B8/8.5 - S4 - Front End Repairs, Control arms etc

[pklifter]

Hi Everyone,

So I did end up buying a rather mint condition 2010 B8, intro thread soon to come!

I'm just trying to get the parts needed on their way so I can rest easy.

Did a full inspection at Audi Mossman and they found the following that needs attention.

Front upper control arm bushes
Lower control arm bushes
front trailing arm bushes worn
Diff drive shaft seals leaking

I was looking at getting the following

Front control arm kit - https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/aud...-8k0407693afkt
Tie rod end, right outer - https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/aud...8b#description
Tie rog end, left outer - https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/aud...-s5-8k0422817b
Trailing arm bushing, rear lower rearward - https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/aud...-712x2#fitment
Trailing arm bushing, rear lower forward - https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/aud...-711x2#fitment
Trailing arm bushing, rear lower outer - https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/aud...lex-pfr3-714x2
Rear diff service kit - https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/aud...moly-lm20012kt
Rear trailing arm kit - https://www.autoinstruct.com.au/prod...iling-arm-kit/
Sway bar bushing kit - https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/aud...lex-pfr3-718x4
Or rip everything out and get the bushes pressed in. Bushes from here most likely - https://powerflexaustralia.com.au/ro...08-15/s4-2009/
Sway bar - Potentially add this while I'm going.

Anyone ever done this work before?
Anything else I should replace that I've missed?
Is this a bit of overkill?

The car is 11 years old and regardless of km's the weather gets to rubber and I'd prefer to cover it all off while I'm there.

I've seen the tutorials on youtube on how to do this work and it can be a big job, luckily my brother is an excellent mechanic and will hopefully help me.

Any ideas, thoughts or tips would be greatly appreciated.

It would be awesome if somewhere did a swap out of all these parts. Buy theirs arms with new bushes for X amount then if you send them your old parts you get Y deducted from X.

Kind Regards
pklifter

[TheChenga]

Very common for front control arms on the A4/S4/RS4 models, just the design of the suspension and steering. The audi dealer may be overkill with every nook and dried rubber, you could get it inspected by pedders as well.
Front control arm refresh kit is a good start. If you're thinking about suspension upgrades, check 034 motorsports, they have a good dynamic lowering spring kit if you ever thought of lowering.
That rear trailing arm kit isn't for your S4 im pretty sure. The rear arms don't really wear how the fronts do.
Double check your diff, I'm not sure if the sport diff takes a different fluid or spec.

[pklifter]

Very common for front control arms on the A4/S4/RS4 models, just the design of the suspension and steering. The audi dealer may be overkill with every nook and dried rubber, you could get it inspected by pedders as well.
Front control arm refresh kit is a good start. If you're thinking about suspension upgrades, check 034 motorsports, they have a good dynamic lowering spring kit if you ever thought of lowering.
That rear trailing arm kit isn't for your S4 im pretty sure. The rear arms don't really wear how the fronts do.
Double check your diff, I'm not sure if the sport diff takes a different fluid or spec.

I'm not looking at changing the suspension at all, unless I have to down the track. It's already definitely low enough for me.

Audi quote 6K to repair it all when they gave me the report.

Thanks for that, I will drop off the rear trailing arm kit, saves me $600 and I can do it at a later date if needed.

Yeah FCP Euro says that the one I linked is for the sportdiff (Rear diff service kit - https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/aud...moly-lm20012kt) and this one is for cars without torque vectoring (https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/aud...moly-01035171b)

The rest all looks pretty comprehensive do you think. I don't want to be getting down there again if I forgot to replace one thing is all. I will give FCPEuro my VIN so they can double check everything when ordering.

[IchBautAuto]

Don't count on your VIN meaning much, it isn't a US delivered car. Take a slight pause, get to know your car and it's configuration thoroughly before placing your order, it's on you to get the order right for the right car. In earlier Audi there are plenty of differences between US and AU delivered cars of the same model. Even service intervals are different for some items.

[pklifter]

Don't count on your VIN meaning much, it isn't a US delivered car. Take a slight pause, get to know your car and it's configuration thoroughly before placing your order, it's on you to get the order right for the right car. In earlier Audi there are plenty of differences between US and AU delivered cars of the same model. Even service intervals are different for some items.

Thanks for your wise words. I guess there is no sure way of getting the correct parts, maybe when ordering from Audi but who can afford that. I will get her up off the ground this weekend hopefully and inspect it myself if I can get her high enough.

Edit: Pedders inspection booked in.

[pklifter]

Pedders completed their check and were very thorough, especially since it only cost $28. Thanks Pedders Orange! Thanks to TheChenga for recommding Pedders!

They reported the following in order of prioirty.

Radius Rod Bushes
R/H rear inner CV / axle weeping
Front tyres have inside tyre wear (probably from radius rod bushes)
Front upper arm bushes starting to wear

I don't think I will end up tackling this job myself. Probably best left to the professionals.

I was looking at getting the bushing kits from either Whiteline or Nolathane. Is it really worth going with 034 bush kits or others?
Whiteline seems to have better installation guides which actually includes torque figures etc. I'm guessing the torque would be the same no matter what bush is installed?

It looks like the +/- 0.5deg is for lowered cars so I was looking at either of these two

Radius Arm Lower Bush Kits
Nolathane Radius Arm Lower Bush Kit - https://www.nolathane.com.au/product...8192&sq=171502
Whiteline Radius Arm Lower Bush Kit - https://www.whiteline.com.au/product...3385&sq=195864

I figured since the control arm bushes are starting to tear it's worth hitting them at the same time.

Front Control Arm Upper Bush Kits
Nolathane Front Control Arm Upper Bush Kit - https://www.nolathane.com.au/product...5507&sq=171500
Whiteline Front Control Arm Upper Bush Kit - https://www.nolathane.com.au/product...5507&sq=171500

For the rear inner cv/axel weaping. I'm guessing something like the link below would fix the issue. However that part is only for non sport diff setups.

CV Join Half Shaft Seal Non Sport Diff - https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/aud...udi-0ar409399b

Any advice or guidance would be greatly appreciated. I'm not looking to cheap out on anything but I figured if the control arm etc don't need replacing and I will be getting a shop to do the repairs they can easily press in the bushings. Where as when it's a DIY that is much harder and painful.

Thanks
pklifter