versions?
My car has the pressed arms fitted at present, they are in good condition so replacing them is well down the priority list.

Just trying to get a good understanding of what differences exist.
 
The geometry is identical on all the arms (mirror image allowing for the cast ones). The difference is the construction of the bushes which are heavier duty for the diesels (I and think the FSI too as it's iron not aluminium). They're not larger, just more robust.
 
Not sure if it was a different geometry between the petrol and diesel or just a different formulation of the rubber bushes.

Carefully check inside the box section of the lower arms as they corrode from the inside out. What can look good may only be a thin shell.
 
Just for my clarity, is it the case that the solid wishbones come with the ball joint attached and thus, if the ball joint perishes at some time, the whole wishbone and bushes need to changed all over again? If yes, is this not a 'bad' design surely? Changing ball joint should be just that i.e. change the ball joint only. Or am i missing something here?

thanks
 
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Redhull said:
Just for my clarity, is it the case that the solid wishbones come with the ball joint attached and thus, if the ball joint perishes at some time, the whole wishbone and bushes need to changed all over again? If yes, is this not a 'bad' design surely? Changing ball joint should be just that i.e. change the ball joint only. Or am i missing something here?

thanks
Click to expand...
Yes that's spot on, with the solid cast wishbones the ball joint is integrated directly into it and thus the whole wishbone must be replaced to replace the ball joint.

The pressed wishbones allow the ball joint to be replaced without removal of the wishbone (like on newer VAG cars). However the pressed wishbones have their own issues with them corroding from the inside out.
 
ah thanks Hydo...so realistically how long does the ball joint on the solid cast ones last in general, in peoples experience here? I really do not want to undertake this wishbone replacement exercise again, for at least 5 years, ideally.
 
Redhull said:
ah thanks Hydo...so realistically how long does the ball joint on the solid cast ones last in general, in peoples experience here? I really do not want to undertake this wishbone replacement exercise again, for at least 5 years, ideally.
Click to expand...
Not sure, my car had no mention of them ever being replaced in the service history and the parts I took off were Audi parts so I suspect they were original. So maybe as much as 18 years and 160,000 miles. Not sure if the aftermarket QH ones I replaced them with will last so long though
 
I believe the ones on my Crystal TDI to be the originals, now approaching 19 years old and 113k. Keep an eye on the balljoint dust covers. I had mine done when the MOT advised on them perishing about 2 1/2 years and 12k ago. Hopefully the arms are now good for plenty more years yet.
 
Trw track rod ends from GSF were the best quality/price i could find

Pressed arms from cp4l are £33 each at the mo then you will need ball joints aswell
 
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