Audi C7 Control Arms Replacement DIY
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- Опубліковано 17 жов 2020
- This is our DIY on installing Upper & Lower control arms on a C7 Audi A6. This should be very similar for all C7/C7.5's including A6's, A7's, S6's, S7's, RS6's & RS7's. Cars with Air Suspension will likely have some differences, but should still be close.
Audizine Thread: bit.ly/3nSxM9w
Ball Joint Separator Kit: amzn.to/3V7CEYO
Remember, I am not a mechanic, and this is just the way I did it by myself in my garage. I'm sure there may be other ways/better tools to be used.
A word of caution: This Job requires a lot of pushing/pulling on the car while it is on jack stands, so please be extra safe and use quality jacks and insure your car is safely suspended before you start working on it. Make sure you put your wheels under your car as a fail safe in case anything goes wrong. - Авто та транспорт
This is just the video I was looking for. I was quoted $4300 to replace lower and upper arms. Found the after market parts for $700 and with this video, I will save myself a boatload. Thank you, thank you!
Just to add, the kit that comes from FCP Euro, has both lower arms with a hole for the light leveling. SO make sure you check which one is left and which one is right. I didn't and the job took at least 3 hours longer ;-)
Ouch lol. Good to know
The s6 adaptive air suspension uses those points for leveling. I have an s6 and need both them holes.
@@raw.shu.x what points? Going to do my c7.5 s7 soon
@@tonyluu3173 Holes on the lower arms for the headlight leveling sensor arms
HUGE HELP!! Tackling this weekend!
Great How-To video. First class. Not like some others where they don't show the hard bits, and just talk about how they did it.
Thank you!
KEEP UP THE GREAT VIDS MAN, BEEN EXTREMELY HELPFUL ! THANK YOU!
Thank you!
22:50 arguably the most informative and vital piece of information I have came across 😂
😂🤣
@@AudiC7Owners Great video dude, keep it up!
Great job on this video .. I did mine with the full meyle kit in my B8 pretty much identical job.. since I was there under the car, I just slide down the tie rod boots and lubed the rack inside the bellows I didn’t even want to risk damaging that bellows I remember installing the forward ball joint into the spindle first then doing the back bolt with the M12 triple square.. but I had quick jacks which gave me about the same amount of room underneath as you.. but yeah great job you saved a ton of $$$
Such a huge help. Thanks man!
Excellent video!
Great Video, thanks for making this! Also, the torque Spec for Nut 12 (level control sensor nut) is 9 Nm per Audi repair manual for A6 C7
Thank you!
Welcome back. Video suggestion: Paint the Calipers
That is definitely something I want to do. If you buy me the g2 kit, I'll make the video 😉.
Definitely in the future though
Great job man.
So I did the driver side just to make sure I wasn't loosing my touch. Halfway through I told my wife to call a local indy (Lord of the Rings lol) to see if he would do the passenger side. He laughed and said he's never had someone request that before. I couldn't have done it without this video. Thanks a ton!!! $800 parts and $700 labor.
Glad you got it done!
Outstanding video. Nice work and nice job on video.
Thank you!
when you replaced the shock assembly, you mention the 'half moon' tab. Do you remember which direction that tab aligned in relation to the vehicle (towards the rear, toward engine compartment, etc.). I recently upgraded the suspension on my A6 but I might have missed that detail. TIA!
Also... I found that the upper control arms were very easy to remove from the steering knuckle assembly by lifting the entire wheel assembly up with a floor jack. Removed the control arm bolts that connected to the knuckle assembly, then loosened the pinch bolt nut. Raised the whole assembly up until the upper control arms were basically level/parallel to the ground and a light tap with a rummer mallet and then pop'd right out. To replace, I aligned the knuckle and control arms as before and used a C clamp to pull them back into place. Very easy and ensured I didn't damage the boots on the control arm.
The tab was on the side facing the rear of the car, but I don't think it actually makes a difference. I just like to stay consistent.
Thank you so much,,, your vid made it so easy for me,, 😊👍
Awesome! Glad it helped you!
Welcome back
Feels good. Should have two more videos out soon 👍🏻
@@AudiC7Owners standing by
Copper antiseize in the knuckle causes galvanic corrosion. Copper should be limited to steel and things that get hot. Nickel/silver is safer. But great video.
Outstanding. Thx
Firstly, let me say that every one of your videos that I've watched/used for reference have been incredible and extremely helpful. Some of the best how-to videos on any subject that I've found. Thank you! Now for my situation: I have to replace the level sensor. Do you have any experience in programming the new sensor? I use OBDEleven but have not been able to find great info on that functionality of it. Thanks again for you content and I hope to hear a response to this question. Take care.
