Ghost Rider 549.

Hello, I'm new to the forum. I have recently acquired a 98 A4 Quattro. The car is in overall good shape but, I've noticed that the rear suspension seems to be sagging as I'm seeing uneven tire wear on the rear tires. There is severe wear only on the inner edge of both rear tires. I have also noted that there is occasionally a clunk in the rear suspension when hitting speed bumps or pot holes.
I suspect worn control arm bushings or collapsed shocks. The car has 108k miles. It was my daughters car until I decided to take it over and do the repairs.
Any advice as to possible causes and recommendations for repairs will be appreciated. Thanks. Tom

quattrokiwi

not common, but there have been a few broken rear springs, that could cause the droop, and clunks

northof49(+1+1)

my clunking over bumps was caused by this. they were broken near the bottom so it was hard to spot. also if the shocks are bad you should be able to see dirty oil on them.

Ghost Rider 549.

Thanks for the info on my suspension question. It sure sounds like that's the real problem. I'll look into this as soon as the rain finally stops here in NJ. BTW, can anyone recommend a good source for replacement springs? i don't want to change the entire suspension, just replace the broken stock springs. Thanks again for your help. Tom

Ghost Rider 549.

OK, I decided not to tackle this job in my driveway during bad weather. I took the car to my local Audi dealer and they told me they could not find anything wrong with the rear end. They did however find both upper front control arms (L&R) were bad, and the outer tie rod ends were bad.
I fail to understand how this could make the rear end squat down hard enough to wear my rear tires down to the cord on the inner edges. The only possible cause I can see is the front end problems were so sever that they somehow caused the rear end to be so out of alignment that the camber was shifted to the inner edge of both tires.
Anyone have any thoughts about this situation? BTW, the dealer estimates the bill for four control arms and the tie rods at around $1700 US. Sounds a bit steep to me. Are there any recalls associated with the control arms or tie rods that I should be aware of? Thanks. Tom

quattrokiwi

I would do it myself, but if you don't want to, find an independent shop, and supply the parts yourself.
Also if the uppers and tie rods are bad, then the lowers will soon follow. So buy the complete kit from purems for about 550 I think, includes everything you need.