shimmy, shimmy, shake, shake no more!
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2nd Gear
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 1,430
From: Goodrich, Michigan
shimmy, shimmy, shake, shake no more!
I replaced the front control arms and the one tie rod assembly that had not already been replaced and now the shimmy, shimmy, shake, shake is GONE!!!! The ride is much better and the handling is vastly improved, as well!
I ordered the FOPI kit as shown on ebay. WARNING: the kit they sent me had the incorrect front lower control arms! This, despite the fact that I called them, gave them my vehicle information and placed my order over the phone. It's a very nice kit, but don't get the "S4" kit unless you have an S4. It doesn't fit the A6. I'll call them Monday and get replacements and let you know how they perform correcting this error. The good news is that those particular control arms are still in good shape so not having new ones doesn't degrade the ride or handling. I'll put the new ones on as I fix other items, such as the CV boot that has cracks in it.
Installation was time consuming, but straightforward. The hardest item was getting the boot clamp back onto the steering rack end of the tie rod. I ditched the stock clamp and used a hose clamp instead. I could, barely, get my hands in the hole to hold the clamp in position as the other hand worked the ratchet. I found on the other side, the one I paid a professional to replace, that the "professional" didn't bother with the clamp so the inner boot was off the rack. I'm not impressed with that!
One unknown that I ran across was the swaybar links. They have an arrow pointing forward, but no Left/Right designation. One of the bushings is different than the other on each link, so they are location specific, but there was no indication, other than the arrow, which way they went. I, of course, didn't pay attention when I took my old ones off, so I guessed that the wider bushing went to the sway bar. This seemed to line up best. Let me know if I have them on incorrectly.
Anyway, the control arms did a great job of improving the Audi so now it feels like a real car and not some jalopy. I feel it was well worth the time and effort to replace them!
Bob
I ordered the FOPI kit as shown on ebay. WARNING: the kit they sent me had the incorrect front lower control arms! This, despite the fact that I called them, gave them my vehicle information and placed my order over the phone. It's a very nice kit, but don't get the "S4" kit unless you have an S4. It doesn't fit the A6. I'll call them Monday and get replacements and let you know how they perform correcting this error. The good news is that those particular control arms are still in good shape so not having new ones doesn't degrade the ride or handling. I'll put the new ones on as I fix other items, such as the CV boot that has cracks in it.
Installation was time consuming, but straightforward. The hardest item was getting the boot clamp back onto the steering rack end of the tie rod. I ditched the stock clamp and used a hose clamp instead. I could, barely, get my hands in the hole to hold the clamp in position as the other hand worked the ratchet. I found on the other side, the one I paid a professional to replace, that the "professional" didn't bother with the clamp so the inner boot was off the rack. I'm not impressed with that!
One unknown that I ran across was the swaybar links. They have an arrow pointing forward, but no Left/Right designation. One of the bushings is different than the other on each link, so they are location specific, but there was no indication, other than the arrow, which way they went. I, of course, didn't pay attention when I took my old ones off, so I guessed that the wider bushing went to the sway bar. This seemed to line up best. Let me know if I have them on incorrectly.
Anyway, the control arms did a great job of improving the Audi so now it feels like a real car and not some jalopy. I feel it was well worth the time and effort to replace them!
Bob
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