Has anyone replaced just the bushings?

[4everRS]

I think my rear bushings may be going soon, and am wondering if there is anyone who has had just the bushing replaced in their RS6. I have been told that (depending on shop rates) it can be just as cost effective to simply replace the whole control arm assembly.

If anyone has expierenced this please post your expirence, and also, where is the best source for rear suspension parts?

[DHall1]

Rear control arm bushings?

If so, top or bottom?

Not a common repair from memory.




I think my rear bushings may be going soon, and am wondering if there is anyone who has had just the bushing replaced in their RS6. I have been told that (depending on shop rates) it can be just as cost effective to simply replace the whole control arm assembly.

If anyone has expierenced this please post your expirence, and also, where is the best source for rear suspension parts?

[4everRS]

Dave, don't know yet if it is top or bottom. I am getting a sqeaking noise when the drivers side rear is compressed. Usually happens when accelerating, and especially if accelerating and turning right, as there is more load on that corner. I parked diagonally on an incline and bounced the car to realize is was the suspension. It is very loud in the vehicle, and it puzzled me for quite a while because of it. I thought it was coming from inside the car. After bouncing it as stated above, it it definitly coming from the suspension. I am ASS-U-MING it is a bushing issue. I could be wrong(wouldn't be the first time -like saying the 95k service is $400 in parts).

[Bigglezworth]

I have researched this of late with a desire to put in a stiffer urethane bushings - to no avail. Kits for the Audi aren't available that I can locate after checking the usual sites - i.e. Energy Suspension, etc.

There are a crap load of resellers that sell the VW/Audi suspension components which are surprising super affordable.

Tmi

[V8weight]

There are no polyurethane bushings available because the four link front suspension needs fore and aft movement as well as up and down in order for the spindle to allow steering. The rears? I don't know why there isn't an aftermarket solution. The rear as well as the front bushings are definitely serviceable by themselves.
rear upper control arm bushings (2 per side): 4b0 505 185 $17.46 ea.
rear lower control arm bushings (2 per side): 4b0 511 523 $64.80 ea.
rear outer spindle bushings (4 per side): 8e0 505 172a $14.58 ea. Per www.genuinevwaudiparts.com

[4everRS]

Nice. getting the part #'s from ETKA or is there a way to search on genuinevwparts I don't know about?

There are no polyurethane bushings available because the four link front suspension needs fore and aft movement as well as up and down in order for the spindle to allow steering. The rears? I don't know why there isn't an aftermarket solution. The rear as well as the front bushings are definitely serviceable by themselves.
rear upper control arm bushings (2 per side): 4b0 505 185 $17.46 ea.
rear lower control arm bushings (2 per side): 4b0 511 523 $64.80 ea.
rear outer spindle bushings (4 per side): 8e0 505 172a $14.58 ea. Per www.genuinevwaudiparts.com

[V8weight]

I looked them up on ETKA. Genuine VW is still anti RS6.

[DHall1]

We should have sent the discs alittle more north before down to texas and now CA. Send me your contact info and we shall get you on the list.


I looked them up on ETKA. Genuine VW is still anti RS6.

[hahnmgh63]

Try www.vagcat.com (http://www.vagcat.com) you will just need to register and you can search it almost as well as the ETKA. I have ETKA but I usually end up using Vagcat. V8 is correct about the front bushings and that is why I went to the 034 motorsports Spherical bushings which rotate with all the right moves :) For the rear, maybe someone just needs to bite the bullet and by one of each bushing and measure them carefully then search Energy suspension to see if they can find the right size.

[4everRS]

Had a little time to kill today and unbolted the rear sway bar U clamp on the drivers side. After cleaning it up, it looked great. Slathered some grease on it and put it back in. Still didn't fix the squeak.

I'll leteveryone know how things turn out.

[hahnmgh63]

Oh No you jinxed me now. With some friends from out of town riding with me to dinner I noticed a annoying squeak coming from the left rear. I put the car on the lift and pried against the bottom of the tire to get some suspension movement and I can get a slight squeak out of it. Just prying with a 2x4 works but I will have to get someone to come over and pry on it while I'm laying under there listening to pinpoint it for sure. Well, the front suspension is completely done with new arms, monoball bushings, and a fresh alignment. Handling has been fantastic, Oh well.

[4everRS]

Oops. Sorry. Mine is still sqeaking like a motel matress. I plan on getting a closer look at it in a couple weeks.


