I've been reading a lot of posts concerning looking for suspension clunks and squeaks and I wanted to report the source of two I just discovered inthe front suspension of my 99.5 A4 Avant 2.8 quattro.

The first sound is more of a low pitch thud noise that happens more during mid-corner bumps than straight ones and can be felt through the steering wheel a little. The upper front control arm ball joint is has play within it. The ball joint itself does not appear to be a replaceable item, so I will be ordering a new one. Any idea who sells this for the least dough?

The second and more annoying noise could be construed asa clunk. This is the rear upper control arm ball joint on the other side of the car. The ball joint does not appear to have play, but it is moving around in the knuckle just enough to make a sound that makes my Audi sound like a beat up Chevette when I hit sharp "dip" bumps, that is, a falling off asharp bump versus a going up a sharp curb. The problem is caused by the long bolt at the top of the knuckle that holds in the two upper control arm ball joints being rusted solid and will not budge in the knuckle. Even though the nut is off, the head broke off trying to loosen it and I've sprayed gallons of PB Blaster to penetrate the thing and beat on the end of the bolt with a 10lb hammer until my joints hurt and it will not come out. I guess I will have to cut the bolt into three pieces by taking either a sawzall or a die grinder in between the "squeezy" parts of the knuckle to release pressure on the ball joints so I can remove them. Then I guess I will have to remove the knuckle from the car and simply drill out the bolt and replace it with a new one. Either that or get another knuckle. Anyone dealt with thisbolt getting rusted solid?

FYI I have just turned over 100k miles on my A4.