OK so, i posted couple days ago about my car having this weird noise increasing in speed and it sounded like it came from the axle. I own a 1998.5 Audi A4 Quattro 1.8T Tip. Well, now my car wont operate normally. It does run, and it does go, but around corners it starts to shake, really bad. It seems to effect the right more than the left. My alignment is incredily off to the right. The wheels seems to slope in if they are in the left or right position. (Can't be 100% about that, this happened at night). It shakes as I brake as well. I have NO idea what is wrong. If you guys could help me out and kinda of give me an estimation of what you think is wrong that would be great.

 

Get under there and check the suspension parts. Raise the vehicle and check if there is any play in the wheel. Possibly a tie rod or wheel bearing.

 

Broken axle, your car wouldn't move.

The problem you are having seems serious enough that it should be fairly obvious once you take a look. You are going to have a bad tie rod end or control arm or something in that wheel well.

Do some poking around in there. If you still don't see it, pop the wheel off, take a picture, and post it on here. We might be able to tell just from a few pictures.

 

ok so we had the car towed to a mechanic (not a stealership). The driver side wheel has waaay too much play. I mean when the car is in motion it seems to slope in as you turn the car to the right and slope out when you turn left. This is the cause of all the shaking when I take a left or right. And I mean slope, it is so noticeable it makes noise and the tire appears as it will roll over itself. All other wheels seem to be in good shape however. I couldn't do any poking around really. The car was about 15 miles from my house (the mall). No way I could drive it in that condition over I-5 to get home with it, lol. Me and my dad tried to look around but it was dark and rainy. What would cause the wheel to slope in and out like that? What is a good estimate for these types of job so I don't get ripped off at the mechanic.

 

bump

 

Most liekly a bad inner or outer tie rod. Also upper links. It could even be all of the above.

 

WELL,

the mechanic called me today. Horrible news. He told me that the driver side control arms are completely shot (he actually didnt mention if it was lower or upper so I am assuming that is is both.) and that the passenger side control arms dont has much life left to them. He quoted me around 900 dollars. 500 for parts 300 for labor. Anyone know where I can get quality, but cheap control arms because I think hes trying to rip me off in parts. I was also wondering if I should go ahead and buy new tie rod ends, since they will be doing my suspension anyways? Are there any other parts that may go out soon that I should replace?

Thanks in advance!

 

You need to find out exactly what he is doing. A complete control arm kit (that is 8 control arms total, 4 for each front wheel) and TREs is about $550 for good heavy duty ones from Meyle. So if he is replacing all of your control arms, $300 would be a fantastic price because it can be a lot of work. If he is charging you one a few control arms, then his parts price is high, but labor is still reasonable. The dealership will charge you $300 to do one control arm.

Yes, I would say if you are getting a bunch of control arms done, def do the TREs as well. Get all of it replaced at the same time because they all roughly last about the same amount of time. Also, you need an alignment anytime you replace a TRE or control arm. Get it all done at once and you won't have to pay for another alignment when the TREs go.

Hey, I have TREs for sale if interested.

 

Ok, another quick question...is there any difference between the stock suspension and the sport when it comes to control arms and tie rod ends? How much for the TREs? And i still kinda of don't get the whole control arm thing....is there 4 for each wheel and what are tie rods and control arms? the backwheels also have control arms as well? Which ones are usually the ones to go first (upper or lower)? And what is the "updated" control arm? Should i get those instead of the OEMs?

Thanks

 

Sport suspension is lower and tighter, but I think its all in the struts etc, not in the control arms.

My TRE price is in the sig. That is for inner and outer and boot kits though. People usually replace only outers. If the steering is still loose, then they replace inners. Outers go first, but if not fixed, they can put extra stress on the inners and ruin them as well. You can PM me about the TREs if you want them. Not sure if you need both inner and outers without checking out your car.

TREs attach to the steering rack. When you turn the wheel, it moves the rack which translates the motion out to the wheels. The TRE (inner and outer) is two ball joints which push the wheel to steer but are able to move up and down etc along with the suspension.

Control arms basically hold onto the wheel. On the A4, there are four separate control arms per wheel. Two upper and two lower. A lot of people think of control arms as like one piece A arms (which would just have one upper and one lower). Anyway, this holds the wheel steady and only allows the wheel to move up and down. Wish I had a pic for ya.

Not sure exactly what the A4 rear is, but it is probably a different suspension set up from the front. Rear suspensions are usually cheaper and less complex. It will have some sort of control arms though.

I think front uppers tend to go first in general. These are the ones that are harder to change of course. It requires dropping out the entire front strut to unbolt the CA. They also are held in with a pinch bolt which is notoriously stubborn.

Updated control arms are the heavy duty ones that are better than the OEM ones. You should def get the upgraded ones. They will last a lot longer than OEM ones.