Upper Control Arm replacement
 

Hi,

I need to replace the upper control arms on my '98 A4. I watched this video and have a few questions
These guys removed the whole strut assembly in order to remove the control arms from their attachment point on the strut tower. Is this really necessary? Seems to me like you could get the arms out without doing that. Unless you need the space to remove the bolts. Also, seems like the pinch bolt could've come out much more easily than it did for these guys. A good whack on the end of the bolt to push it out. But I digress..
Wondering if anyone else has done this job and has advice or pointers before I get my hands dirty.
Also any brands that you recommend are appreciated. I recently bought Rein Tie Rods because the company had good reviews online and they were less expensive than Moog.

I have a 1997 A4 but it is probably about the same. I took the strut assembly out because I was replacing the struts as well as everything else. However when I went to put it back in I considered installing the control arms after the strut was in again but just could not see a way to get the wrenches in there to properly torque them down. Even if you chose not to use a torque wrench There was imho just no real room to work. Seeing the toughest part is the pinch bolt (depending on where you live and spray it in advance for a couple days to help loosen it up) it is still fairly easy past that to get the strut assembly out.

I bought my control arms (as a kit since I was doing everything) at here: Audi A4 Since I wanted to non China parts they were able to tell me that the parts came from Europe, plus the price was actually better than anywhere else. Also you can check https://www.ecstuning.com/ and European Auto Parts at discount prices | RM European - I bought parts from both places here too - as I had a big project and was looking to save money where I could (balancing out quality).

I also used the attached diagram for installing the new control arms as the old ones were way off. I got this off this site.

Thanks for the reply. Makes sense that there is not much room to remove the bushing bolts, but removing the strut looks easy enough to handle. I checked ECS Tuning's kit for my car, but the only review was one star and said "bad quality." I suppose thats what you get for a reasonably priced kit though. I'm leaning towards the RM European arms.

I did two complete front suspension swaps yesterday morning on two 2001 B5s - for a total of 16 control arms, 4 (factory lowered) struts, 4 springs - compressed, removed and put on the new struts, and 4 sway bar links. I didn't watch the video you posted, but trust me, taking the strut assembly out is much easier (comparatively speaking). I wouldn't try to swap the arms with them in the wheel well. You're going to make things so much harder on yourself if you do that.

G/L