Hi Folks. I have been around in this forum for just a little while but I wanted to share this quiet huge project with everyone. For some time now I have been saving my money to buy some decent suspension upgrade.

First I wanted to replace just the axle that had the famous torn CV boot. Sure there is always the option of re-greasing and replacing just the CV boot but that was not an option for me after reading about the headache involved. I realized quickly the 2nd one will probably need to be done soon too, so why not buy 2? I searched through tons of forums and threads and some suggested to go with EMPI others only with OEM. Well I didn't trust the EMPI because $90 per side just sounded too cheap to me (and some actually posted horror stories about snapping). On the other hand $500 (per SIDE! WTF!)for the Audi OEM's from the dealer was way too much. I ended up reading a lot of good reports about RAXLES. Marty from Raxles was very helpful and even though I can't say anything about the quality of these axles yet I can at least recommend the customer service he provided.

Next thing on the list were the control arms. most of the bushings were in a pretty bad shape and I just couldn't find any decent ones to replace them all. Again I found my self going through tons of information on the inet and everyone seemed to agree that the best deal would be to get the Febi Bilstein set. Not only would I get a complete set to replace everything but also an upgraded version that will last longer and perform better (so they say, time will show).

Last but not least I figured why not replace my struts while I'm laying under the car and my wallet is being raped? I looked for more then just an OEM replacement. I wanted something that makes this German lady glide smoothly over these nasty Colorado potholes but at the same time offers me superior handling in corners. Supposedly these 2 "requirements" don't really get along very good but KONI claimed the FSD edition will handle it perfectly. It was hard finding some (good or bad) reviews at all. I'm not sure if no one has the money or guts to try it out but I was willing to give it a shot. Besides the majority of the reports I did find convinced me this is exactly what I have been looking for.

Now during this 2 day project I tried to take a lot of informational pictures to share with you all. I will also try to give you guys some updates (if interested) how all this is performing after a few weeks or months. Let me know if you are missing anything or if you have any questions.


Parts, places and prices:
Febi Bilstein Control arm kit - http://www.purems.com/ -- $450 (+ shipping)
Koni FSD Struts Set - http://www.importrp.com/ -- $610 (Free shipping)
Raxles - http://www.raxles.com/ -- 2x $200 (+shipping and return label)

Car information:
Model: AUDI A6
Engine: 4.2 - V8
Miles: 115.000
Year: 2002


Now lets begin with this Project!
1st +2nd day:

The first 2 hours everything was coming apart very nicely. I thought I was dreaming, every single peace I touched came off just the way it should...sure I needed a little PB blaster here and some tender hammering there but nothing major. I got almost everything off and THEN the nightmare began...Tie rod ends. Do I need to say more? This little bastard would just not come off no matter how hard I tried. PB blaster did nothing. I tried to torch it so the metal would expand and I would have a better chance of breaking it loose but still nothing. I even tried welding the lower female screw lock to the TRE to get some force going and I still wasn't able to break the POS loose. In the end I had to by a new inner tie rod, cut the old one out and put the new one in. Jees but you really think that was the entire Nightmare? No buddy, there is more...
I started assembling everything back together. Raxle was a piece of cake, all the control arms mounted back into their positions very nicely EXCEPT the front lower control arm. The screw sleeve end that mounts to the knuckle was too thick. I slammed the cone bushing out of the knuckle to make sure I'm just getting the right angle but I was right - it didn't fit. WTF? The old original control arm from Audi was just thinner around the screw sleeve compared to the new Bilstein So this supposedly direct fit plug and play kit was not as perfect as advertised. I searched through all the boxes to see if they might have made it thicker to improve the kit but maybe included the cone bushing somewhere but it was not part of the kit. So I grind-ed the cone bushing to the point it would barely fit and voila the replacement of the drivers side was complete.
I contacted Purems about this issue and they told me my car was equipped with the aluminum control arms and not the steel one which is why this one piece did not fit. Also the complete aluminum kit was like $800 compared to the $450 for the steel version. By the end of this day I was glad I got the cheaper kit and all I had to do it grind 2 bushings a little. I'm still a little upset though that the aluminum and steel version of the control arm kits had no note/comment mentioning the difference in the front lower control arm.


