A8CT

I'm replacing the upper CA bushings, I did one side/forward using a ball joint tool I had on hand. It's not big enough to reach for the upper/rear joint though. What tool have you guys used to remove it w/o doing damage? I'm used to using my air hammer with a pickle fork and not worrying about the damage changing the whole arm.

I've seen a couple of Audi specific tools but not sure which one fits. I'm tried hitting it on both sides with a hammer and also driving it "up". Based on how tight the other one was, I think it's going to take some force. Changing the bushings is easy, I'll post something when I do the other ones.

Bob

A8CT

what about the rear upper CA? It looks like the bolt is about 1/8-1/4" too long to remove? It's almost there but not quite. I'm doing some creative grinding where the bolt head hits the body which helped. Have you guys gotten it out w/o removing the subframe or strut?

I went to Harbor Freight and got a ball joint separator which got it started.

Prospeeder

According to all data, you must remove the air strut assembly from the vehicle and remove the control arm from it. A this point your compromising the corrosion resistance of that area grinding on it and wasting time, so get to removing the strut!

Mister Bally

That's why the Bentley service manual is a must have. Special tools and proper procedures are listed.

That said, many have found ways to save time.

As far as the corrosion resistance, it's a personal decision as far as how much life you feel is left in the vehicle. I am not happy with some of the $4.00 bolts used on the A8.

MP4.2+6.0

with similar upper and lower aluminum control arm set ups I just cut the offenders with a demo saw. Bolts on one of the uppers (rear upper as I recall) and one of the lowers got the demo treatment to get them out when I did all the arms. Bolts are cheap compared to extra labor involved. Alternative on the A6 was to remove the strut and upper mount assembly that bolted to the car's sheet metal. The upper bolts were easy and smaller diameter, lowers not so much.

Obviously don't cut what you can't replace; on the A6 I just had to put them in the opposite way to re-install. No problem w/ clearance just installing by hand from the opposite direction. Made me really wonder how Art in Engineering didn't think through the later maintenance when they assembled it the other way on the line. Probably saved 3 seconds or a Euro.

Not sure if the cutting and then reversing the replacements on the A8 applies, but worth a look.

MP4.2+6.0

make it to the Zelenda catalog soon, or price will just go up 3x.

Seriously, fair points. Though sometimes the German instruction stereotypes for uber precision and blinders on penchants need some Yankee inginuity. Manual is a good starting point for then considering Plan B variants when the by the book alternative is a huge time or dollar suck.

A8CT

I have the Bentley but haven't looked at that section because I thought read you could do both uppers w/o removing strut. It's so close, I'm not pulling the struts. On the D2 you had to drop the subframe, no way around it. Also on the D2, cutting the lower/rear arm was standard practice. I might be able to do that here but I need to get the old one out first to check it.

Not sure about the corrosion comment, I've ground away some of the raw aluminum. I might just cut the bolt and grind off part of the hex so it'll make the turn back into the CA. I'll take some pics if that works.

I want to avoid pulling the struts. Once you remove suspension parts that have been installed for a lot of miles, it's really hard to get them back together and not have them make noise.


Bob

A8CT

I shot some video which I'll post on youtube. The trick on the Pass side is to grind down one corner of the bolt so it clears. I just cut the old bolt and did the grinding on a new one. The driver side just requires removing the wheel well liner. No reason to remove the strut on either side if you do it this way. The hard part is getting the arms out w/o doing any damage to the boot. I found the perfect tool for the forward arms, a Ford pitman arm puller. The rear arms I'm using a HF ball joint tool but it's not perfect for the job. I can get it started but then need to hammer up with a 3/8" extension. This is really the only hard part and I'm sure there's a better tool which would push it right out.

For $80, I've got all new upper bushings. Thanks to another poster, I also used the NAPA bushings which are German made and appear identical to the OEM bushings.

jmhjgh

Great job. How long did it take you, and do you notice any ride improvements?

A8CT

I haven't taken it out yet, refilling the trans next. Lost my mind on the driver side CA bolt, it's the same issue as the pass side. I shot a clip of what to do if you want to use the shortcut/no strut removal.