Oh No you jinxed me now. With some friends from out of town riding with me to dinner I noticed a annoying squeak coming from the left rear. I put the car on the lift and pried against the bottom of the tire to get some suspension movement and I can get a slight squeak out of it. Just prying with a 2x4 works but I will have to get someone to come over and pry on it while I'm laying under there listening to pinpoint it for sure. Well, the front suspension is completely done with new arms, monoball bushings, and a fresh alignment. Handling has been fantastic, Oh well.

[V8weight]

Oh No you jinxed me now. With some friends from out of town riding with me to dinner I noticed a annoying squeak coming from the left rear. I put the car on the lift and pried against the bottom of the tire to get some suspension movement and I can get a slight squeak out of it. Just prying with a 2x4 works but I will have to get someone to come over and pry on it while I'm laying under there listening to pinpoint it for sure. Well, the front suspension is completely done with new arms, monoball bushings, and a fresh alignment. Handling has been fantastic, Oh well.
When was the last time you greased your Hotchkis bars? I know mine are extremely temperamental, if I don't grease the swaybar mount bushings at least once a month, they start squeaking as I go over road imperfections.

[hahnmgh63]

Probably was the Hotchkis but I went the long route. I pulled the whole rear suspension apart (except the lower control are since it has the camber & toe adjustment) and the shock and took it all apart and lubed everything with Dow Corning silicone grease, including the upper shock mount. I also greased the Hotchkis and put it all back together and all is quiet.
When I had it all apart I notice that the upper control arm inner bushings showed some definite wear in the rubber. I think within the year I'll replace all of the rear bushings, at least in the control arms and the rear separate trailing arm.

[4everRS]

Last night a mechanic friend of mine and myself put the car on his lift and were trying to solve this problem. We loosened all control arm bolts, lower shock bolt, and sway bar bolts, and sprayed them down with lubricant. We let it soak in for a while and re-torqued the bolts after loading the suspension.

Squeak is still there! This has convinced me that this may not be a control arm bushing issue. The bushings accually look pretty good. Off the lift, I got the car to squeak by having the trunk open and standing on the drivers side trunk opening and bouncing the suspension. The mechanic was feeling different parts and said that he could really feel it in the spring, as the squeak occured. I felt it and the vibration of the sqeak is definitley felt throught the spring.

The only suspension parts we didn't lubricate were the top shock mounting area as it is pretty well covered up. It is hard for me to imagine that it woudn't be somewhere in the top shock/spring mount area after all we did to every thing else.

Any ideas on what other things to look for will be very appreciated. Also, those of you who have removed the rear top shock/spring assembly let me know what is all involved? Can it be done without messing with the DRC?

PS When rainy/wet outside, the squeak is diminished. It is loud inside the cabin as well as outside. Sqeak is louder/more frequent when the rear drivers side is compressed.

Sorry for the long post.

[Drugcasanova]

I too have the squeek problem on the driver side rear shock. The mechanic told me that I would I have to get the shocks replaced.... Hence my post. The squeeek as you say in when the car is bouncing. If you park the car up for 30-40 mins and start to drive the sqeek is gone. Then it reappears after a while. It is honestly doing my head in....

[ben916]

since you went thru EVERYTHING else, my bet in on the shock tower, the very top, where the spring cup meet the tower - my guess is that it as worn thru = metal to metal contact...
Stethescope?

[hahnmgh63]

I replaced my upper shock & strut mounts when I did my KW's since Audi didn't bother to do them when they did the DRC recall. They looked pretty good but I knew that the rubber would have had at least 6 years of age on it when the recall was done so I replaced them. The rear shocks are easy to remove so you should be able to lower them enough without disconnecting the DRC lines. In order to replace the mounts the DRC line would probably have to be removed in order to remove the upper shock mount.

[4everRS]

Thanks guys. I really want to get this taken care of.

Ben - Are you thinking a stethoscope would be able to pinpoint the location of the squeak better? I don't know what else it could be than the top of the assembly. We really did loosen ALL control arm bushings, lower shock mount, and sway bar links, ..... lubed them up and retorqued. The noise is very noticable inside the car, and that is why the only thing I can think of is the upper assembly.

Hahns - I don't think I NEED to replace the mounts (although it wouldn't hurt if I did) but to lube them up well. There are 2 visible bolts attaching the spring cup. Do I remove those to gain access to the shock mount? If not, what is the procedure for getting access to this area?