Hello. Thanks for the video! Do you have the reference of the pieces. Thanks!
Just did this job. Had I watched this video first I would have avoided at least 3 mistakes. He has it dialed.
Oh man. Hopefully I can save you a headachy on future jobs
So I’m doing the same job and am having a ton of trouble putting the ball joint on the front arm back in. Any tips?
hey look i have to have it raised on both sides like you? or can I have one and then the other? and do I have to change the parts like you or can I change the lower part and then the upper part right away?and wouldn't it be enough to measure how much it has from the fender when it's on a hever without a wheel?
AWESOME VIDEO AS ALWAYS! Do you happen to have the torque specs for the rear suspension components? And which bolts should be torqued preloaded?
Thanks man! I didn't replace any of the rear suspension components but I'll work on finding specs for you.
@@AudiC7Owners really appreciate it! Keep up the great work! Big fan here!
Welcome back! Any plans on showing service for the front, center, and rear diffs? Should be an easy job but might make for a good vid for the channel.
I should have done it when I did my zf fluid video. I will definitely record it when I do it though.
@@AudiC7Owners Yeah I am planning to do it all at the same time. Cool, thanks for the detailed vids. This one was super informative.
Thanks for the video. Trying to change my B9 A4 upper control arms. There no video I can find. The shock tower structure looks like yours here. So it looks like the bolts just go in to the body and there is no separate nut inside there.
It's likely very similar as most audi's are, but the torque specs and other things will vary im sure. Good luck
Great video thanks. I have an a7 that I have a problem with and not sure if it's a bush or the front discs. I replaced the discs "brembo drilled" but at say 80mph under light braking not heavy I get bad judder so not sure if the new discs are warped or if a bush is bad. And way to tell if the bushes have play as its hard to check with a bar. Thanks
If they are oem bushings you should be able to indirect for cracks in them
@@AudiC7Owners Think the lower rear ones on the front do have some cracking in them.
Nice video. I was thinking of doing this myself, but now I think I'll just take it into a local indy shop.
If you've got the tools and the time, it's not that bad
@@AudiC7Owners I may go for it after pricing the parts and needed tools. Not so bad. I'll get new struts and isolators while I'm at it. Probably get a friend to help for extra set of hands and moral support.
Definitely would be helpful
@@AudiC7Owners Received my control arm kit. Going to tackle it this weekend. Looking over the parts and pairing each control arm to make sure everything is there, I noticed that it seems the upper control arms are not uniform for each side of the car. Is that true?
Never mind, just figured it out. I had the smaller ones paired together, and needed one long and one short to be paired.
what exactly did you measure with the roulette and how high should it be?
Thanks man, very helpfull! I plan to instal my Coilover on my C7 this week... Are you recommend me to order new Torq to Yeld bolt if needed? I heard scary story of broken bolt after some guys reinstal the old bolt! So im hesitate a bit! Thanks man!
Thanks man! Any stretch bolt you remove should be replaced 👍🏻
@@AudiC7Owners yeah thats what i think too! Thanks again
Thanks for sharing with Audi A7 community. Where I can find the Repair Manual How to? with Torque Settings for Audi A7 (C7). Thanks, José
There are some places that sell a digital manual but I'm not sure where to buy it.
The torque settings are the same for the A7 as the A6 👍🏻
You think there's a chance you don't need to remove the strut tower completely if I was to just do the lower rearward control arms?
Nope. You don't have to do anything with the strut if you are only doing the lower arms
I'm having issues on passenger side got the control arm to sit in the knuckle but for some reason when I try putting the upper portion of the arm into the bracket to slide the bolt in place it seems the arm is short by 1/2" from mounting hole I tried jacking the atm in place and turning the wheel but I can't seem to get the arm to move further inside of the bracket to get the holes to align so I can put the bolt in... do you have any solutions? The driver side went in fairly easy.
The first thing I'd do is compare the one that won't go in to the one that did go in & make sure they are the same size. If they are you just have to play around with it. It can be tricky but you will figure it out eventually.
Thank you for the detailed video! The lower control arm on my 2012 A7 is starting to go so this is my next job. One possibly stupid question: Can you explain perhaps in a video how you place the jack stands for this car? I've never had an issue with it in the past but with this car the only "approved safe" location is the jackpad. Everywhere else is either plastic or a pinch weld which I think audi says not to use.
