2000 A6 Quattro Avant 2.8l I need to replace the rear shocks and was wondering if a coil spring compressor is necessary. There is no mention of using one in the Bentley Manual. I heard a "thunk" coming from the rear and realized the bottom of the spring had dropped below the flange on the shock.......thanks

 

You need one.

 

You may want to replace the shock mounts while you are in there.

 

OK, thanks for the info....

 

I was replacing the rear shock and springs and when I started putting it together I was puzzled as to how much torque to put on the upper shock nut that holds the upper shock mount to the shock. I bought the kit from Blauparts and the nut is self locking. Do I tighten it all the way down to the end of the thread on the shock? Does it need some anti-sieze or thread locking compound? I looked in the DIY forum and searched here too but no one mentioned torque for the upper nut. Midniteoyl had a detail posting on replacing rear shocks on a 96 A6 with 22lb/ft torque. Wonder if that is the same for the 2000 A6 Quattro Avant. Any help or advance is appreciated. Thanks.

 

Run the nut down until it stops. You do not need a specific torque as you aren't streching the shock (ala a head bolt) you just want to hold the upper mount in place. No thread lock is needed as the nut has the nylon insert to self lock.

Bob

 

Thanks Bob. I only managed to screw it down about a half inch from the top tread. I did not have a deep socket and I could not get the springs to compress any more. It will have to do and hopefully the nylon lock should hold the nut.

BTW as I was loosening the rear lower control arm on the driver's side there was a sensor of sorts attached to the arm. There isn't one on the passenger side. It looked like a level sensor and is mounted on the chassis with a two piece plastic arm that is jointed and bolted to the lower control arm. The sensor arm is really stiff and tight. If you know what it is, is the arm supposed to move freely? The picture is not very clear because the camera won't auto focus in the tight space.

 

I was searching the rest of the forum and googled the WWW and there are some postings that described such a sensor as the ride height sensor that controls the level of the headlights. I don't have the Allroad, just an A6 Avanat, so this does not adjust the suspension. Could someone who is familiar with such a sensor confirm or comment? I need to know if the joint for this sensor, as marked in my pics above, should be moving freely. It is very tight right now and I don't know if it is corrosion or if it was over tightened during a maint service. Thanks.

 

It's the headlight level ("range" in Audispeak) sensor, or one of two, to be precise. Clean up the contacts while you are in there.

Bob

 

Thanks Bob. I will loosen it up and put some anti-seize so that it will continue to move freely.