I need to replace all of my front CAs so i am gonna buy a kit and DIY. I have read the DIYs and think i can handle it, but I was just curious if there are any special things I should watch out for, other than the pinch bolt? Also, how should i make sure i get the proper angle on the uppers, or is it not that big a deal? TIA

 

It was recommended to me to take the whole assembly out as one piece rather than picking everything apart. This made the job a lot easier to work with. Basically unbolt everything up top and everything on the bottom and the wiggle the whole assembly out. It'll save you a headache, trust me.

As far as the proper angles on the uppers....I believe you are talking about tightening everything down under load? I jacked the car up to "ride height" (pre-measured before of course) and tightened everything down. It's been 6 months and have had no issues.

 

I forgot to state above......leave plenty of time!!!! Take your time and everything will work out. I dedicated a whole weekend to the job and got the CA's done in a day (about 6 hours with breaks) Total job took a little longer as I was replacing the springs, struts, rotors, calipers and bearings.

If you try to do the job in a tight time constraint you'll rush and then run into issues. The AudiWorld DIY is a great guide to go by, it's what I used and had no issue.

 

Thanks, I know its going to take awhile so I'm prepared for that. By whole assembly you mean hub, uprights, and struts? I know to tighten everything under load, but there doesn't have to be a certain degree of angle from the strut plate to the top of the uprights? I just want to make sure so I don't mess anything up.

 

Yup the whole kit and kaboodle. Others might say it's unnecessary, but I did and it worked out well for me. I'm not certain about there being a proper angle....maybe someone else can field that matter. Like I said above, I followed the AudiWorld DIY and everything is fine so you should be good.

 

Cool, I guess I wont worry about it then. Thanks for the advice.

 

yeah i just bought the whole 12 peice front control arm kit for my b5 i can get you one for 500 plus shipping. let me know.

its everything. uppers, lowers, tie rod ends, bolts, its pimp.

 

Does it include sway links? What brand is it? Where are you located?

 

you can get them from Blauparts.com for $470 shipped and I guarantee you get the parts in 2 days or less.

 

I know the FCP Groton kit includes all the arms, both front swaybar end links, and new hardware. I'd assume the Blauparts kit does too.