I went through AudiWorld's tech area and read through a couple of the tech DIYs for doing the front CV joint rework. One procedure said that in lieu of removing the pinch bolt (which I shudder to think about, given the horror stories I've read, not to mention I don't have a 16mm socket or wrench, which I'd need), that the rear control arm on the front spindle can be unbolted, and that moving this yields enough play in the spindle/hub to get the axle off. The control arm nut came off easily enough, but I tried for quite awhile to separate the control arm from the spindle with no luck. I tried levering it off with a long bar, separating it with a ball joint spreader, hitting it with a hammer (not the threaded shaft itself, for fear of damaging the threads, but the control arm itself), etc. I tried this stuff with the wheel turned in several different positions, trying to unload the joint as much as possible. No luck.

Anyone out there have any tips for separating the rear control arm from the spindle on the front suspension? Anyone found a technique that worked well for them? If I have to, I'll remove the pinch bolt, but I really don't want to mess with that SOB if I can help it - there are too many horror stories about it breaking, refusing to come out, etc, for me to want to try to remove it unless I have absolutely no other choice. Any tips from anyone who has done it? TIA...

 

Being in the rust belt of america I'd say you might have a pretty tough time with the pinch bolt- but it might be worth it to at least try it. Stanger things have happend and you might just be able to get it out easily. Aside from that you might try unbolting the control arm from the frame instead... It's a bolt that doesn't commonly rust, but you might need to drop the subframe a little in order to get the bolt out.

I removed the the balljoint by using an air hammer with a punch tip. if you look closely there should be a dimple in the threaded end of the balljoint, you might be able to put a punch in the dimple and hammer it out.

Hope that helps

 

I'm gonna leave that pinch bolt unless there's no other option, but I like the air hammer idea. I will have to give that a try for sure. Thank you for the input!

 

let me know how you make out, even if it's just a PM. I hate it when I never find out how these things turn out. Good Luck. And don't discount the idea of unbolting the control arm from the frame side, it's not as bad as it seems. Oh, and you might want to invest in some wrenches, LOL

 

I'll follow up on here for sure when I finish. As for the wrenches, well, I've got a rollaround with a drawer full of them, and a lot of other tools, but damn if I couldn't find a 16mm in there at all though (probably the one size between 6mm and 21mm that I don't have). The tools are definitely here, it's a matter of persuading the car that it really should cooperate lol. But yeah, I will follow up on here when I finish it off. Thanks again.

 

I also just found this link on AudiZine:

http://www.audizine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=127348

And while I was thinking of doing the reboot on the car, the second part of the DIY is worth a shot. He was able to unbolt the axle from the diff, and just swing it up and back, and with the axle bolt removed, pop the axle right out of the spindle. I need to go buy a 12pt socket, but I think I may try that out - remove six bolts plus the axle bolt, and finagle it out of there. Worth a shot for sure, and if that doesn't work out, then I'll probably pop the control arm from the chassis.