I hate to put this out there, but I went to the dealer about 2 months ago and was informed that all control arms and tie rods were in need of repair. I'm a university student and simply won't have the money to repair the suspension for another 3-4 months, however, I absolutely must have a car to use because I have a very busy schedule and live/work 30 miles away from where I go to school- I drive the distance about 4 times weekly. As such, I've been driving on what feels like wheels dangling from the car by strings. My suspension is in terrible condition, but I cannot afford to not drive right now!

I know my control arms and tie rods (and ball joints) need repair desperately. They emit a creaking noise about 85% of the time when I'm driving, and are especially loud and even jerk the car when I turn. My question is: Is there any way to know/gauge when the parts will give or are about to absolutely go? Are there any tests or checks I can do?

I know that I should repair them now, or not drive....If either were an option, I'd do it.

 

do you have a jack and jack stands? you should really atleast replace the tie rod ends asap. if your control arms break, it wont be half as bad as if your tie rod ends break. you can seriously get killed. tie rod ends are cake. if you have access to basic tools, it'll take you and hour the 1st time around. i just finished replacing the rest of my control arms today. in total the job took me about 14 hours, but alot of parts were rusted in place and had to be heated/drilled/cut to be taken out. if your control arms are really THAT bad, you really cant wait 3-4 months. that would be ok if it just started, but id say a month before you start having serious problems. keep in mind thats just the control arms. the tie rod ends can go at any moment. so if you can, change your tie rod ends, get an alignment, and when you do your control arms and finsih them all, get another alignment. good luck.

 

^hcaudikeed, I'm jealous, still haven't had time to get at 'em......

wow someone who has it worse than I do.....
like hcaudikeed said Tie Rod Ends are a must if they are shot it can lead to wandering and extremely erratic steering, not a good combo. If you have all the proper tools for the job you should be able to take care of it yourself. Just get that alignment after you are done.

 

if you can scrape around $6-700, you can buy a much stronger aftermarket kit and the alignment... The work should take you nowhere near 14hrs... hcaudikeed must have ADD or somethin lol...

 

agree with the TREs, that jerking motion when you're turning isn't good. Don't know what your schedule is, but if you have the time to replace your TREs, you might as well replace your control arms while you're at it. It's not that bad of a job and can easily be accomplished in a day with the help of a friend. I did mine and it took me 2 days as i had never done them before - after the first side, the other was a piece of cake.

 

Just a piece of advise, the quote the dealership is giving you... is about 80% labor. http://www.ecstuning.com/stage/edpd/...ubcategory=OEM is a link to what should be everything you need. And look at that... 550 bucks shipped! Of course I'm just guesstimating the shipping cost, but it shouldnt be too expensive. AND, if you don't have the tools, go to an Advanced Auto or Autozone and rent the tools. They require money down, but you get it back when you return the tools. Dude, get that stuff fixed. We don't want to hear about some dude crashing his Audi and dying because his suspension failed and threw him into a barrier at 60 MPH. If you need help, ASK. There's soooooo many mechanics and people who know how/what to do. Please, be safe.

 

your other option is to drive the car, and have the possibility that some time in the very near future, the tie rod joint pops off and jacks your wheel all the way to one side or the other. if you are on the highway i dont need to tell you how dangerous that is. you could slam into the car right next to you before you have time to react. i wouldnt be driving in a car where that could happen.

 

Blauparts has the OCAP set in stock for a bit cheaper. Plus free shipping: http://www.blauparts.com/proddetail....1101%2D02%2D1A

You can go with the Meyle's here: http://www.blauparts.com/proddetail....A1101%2D01%2DA and they too offer free shipping, but if you toss in the $50 you would spend in shipping at ECS, it's practically a wash between Blauparts and ECS' pricing

The only difference between the two kits is that one is German-made (Meyle) vs. Italian (OCAP). Both are reputable companies.

 

I think ECS has free shipping on those parts. I thought I snagged that when I was scrolling through, but not sure. I'd double check on it. I've bought lots from ECS, they're a nice company. GL Man.

 

Thanks for the info guys...
I've been looking at the ECS kit for some time now, just won't have the money to dish out for it for a while. I guess I'll have to drastically reduce my schedule for the next few weeks and then after I should be good not to have to drive for about a month because I'll be off of school. I'll figure things out from there (financially...)
I'll look into doing at least the control arms and TREs myself, although it seems like it will be a really REALLY long and stressful job for me, cause I always struggle with rusted and corroded parts and bolts- I understand there will be some torching involved...

Initially I was thinking I'd be taking it to a shop to have the arms and TREs done as well as a set of coil overs, so I wanted to save on the labour and do it all at once; which meant waiting a little longer to finance things. At least if I do the DIY, I can get the safety issue out of the way earlier and deal with COs when there's more money.