I have a 1998 A6 2.8 quattro
car has 90k miles and the front end is verly clonky and loose.

I have been looking at the front end kitts for it (Meyle, Febi and Ocap)

I am pretty tech savy and have done all sorts of work on cars before. Is replacing the control arms doable by oneself? I have no lift just jackstands and a jack + basic tools. If so where can I find the best info on procedure and tools? Are there any sepcial tools needed - big hammers and a balljoint fork - anything else?

Time estimate for frustrated amateur?

If I choose to take it to a shop what is a fair price to pay for the labor (in hours) for replacing the whole set in the front.

I am looking at the different kits - Meyle, Febi and Ocap - any preferences or experiences?

kist:
http://www.blauparts.com/audi_contro..._arm_kit.shtml
http://www.ecstuning.com/stage/edpd/...engine=V6+2.8L

Thanks for any help

Heikki

 

From what I've seen, the consensus seems to be to stay away from the Meyle parts.

Control arm kit from PureMS


Excellent tech article from AudiWorld


Good luck!

 

Thanks for the links - the tech article is great.

Anyone have idea of time estimate - I know how these things go though - ball joint press doesn't fit - go buy another one 1h , socket too long hunt for a shorter one 2h, stuck bolt1 1h, stuck bolt2 1h...

If I am to replace the whole set would it make sense to go in and replace the front wheel bearings or anything else at the same time - haven't given any trouble so far but ehile I have everything pulled open anyway...

 

I replaced all control arms and tie rod ends with a febi/bilstein kit from http://www.purems.com

Just want to share my experience for other people who might be considering the job.

The upper ones were badly shot as well as tie rod ends. Lower ones seemed to be fine - replavced them aqnd kept old ones. Job wasn't bad - first side took 3 times as long as the second - I didn't loosen the subframe - was able to wiggle the bolts out.

Whole show took maybe two 8h days or a little more with cleanup and such. I must add though that my car has spent all of its life in california so there was no battle's with any bolts. I am from Finland and know that winter makes quite a difference and this kind of job can grow into a hellish experience if every bolt and nut need a huge fight. I didn't even have a balljoint puller just a pickel fork and a hammer - which I neede surprisingly little. And I did it outside on my employer's parking lot too - far from ideal shop.

Thanks for the links and help.

There was a bolt in the online "tutorials" that was told to put backwards in for easier installing - I wouldn't recommend - the bolt end ends up a litle too close to the axle boot for my taste. (http://audi.kris-hansen.com) Otherwise both the auditech article and kris-hansen were great help.

cheers and happy driving

h

 

I also have a 98 A6 Quattro. When I bought the car the tie rod ends were bad. Then upper front control arms, then lower front, then........... You get the point. I ended up replacing it all just not at the same time. I got the parts on ebay cheap, but I could have bought them all at once and saved a lot of trouble. However, I did not know about you guys and the help you offer.