I use a jack pad to raise the car in the designated location, and put jack stands on the pinch weld. Some people don't do this, but I've had no issues. There are also pinch weld pads for jack stands that you can get
Was the last bolt on the control arm m12 or m14?
That is specific to your car as it is different amongst years. You need to verify with your Vin at the dealership
Fantastic video!! FWIW the tool linked is no longer available but there are alternatives that appear the same.
Thanks for the heads up! I will update the links this evening 👍🏻
@@AudiC7OwnersThe ball joint separator kit you linked in the description has a ball joint separator with the same size jaw opening (7/8) as the loaner tool I tried to use, which isn’t big enough to fit the lower rear ball joint. I tried hammering it in like you did in the video but it would just not go in, tore the ball joint boot and everything. Car’s sitting now until I can be confident enough to order the right one that’ll actually fit.
Order the schwaben tool to be certain
How long would you say it would take to replace just the front rearward control arm a side? I'm at 119k and my second failure of this bushing. Trying to find a polyurethane replacement for it at the moment.
Maybe an hour each side? Maybe 1.5 if you take your time?
Hello I have a genuine question. I need to replacement my lower control arms in the front of my Audi S7. Can I use aftermarket parts from like Advance Auto using their Make/Model/Year method. They claim they have parts that fit but I don't really know. Would greatly appreciate guidance on this being that I normally just normally have a shop retrieve the parts & do the service. Thank you in advance.
Their parts will fit, but they will likely fail very fast. I'd order my replacements from fcp euro at least, or get 034 upgraded arms.
When you changed the lowering springs were the original springs under a lot of tension and required a compression tool?
All springs require a compressor to remove them
Need Help im ordering the 034 lower and upper control arm kit and im stuck on which one i’d need
It shows to check my production date (07/13) my car is a 14 A6 but im not sure if im a M14 ball joint or M12 balljoint for the kit
The best way to know 100% is to email 034 your Vin number. Let them tell you which one to order without question. You can also verify with your audi dealership parts department
Hi, I'm planning on putting Eibachs springs and Bilstein shocks on a 2013 A6 C7. I just need to get the strut assembly out. Looks like by removing the lower control arm the strut assembly can come out?
I really doubt want to renove the upper control arm if I don't have too. Thanks for your time!
You don't have to remove the upper control arms.
I'll be releasing a diy on installing springs soon as well
@@AudiC7Owners wow! I'm installing them sometime this week. The shop wants close to $700 with alignment.
I want to do this to save $.. I'm just nervous about the upper LC's removal. Thanks if u do you're a life saver!!
I'll try to get the diy up asap, but my computer is being a finicky bitch right now. You don't have to remove the upper control arms at all.
700$ is expensive. You can save a lot of money doing it yourself if you can hold off and wait for the diy
@@AudiC7Owners thank you!! I'll wait for the DiY and removing just the LCA looks so much easier! I can save $600 doing this and pay $100 for alignment
Great video. What was the reason you replaced your control arms? Were they broken?
Thanks! My control arm bushings were completely worn out. This is a common issue with the C7/B8 platform along with engine mounts. If you are over 70k you should start inspecting them.
@@AudiC7Owners dumb question, but how would I know bushings were worn out?
You can inspect them for cracks and play by moving them.
When they get really bad you will start to hear clunking in the front suspension
Graet video.. now this videos works for a8 2011 both control arms (front lower and upper)? Thx for the video 👍
I'm unsure about the A8 fitment
@@AudiC7Owners thx for answer. And... i need special tool for my audi 2011? Cuz. I need to fix it
I am not familiar with the A8's so I can't really tell you. But most audi suspensions are very similar.
@@AudiC7Owners alright.. thx for you help 👍
Great video! Got quoted 2400 for only the lower controls arms and the entire kit is 800 so might as well change everything. About to order this kit from FCP euro for my 2014 Audi A6 2.0L:
MEY-1160500263HD.
Is this a good one? Also it comes with new sway bar end links, do I need to do anything special to replace them or just replace them before doing the final pre loading torque?
Also, the shop I took mine too talked about using a scan tool in the process to calibrate the level control system? Is this true? I’ve never heard of that or seen it on another video
If that is the meyle kit then it is basically an oem replacement kit.
You can change the sway bar endlinks out anytime while you are doing the job, just torque under load. No special tools required. You can watch our diy sway bar video to see how I replaced mine.
And you shouldn't need a computer for anything in regards to swapping control arms, but you will need an alignment afterwards.
@@AudiC7Owners Just tried this with the my C7 2.0t. Man it was a battle and I ran into some problems.
