Looking for some quick advice....
According to both the local Audi dealership and a private shop (H2Sport), my front control arms and tie rods need repair badly. So as I've mentioned many times before, I'm going to DIY them at the end of this summer (-I'm not really driving the car until then). I also will be using this opportunity to install c/os, and all wheel bearings.

The thing is, I want to do everything all at once, so I want to know if it makes sense/is necessary to do the rear arms and tie rods too. They are not mentioned in either shops recommendations but if they are a wear item that will likely need replacement before the front set will need replacement again, then I want to do them now. I'm assuming that they should be done, so I've looked around for kits. I can't find a kit for the rear and buying the parts individually makes the rear cost 3x as much as the front (~$1500 from ECS).

I guess my questions are: 1) Do you know of any quality rear control arm and tie rod kits that are cheaper than the quote above for the individual parts?
2) Other than all arms, rods, wheel bearings, and new c/os, should I have anything to worry about with the suspension in the next decade (lol)?

P.S. This will be costing me $5000. I am a student. These are not compatible facts. lol.

 

whys this costing you 5 g's?

 

I bought a coilover kit used for 3 months for about 200$.
Control arm kit is about 300$
CV joints are less than 100$ per side if you want to take them at the same time.
Wheel bearings cost me about 20$ per.
Brake discs are about 100$, pads are about 50$.
You should try FK Highsport (don't know if they sell that in the US?), with that kit you'll get all of this for 1500$.
It's alot of work though, but if you have a week and some friends, you'll get alot done

 

well the reason for that is only the front wheels turn. there are no tie rods in the rear and only the front has all of those links that need to be replaced.

a decade might be a little optimistic, but you shouldnt have any problems after all this in the next several years anyway (4-5). shocks are not a lifetime item and they do wear out.

 

don't worry about the rear. do the front first. it should cost anywhere near 5k though. whole front CA kit is 400 with new hardware. CO average 1000. wheel bearing cost 35 each and the pressing will need a machine so another 80 max if you can find a shop that will just press it for you. add that up and it's less than 2k. the important stuff in the rear are the bushings which i'm doing next month. i'm not sure about the lower bushings but i know the top ones can be pushing in and out with a c-clamp type device.

http://www.autohausaz.com/search/pro...0Arm%20Bushing

 

$1500 for a set of StaSiS streetsports shipped to me after exchange rate. (They're $1270 USD + Shipping at Achtuning and similar at Modbargains).
$600 for front CA kit after exchange rate and shipping (ECS sells it for $540 USD).
$1500 for individual rear parts: 2 upper arms ($250 each at ECS), 2 lower arms ($250 ea @ ECS), 2 Tie Rod Assembly's ($90 ea), and 6 Hardware kits (1 kit for each rear part, $120 total).
$200-400 estimated for all wheel bearings.
~$400 for alignment (I want to do this at Audi).
and ~$300 for a skid plate since I don't intend on raising the car for the snowy winters here.

Do I need to do the CV joints?? Around when do they wear? If they don't last the potential life of the vehicle (ie. 300 k km -400 k km) I want to do them now too. ( I hate repetition!!).

Ghost I'm not that knowledgable about cars yet so I just went off of ECS... they sell a tie rod assembly for the the rear of our cars. Same part for either side. What would I Be looking at to add shocks to the list?? if they're necessary... around when could I expect them to wear? I'm at 140 k km.

hiwords...you think I could get away with just changing out the bushings? That would save me $1000!! lol.. How will the old arms hold up tho...I know they don't move....

In any case, thanks for the help guys. I haven't been driving much all summer and have been saving up to commit to the suspension so I want to cover as much as possible! I'd be wayy more pissed to put all this effort into doing half of the job this year, just to be told I need more suspension work in another year!!

 

the old arms will be just fine. i know several people who have had no trouble even with the bushings in the rear. also aren't there shops in canada that sell audi parts without going through the exchange rate? 300 for all four bearings is enough. also you don't have to get an alignment done at the dealership, all the shops have the same machines and specs to abide to. also get the metal skid plate from deiselgeek

 

I haven't come across many parts shops in Canada but I haven't looked much either. They generally have the same or greater mark up though.

I could go for an alignment somewhere else too... but Audi usually does a pretty good diagnostic every time I go in. I like that they can evaluate things after I DIY.

I am getting the skid plate from dieselgeek!! lol.. it's $250 plus $50 for shipping.

Sounds good with the rear arms. That'll save me enough. But what about the supposed rear tie rods... http://www.ecstuning.com/Audi-B5_A4-...Rear/ES5837/?? Think its still okay to leave in the old ones?

 

the rear does have have that part however it barely does anything, thus why it's so slender and light. and it's not a good idea to mess with it as taking it off will be a pain in your butt. the link i gave you has all the bushings you'll need for the rear end. what Audi is actually doing for you is giving you excuses to charge you more lol but that's just the way i see things.

 

the rear should be fine.

check out the stern adjustable upper control arms, they're a bit pricey but i've read good things about them. plus they have replacement bushings so you dont have to replace the arms. i saw a kit with all the control arms including the sterns on purems.com. paint your calipers while you are working on the suspension.