Im in the process of replacing my struts and springs on my 99 A4. I did the back 2 with ease, only took about an hour and a half. I am having trouble with the front before I have even gotten started.
I know you have to remove two 13mm nuts from within the engine bay.


However the nut shown ontop in this picture I am un able to access because the pipe that is bending around it in the picture above, goes right over top on my car.



I am pointing to it in the picture below


How can I get to this nut? It is all that is holding me back from finishing this job. Thank you

 

I think your confused my man, two bolts? There should be three green bolts with large washers under them that hold each strut in. The a/c lines should not be in your way.
P.S. the third bolt is on the other side of that wall that seperates the battery from the engine, under the wiring.

 

Well according to this http://www.audiworld.com/tech/wheel.html there is two different ways you can go about it. He shows how to remove the strut by just losening the 2 nuts covered by those caps. The other 3 bolts are covered by things as well.

Are you saying I should be able to access all the bolts in the engine bay that I need to remove the strut, without having to remove any other components? Cause it doesnt appear that way.

 

Ooops, my bad you got a 99 model, there should only be two, you need a long extension and possibly a universal to get them out but you still shouldn't need to remove anything to get them out.

 

That AC piping goes directly over top of it, and they don't provide any play (trust me I tried) that would allow me to pull it to one side. Those pics clarify that I do know what Im trying to do, but as you can see from picture 2...its right over head.

Does anyone that has done this themselves on a 99 have any tips? Pleaseee im sick of lookn like a I got a fat chick in the trunk.

 

You need a universal like i said, its a wobbly extension, i think you can rent one or get one cheap at autozone. That should give you up to a 45 degree angle at the bolt, if you can't get it out with that you shouldn't be working on cars.

 

I found a way to get to all the nuts in the engine bay, so I started working on getting to the strut. But the very first bolt you have to remove I got trouble with. It is this one, http://www.audiworld.com/tech/pics/wheel28-front1.jpg I can get the nut on the left side off but the bolt won't slide out. I tried removing it by force, heating it up, and liquid wrench. It won't budge, anyone got any tips for a situation like this ?

 

Thats the pinch bolt, what we usually do is have someone pry on the bolt while hitting it with an air hammer. If thats not available try to get the largest flat head screwdriveryou have and pry the head of the bolt outwards with either using an impact gun or by hand with a ratchet and slowly work it out.

 

yeah...i did my recently...and i did it both ways as mention in AW link. I found it must more easier just by removing the 3 big 17mm nuts. As for the pinch bolt...sometimes it get rusted and it stuck in there...you just have to keep on trying...and once you get it out....make sure to put some anti freeze before put it back...next times will be easy if you ever take it off again