+1 - just change out the axles. Your symptoms are classic CV joint damage.

 

x2 your axel is shot

 

Alright, well, thanks everyone....I guess there is now a couple new Q's on my list

1) I am probably going to be ordering two new CV axle assemblys from purems, the question is, is there anything else that I will need besides the awles?...will I need grease or will the boots come pre packed w/grease? any additional maintenance I should do while I've got the axle out?...should I lube any bearings or replace any other doo-dads in there?

2) I am not going to do the install until next week, will I be okay putting another 150 or so miles on them?...they did just start talkin yesterday.

3)For any of you who have done this before...on a scale of one to 10, how big of a PITA is this going to be?...anyone know what kind of time this is going to take me?...any hints/advice/shortcuts for the install will be greatly appreciated!

 

The axle assemblies will come complete and ready to install. The CV joints will be prepacked and fully sealed and clamped. All you have to do is take them out of the box and install them. While you have all of this apart, you should at least inspect all the control arms/ball joints, brakes, etc, and either go get any parts you need at the time, or order them. If you have the time, go ahead and inspect it all now, and then order any additional parts that may need replacement (ie, brake parts), so you can do them at one time.

You should be fine for that amount of time. All the same, don't do any hard power turns in the meantime and don't make unnecessary trips either - no sense in speeding up their eventual failure. Drive gently and when pulling away in a turn from a stop, accelerate gently until the wheel is straight. On slower moving turns, I'd coast through when possible to save stress on the joints.

I haven't done it on the Audi, but I've changed axles on other cars, and it's really not that difficult. Granted, on this car it may be more of a pain due to the complexity of the suspension, but even so, it's easily within reach of anyone with opposable thumbs and a functional brain. I don't know about on this car, but on other imports I've worked on, there's a snap ring on the inner splined section of the axle where it goes into the differential, to hold the axle in. Once you have the outer end free, if there is no snap ring, the axle will slide right out. If there is one, you'll need to pull and jiggle on the outer end, and try to pry the inner end out of the diff at the same time, using a screwdriver. Slide it in there and use it to lever the axle out while you pull - it can be a pain in the *** but it will come out. Other than that, it's mainly a process of just undoing bolts and nuts. Take a look through AudiWorld.com and the tech section. You can use the tech procedure for changing a wheel bearing to guide you in getting the outer end of the axle free from the hub/spindle. From there, it's a matter of removing the inner axle end from the diff, and then reassembling in reverse. Good luck and take a lot of pics of the process, so you can make a DIY procedure for this.

 

http://www.audiworld.com/tech/misc27.shtml

Study the first and last section of this DIY, Dakota. It seems pretty straightforward.

 

yeah dude, I read that DIY last night...looks like we can handle it...Im guna order both of em, even tho I think the passenger side is the "clicker"...

alright....well, thanks everyone!...

pyropenguin and I will take some nice pictures for your enjoyment and you'll get to see some nasty CV action!