The top four control arms were a breeze….the lower four however were ridiculous. I could only get the lower forward control arm on the drivers side replaced. Had to leave the right forward lower and both rear lowers. I just couldn’t get to the bushing bolts on both of the rear lowers, I must not have the right tools. And for some reason the M12 bolt on the right forward lower control arm hits the tie rode. Tried everything short of taking the tie rod off the wheel side but I don’t think that would have helped. Must be something different from side to side because the driver side M12 bolt came out easy….idk. So I only got 5 out of 8 replaced. Gonna have to find a local shop to do the rest.
Any pointers on the right side M12 bolt or have you heard of this? Maybe something only the 2.0t faces?
I had to just push it out & push the tire rod boot above the bolt. It also helps to turn the wheel left/right to get more clearance.
Love the video! Do you know the procedure for preloading air suspension (C7.5 S6)?
It should be the same process, but let me look into it
@@AudiC7Owners don't think it is. I've replaced all front control arms using your video. When trying to preload the suspension, it raises the car off the lift and does not compress the suspension.
OK then yes there is something else going on. Let me look into it
I just checked a diy from an rs7 on Audizine & there is no mention of any special trick needed. I'm going to keep looking though.
www.audizine.com/forum/showthread.php/822489-DIY-RS7-Front-Control-Arms-(034-Density-Full-Kit-)-WARNING-A-Lot-of-Pictures!
@@dameonpryce9931 do you have your car in the setting for changing tires? It's an option in your mmi for air ride equipped vehicles.
Is alignment necessary after replacing control arms? I replaced all of them about 3 months ago, I didn’t do alignment and now the ball joint boots from the lower rearward arm ripped and leaking grease...I wonder if that is because low quality parts (delphi) or lack of alignment afterwards????
You absolutely need an alignment, but that is too correct things so your tires don't wear out.
If you are leaking grease already then that seems like a part failure
@AudiC7Owners ok 👍. Yeah I just replaced the ball joint boots, the bushing were perfect, and I will take her to do alignment this week.
Thanks
Hello! I have a 2016 A7 Prestige that is my daily driver but I would like to take her to the track some day as well. I was wondering if you have any suggestions on upgrading my suspension?
Definitely get a rear sway bar, upgraded upper & lower control arms, drivetrain & trans mount inserts, jxb performance driveshaft carrier, & some good coilovers.
@@AudiC7Owners Thank you so much! I will look into these upgrades. Do you have brand preference? I found an Audi suspension kit from Bilstein that Ive heard good things...
Eurocode & 034 motorsports are my favorites. For coilovers you can't go wrong with a good set of h&r or kw's
@@AudiC7Owners Thank you! I truly appreciate the feedback!
Will this ball joint removal tool set work on A8 D4?
I cannot confirm, but if it looks like my knuckle then maybe?
Cheers for the video man! If you wanted to replace just the lower rear arm would you need to remove other parts first ?
Nope. That arm can be done independently of all the rest
@@AudiC7Owners amazing cheers, had it noted the bushings were shot so hoping to sort this out 🙌🙌
I ordered the ball joints from FCP Euro while doing my control arms. Left side went on no problem but the right side the ball joint caved in when installing and can’t torqued down since it bottomed out on the threads and there is now a gap with the control arm. Has this ever happened to you?
No. I've never heard of that happening which arm?
@@AudiC7Owners lower front forward, I got sent a replacement after contacting FCP and the same thing happened again with the Meyle 8K0407689G ball joint.
That is bizarre
Hey dude, follow your channel, as I have a 2012 C7 A7, and like the content. Really helped in fixing my car. I have been told that the lower arms need changing, due to worn bushings. Car has covered 116,000 miles (UK) on original suspension I suspect, so well overdue a swap out, so i'm planning the full job like you, this summer.
2 Questions - When you put the pinch bolt back in, you put it back the wrong way, to how you removed it. Will this affect anything? and 2, could I use silicone grease to grease the bolt so it is easier to come out, if it needs to?
Also, what brand of kit did you use for the arms? Cheers.
You are the first person to notice that! So far I have had no issues so I don't think it's a big deal.
Do not use any grease. Dirt & debree can get trapped in it & act like cement in the long run. This is a thing that has plagued VAG cars for decades
I used 034 motorsports control arm kit 👍🏻
@@AudiC7Owners Thanks for the reply. I can't get 034 here in the UK. So think I'm going to mix and match between TRW, Delphi and Meyle. I won't add any grease to the pinch Bolt, which only cent out before Christmas for new dampers, so hopefully won't be a killer on the next removal. Great video though.
