does this look OK?
08-04-2003, 03:08 AM
#24
AudiWorld Super User
Thread Starter
i purchased used from BOOSTA for $75.00...
they are Intrax Motorola Cup springs.
Dan Ellis sent me this:
I spend months diagnosing several clunks in the front end of my A4 and
then the S4's. It always ended up being a ball-joint. You can pry,
tug, yank, push, whatever and you'll never see the play until you pull it
apart and feel how loose the joint is. I was replacing one joint every
2 months once I broke 70K, and each time I pulled the front end apart,
one was dead. Finally last time I had the right side apart, I replaced
all the remaining joints in that side - and I've replaced all them in
the left side. No more clunk!
Myself and an excellent mechanic spent weeks trying to find the clunks
- and could not ever see any movement in the joints. Only after we
pulled them apart could we feel the looseness. Right side is more prone
because of the roads - right side is more broken and bumpy.
Exact same symptoms as you - turning onto a slight bump, like pulling
into a garage or driveway at 2 or 3 miles per hour.
Dan Ellis sent me this:
I spend months diagnosing several clunks in the front end of my A4 and
then the S4's. It always ended up being a ball-joint. You can pry,
tug, yank, push, whatever and you'll never see the play until you pull it
apart and feel how loose the joint is. I was replacing one joint every
2 months once I broke 70K, and each time I pulled the front end apart,
one was dead. Finally last time I had the right side apart, I replaced
all the remaining joints in that side - and I've replaced all them in
the left side. No more clunk!
Myself and an excellent mechanic spent weeks trying to find the clunks
- and could not ever see any movement in the joints. Only after we
pulled them apart could we feel the looseness. Right side is more prone
because of the roads - right side is more broken and bumpy.
Exact same symptoms as you - turning onto a slight bump, like pulling
into a garage or driveway at 2 or 3 miles per hour.
08-04-2003, 04:06 AM
#26
AudiWorld Super User
Thread Starter
honestly...
still contemplating it.
wife is none to thrilled. she doesn't understand why my perfectly new S4 is not "new" anymore.
have you heard about the "balloon" payment options in NJ for financing? it allows you to keep the monthlies low like a lease for the 1st 24-36 months.
if i could get into an M3 for the same monthly as the S4, the guppie look wouldn't be that much of a problem.
:-)
wife is none to thrilled. she doesn't understand why my perfectly new S4 is not "new" anymore.
have you heard about the "balloon" payment options in NJ for financing? it allows you to keep the monthlies low like a lease for the 1st 24-36 months.
if i could get into an M3 for the same monthly as the S4, the guppie look wouldn't be that much of a problem.
:-)
08-04-2003, 05:17 AM
#27
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I think you got what you paid for. Those springs were probably bad when you got them. --->
When springs are not tempered properly, they will yield. Yours have yielded coils. When they bind, going over bumps, the spring's stiffness can double or triple, depending on how many coils bind. As you know, stiffer springs increase the load spectrum on the lower ball joint.
I agree with Dan Ellis' experience. You most likely wave at least a worn right lower ball joint that must be disconnected for diagnosis.
You'll need new springs in any case, because yours will bind increasingly more and will continue to fail joints.
I agree with Dan Ellis' experience. You most likely wave at least a worn right lower ball joint that must be disconnected for diagnosis.
You'll need new springs in any case, because yours will bind increasingly more and will continue to fail joints.
08-04-2003, 05:50 AM
#28
AudiWorld Super User
Thread Starter
OK, educate a noob, anyone have a pic of the lower ball joint?
is it perhaps pictured in one of these pics?
<img src="http://www.jacobmoreno.com/s4alex/s4/frontbrakes/IMG_4459.JPG">
perhaps it's the black portion to the right of this lower control arm?
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/1510/mvc-660f.jpg">
<img src="http://www.jacobmoreno.com/s4alex/s4/frontbrakes/IMG_4459.JPG">
perhaps it's the black portion to the right of this lower control arm?
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/1510/mvc-660f.jpg">
08-04-2003, 05:54 AM
#29
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Well, Audi has offered premier purchase for a long time...
When I bought my A4 it was available. Low lease-like payments, and at the end of 36 months, one balloon payment. Still, the car is registered in your name, and you are the owner.
The only downside...you're paying a lot of interest for that convenience. That balloon payment on the M3 is probably in the high thirties after 3 years.
Regarding convincing the wife...keeping the S4 can be as expensive as owning another new car in the same class. It's not THAT outlandish to consider alternatives.
The only downside...you're paying a lot of interest for that convenience. That balloon payment on the M3 is probably in the high thirties after 3 years.
Regarding convincing the wife...keeping the S4 can be as expensive as owning another new car in the same class. It's not THAT outlandish to consider alternatives.
08-04-2003, 05:58 AM
#30
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In addition to TRM's question...is it difficult to get the LCA's out for replacement?
Any special considerations like special tools, or a need for an alignment afterwords.
I'm thinking I could help TRM with the shock and spring swap, and while we're in there tinkering, we could remove and inspect the ball joints...provided somebody could clue us in as to what we're doing, and what it involves.
I'll check Bentley when I get home tonight for specifics, but if you happen to know and want to share, I'm sure it would be appreciated! :-)
I'm thinking I could help TRM with the shock and spring swap, and while we're in there tinkering, we could remove and inspect the ball joints...provided somebody could clue us in as to what we're doing, and what it involves.
I'll check Bentley when I get home tonight for specifics, but if you happen to know and want to share, I'm sure it would be appreciated! :-)