3rd day:
Passenger side control arms replacement went smooth. TRE came off as it was supposed to and all the other parts gave me no headache.
Unfortunately started this project over the memorial day weekend and none of the shops were open so I had to wait until a work day to borrow the compression tool for the struts/coils. I took the struts out again on all 4 wheels brought them to a breaks plus store and had a friend provide cheap entry to replace the struts. Once this was done headed back home, mounted the struts back on, and re-connected the control arms again.
Finally the lady was no longer on Jack stands and all I needed now was an alignment. Again Brakes plus buddy came in very handy
At the End of this project I'd say it was more then worth it but I'm not looking forward to doing this again ever!

 

Congrats on a wonderful project undertaking!
Thanks for sharing, and also I hope you won't mind some comments.
-
I wonder why Hamlet was pacing back and forth with only a simple question in his mind. The Audi owner is confronted with a similar dilemma:
"Should I buy cheap parts that sound too cheap to be worth a shot, or should I destroy my wallet for the likes of GKN et Co from the dealer or similar overpricers (if that can even be accepted as a word) that are too expensive to my liking?"
The more interesting thing is that the "genuine" parts break to the same tune of the cheaper counterparts, if not even FASTER....only by browsing through all the problems expressed just on this forum concerning newer cars, one could really get a pretty good picture of the "quality" of "genuine" parts.
If the expensive parts were that much better, then the likes of GKN, Koni, etc, etc would have went out of business long time ago for lack of sales in numbers...
More expensive doesn't necessarily equate with "better" from a qualitative standpoint or (even less so) longevity. But that's just my opinion based on incidents, complaints, reports, cries for help, etc, etc posted all over the forum(s).
Time coming to drive my car again after finishing the engine rebuild, I'll also report on the cheap Uro-made control arms I just installed recently.
As far as EMPI, I must have been blessed with a perfect set of cheap CV axles since in over two years I had no trouble with'em or related horror stories to tell.
I'll keep my toes crossed. For $ 80 at the time I purchased them with lifetime warranty.
BTW: how long are the Raxles axles guaranteed for?

 

The Raxles have a STANDARD LIMITED LIFETIME WARRANTY. Which of course means excessive racing or damage done to the axles through excessive cv boot wear is not covered.

 

The "upgraded" control arms have front lower control arm ball joints that are too large for the holes - aluminum or steel. Sounds like your vendor has his head you know where. I had the same problem, different vendor, and they replaced those arms with no questions asked but with a couple of gripes because they had heard this before and thought it was fixed on their website.

How are the struts? I need new ones and have been toying with this exact same rebuild.

Bob

 

I didn't have much time to test drive it yet since my wife needed the car while I pull 12h shifts ... hopefully tomorrow I will know more
So far from home to the alignment and back, it was a great feeling but that was kind of low speed and not too many bumps or corners.

 

Well, it should definitely have made a huge difference if your struts were shot. After changing mine it felt like a totally different car even when cornering.
Moreover, it sounds like you have at least a C5, so brand new bushings on all those 8arms should make it as smooth as butter, while firm and tight in conjunction with the new struts.

 

Yeah the car is a c5 (2002) and my wife just had to call me at work with the following comment:
"Honey, this is great! It's almost as good as sex!"

Should I be worried?

 

Alright finally checked out this lady today driving to work. It's about a 20 mile drive some city and some interstate driving. Lots of up and downs and 2 nice curves off and on the ramp. It's just like Chefro described the feeling:
Steering is smooth as butter while cornering is firm and tight. Bumps are swallowed very nicely but not in a way that it feels like and Oldsmobile :P
There are also some bridges to pass where the road is like a roller coaster going up and down making you see sick. Well no more, the car straightens out in milliseconds instead of wobbling around for an extra second or 2.

Overall I'm am very pleased with this new setup. Also considering all struts and axles have a lifetime warranty, nothing should go wrong


btw: I hope I can upload some pictures tonight or tomorrow

 

Sounds good, man.
Don't worry about about her compliment. Actually it seems you won yourself some brawnie points. Brace yourself for what's coming to you, as related to the comment she made.

 

I know it’s an old post but I am interested if you replaced the springs. I want to replace the struts but I understand that removing the springs on the rear of the car is just pure pain.
There are no visible issues with the springs so I was wondering if I have to replace them. My car has 145K miles.
I was thinking about Koni FSD or Bilstein HD. I don’t mind lowering the car a touch but not too much.
Your response would be greatly appreciated. Thank you