I'd try to stick to meyle for the entire kit if I were you.
If you really wanted 034 you could have someone stateside buy them & at them to ship the kit to you, but that would be pricey
@@AudiC7Owners I’m going for Lemforder instead. Heard the Meyle ones are very hard and stiff.
Hi. We need your help to understand what kind of fluid leaked out of the joint when we tried lifting the car by putting the jack under the control arm.. The moment we saw the fluid start to leak, we realized it definitely was wrong to do that and removed the jack quickly.. We were trying to change a flat tire but weren't sure where to put the jack so we started by putting it under the joint where the arm is bolted to the far inside. The car slipped and the jack got stuck under the car so we used another jack to lift the car but this time ended up putting it under the arm since that was the only area we could put the jack under. I would say some 10 -15 drops of fluid leaked. Should we be worried about refilling the fluid or checking if we damaged anything? Please guide.
The oem bushings are fluid filled (hydraulic fluid) for ride comfort. Sounds like you damaged a bushing. You will need to replace it.
@@AudiC7Owners Thank you for responding! Do you think a leakage from the bushing can cause the steering wheel to be stiffer or it may be just the wheel alignment? This is 2018 Audi A5 sportback and the steering wheel used to be very light and moved easily. Now it's stiff and requires stronger holding and effort to turn.
I wouldn't think so. But you should probably get everything inspected by a reputable shop
@@AudiC7Owners thanks a lot for your input
After a routine extended warranty service in Jan 2020, the Main Dealer said I needed to change the lower back curved control arms on the front, last ones you did in the video, quoting €1050, about $1250. That and another €2000 of upselling. I said thanks but no thanks. 20 months and 25k miles later car drives fine, but I've picked up a pair of Moog replacements for €66 each. Before I put these how would you check the old ones for wear, in case they're fine and I'm wasting my time. They're the originals from new, 2015, with 186,000 km, about 115k miles.
Based on the mileage above I'd replace them. Our control arms wear quickly. You can visually inspect them for fluid leaks & wear
I am working on this.
What brand ball joint did you use.
I got an loan tool but didn't find right, it is too narrow and it won't go around the ball joint .
The ball joint separator? Mine was from ewk tools.
@Audi C7 Owners yes. Ok cool I will check that out.
@@luiszubillaga1463Which ball joint separator didn’t work for you, and which one ended up working?
Amazon 32mm opening tool
About how long did both sides take to replace altogether?
If all goes according to plan it should be anywhere from 2.5-3.5 hours a side
Do you have any discount codes for eurocode?
At this time I do not, but they usually run decent sales around major holidays.
Don't you replace only bushings?
We replaced the arms with me bushings in them. It is easier and more cost effective.
Is that for the 2.0 tfsi l4 engine car as well
I'm not 100%, but I believe so
@@AudiC7Owners oh okay I gotchu would you be able to find out for me and make a DIY for that
Nope. I don't have a 4cyl C7. You should find out if the parts are the same. If so then you would install exactly like this video.
@@AudiC7Owners ok cool preciate it
Are you planning on tuning your a6?
It already is. Integrated engineering Stage 2 single pulley 👍🏻
@@AudiC7Owners that is reassuring because I am about to go for the stage one from IE.
What impact is that from DeWalt?
20v xr brushless 👍🏻
@@AudiC7Owners i was looking for the code, like dcf 894 maybe?
That is indeed what I have
Doo you absolutely need a strut spreader?
Yes. Get them cheap on Amazon
Would this give me a smoother and more comfortable ride without the feeling of banging the car every time I hit a bump
No. If you are looking for comfort then you shouldn't modify your suspension at all. Replace worn parts with oem replacement parts
@@AudiC7OwnersSo in other words, buy OEM for a daily driver and these Street Density ones from 034 Motorsports for a track driven car? 🧐
I'm running 034 on my daily & I'm happy
@@AudiC7Owners So the street density control arm kit you got from 034 came with the front lower control arm that uses the M14 bolt? Support with FCP, ECS, and the product listing for 034 all state that my production date 4/20/12 C7 A6 will have the “M14 ball joint” but none of the ball joints have a triple square on them and the only triple square I have is the same M12 on the front lower arm bushing like your’s. So I’m just confused on what to get, I verified that bolt you pointed out in the video is M12 on my car. I just want to get the right kit I need.
The only way to insure you choose the right kit is to contact your dealer with your Vin number & find out which lower control arms you need. M14 or M12.
Just been quoted for $5000 to replace these control arms, idk if it’s 4 or just 2 lol 🤦🏽