hello all. can anyone help me. i have an '98 a4 avant tdi quattro with factory sports suspension and for some reason the front left corner has raised by about 15mm (1/2") or so. all the arms are tip top and i've had a roll bar link in the front right hand side. i had a fairly scary moment in the rain acouple of months ago and got the car almost broadside. i didn't hit anything and i've been assured that the chassis is not out of line. the guy who changed the arms and link for me blamed a damaged back right shock for the problem. on changing them, he came back with that oh so familiar line- "that turned out to not be problem, at all. €700, please and i'll keep looking". please help because the car has been belly dancing since about march and i'm really not enjoying my audi. with the prospect of another €800 for tyres before i begin modifying this car i'm stongly considering horseback as a means of transport!!!

 

Did your mechanic not change the left side too? And did you change the rear shocks w/o the front?

The key to a good performing suspension is balance. Sounds to me like the balance of the car is all f'd up. I would need to know more about what has and hasn't been done to try and help.

 

thanks for the reply. he didn't change the left hand side link but there is absolutely no clunking any more and that's on bad irish roads. the suspension was up the 15mm before the shocks were fitted in the back, and he tells me that when you jack the back right it all comes correct again. he told me that the shock would, in part, help decide the ride height. this sounded wrong to me but i have no basis to argue. friends suggest that the only thing that might help diagnosis would be to swap the front springs left to right but my mechanic is talking about spending "less than a day" (at €50 an hour) to swap the front struts, just to SEE if there is a problem with them. but no one can suggest a reason why it would go UP in height. i may have simply not noticed but i think it was okay after the arms went in. the link was put in a week after and a few days later is when i noticed the raised height. i don't think anything else in the suspension was changed. i would appreciate any further help you can give, i'm just desperate to fix it by now.

 

there's no way for me to tell what's up, but ... if you had to change the rear shocks than you probably need front shocks too. if they're really shot then it could affect ride height. i'd go ahead and change the front struts as your mechanic suggests. i don't think swapping right for left springs in the front is going to change anything.

 

cheers suitie!! it's hard for me to explain but the problem is definitely in that front left corner only. i'm not being arguementative- i'm sure you'd agree if you saw it that the front is standard height by comparison and the suspension was completely level and correct before these latest repairs. i appreciate your help and i expect i'll have to do swap the struts one way or another. thanks again.