Earlier this year I ran into a curb and had to have the left front axle assembly replaced because the CV joints got messed up. The shop told me that the right front was worn too, but I decided to wait on replacing it. This summer I'd like to have it replaced though. I think this is the only part I need from ECS tuning: Axle Assembly-Right Side ES#7996 (link). Can anybody verify this? Do I need any other hardware?

How hard is it to replace the axle assemblies? Does anybody know if a tech tutorial exists for it?

Thanks!

 

Make sure you order the right one based on the model, year, drivetrain, and transmission of your car (this is where making a signature with this info helps a lot - that way we know if you have a manual or auto, what year, if it's quattro, and if it's a V6 or 1.8 four). No way to know if that's the right part without that info. If you go to your profile page, you can make a sig with this info and then we can answer the question.

 

Sorry about that. All fixed. Let me know if you guys need any more info!

 

bump - Do I need any other hardware or just the axle assembly?

 

The axle should come with a new end bolt (the one you remove after you take off the center cap of the wheel), and that's really about the only extra part. As for tutorials, check out www.audiworld.com and go to the Tech section under "resources" at the top. There are CV joint rebuild procedures that will walk you through the main disassembly. The only part left that they didn't go into in the procedure I read (where they rebuild the joints with the axles on the car) is the part where you remove the axle from the differential. That, at least on the 2.8L, involves a triple-square bit (basically a 12-pointed Torx bit), in 8mm size. If you try to use a Torx, according to several people here, you'll just strip out the bolt - you need the 12-point. It's available as part of a set from ECS Tuning for around $10.

The alternative method (again for the 2.8L, although I imagine your 1.8 will be similar) involved removing the end nut, then taking out the axle-diff bolts. Then you'd maneuver the axle up and back, and drop it down below the car, and just slide it out of the hub from the inside. This was done on an A6 with a 2.8L and it's what I'm going to try on my A4. Hopefully there's enough room in there to do it, since the A4 is smaller. It's good that you have a manual transmission though - the manual axles bolt flush to the outside of the diff, so this procedure is possibly a way you can do it. On the automatics, there is a splined section of the axle that extends into the diff, so you couldn't do it this way with an auto.