[ben916]

Thanks guys. I really want to get this taken care of.

Ben - Are you thinking a stethoscope would be able to pinpoint the location of the squeak better? I don't know what else it could be than the top of the assembly. We really did loosen ALL control arm bushings, lower shock mount, and sway bar links, ..... lubed them up and retorqued. The noise is very noticable inside the car, and that is why the only thing I can think of is the upper assembly.


Yeah, use that in the rear of the car on the shock towers, couldn't hurt to try it...
Has yours been refit with the second round of the DRC recall?

Aside from ripping apart your entire Left Rear suspension...

[4everRS]

Yeah, use that in the rear of the car on the shock towers, couldn't hurt to try it...
Has yours been refit with the second round of the DRC recall?

Aside from ripping apart your entire Left Rear suspension...

DRC has been done. I'm afraid I will have to do some suspension removal. I just don't want to have to mess with DRC if I can help it.

[hahnmgh63]

Yes, you just remove the two bolts and that releases the upper shock mount. The lower shock bolt will have to be removed and the shock tilted in order to drop the mount low enough to remove it from the recessed cavity the mount goes in. There is about 3~4" worth of the mount in the recess and above where the two bolts are so the shock will have to be lowered considerably to clear the body. Since the DRC recall was done I would be tempted to take it to the dealer and have them have at it as I would think you could logically it would be part of the recall warranty on the new parts & labor? How soon after the recall did it start to squeak?

[4everRS]

Huh. I sort of feel dumb not thinking about this first. The DRC update that is and that there is likely a 12 month warranty. I was not the owner when the procedure was done but that shouldn't matter. I think I will be calling the dealership today. Too bad they are 100 miles away.

Yes, you just remove the two bolts and that releases the upper shock mount. The lower shock bolt will have to be removed and the shock tilted in order to drop the mount low enough to remove it from the recessed cavity the mount goes in. There is about 3~4" worth of the mount in the recess and above where the two bolts are so the shock will have to be lowered considerably to clear the body. Since the DRC recall was done I would be tempted to take it to the dealer and have them have at it as I would think you could logically it would be part of the recall warranty on the new parts & labor? How soon after the recall did it start to squeak?

[MaxRS6]

Squeaks and clunks can be quite annoying and I feel your pain. It is like water drip torture until a resolution is found.

One time I had a pesky squeak/clunk. The tech brought over a receiver with 5 small wireless remote microphones. The remote microphones were placed in strategic places under the car. The receiver had a switch that could select the individual microphones (numbered 1 - 5). By switching between the microphone selection on the receiver, we were able to pinpoint the area of concern (turned out to be a sub frame bolt).

I wish you luck on a speedy resolution.

[4everRS]

Just got off the phone with AoA. Called dealers first though. Local dealer said that as they didn't do the work, they don't like to have to 'fix' another dealers mistakes. Called the dealer who did the DRC (ohio) and they told me to call AoA.

Talked to Mike at AoA and he said he will call the local dealer and talk with the service manager to see what they can do. He said that if they believe it to be related to the DRC recall, they will honor the 12 month/12k mile warranty.

I am thinking they will find a way to say it was unrelated to the DRC campain. Mike at AoA said he'll call me tomorrow.

[ben916]

Just got off the phone with AoA. Called dealers first though. Local dealer said that as they didn't do the work, they don't like to have to 'fix' another dealers mistakes. Called the dealer who did the DRC (ohio) and they told me to call AoA.

Talked to Mike at AoA and he said he will call the local dealer and talk with the service manager to see what they can do. He said that if they believe it to be related to the DRC recall, they will honor the 12 month/12k mile warranty.

I am thinking they will find a way to say it was unrelated to the DRC campain. Mike at AoA said he'll call me tomorrow.

can you PM me the phone number to AoA please

[4everRS]

I had a tire issue a few weeks ago and had to use the spare on the corner that made noise. I rode on the spare for longer than I would have liked to. (btw, I think the jack works ok.) Anyway, the new tires finally came and I am on them now. The squeak/creak was reduced but not eliminated while the spare was on, and since the new tires are on, it is gone. I am not sure what to make of it. :vhmmm: Any thoughts?

Another reason I wanted to post on this again, was so the noise would return so I can get it fixed. I know now that I write this, my car will spite me and the squeak will return.

[MaxRS6]

Glad to hear it is gone and wish you luck that it stays away. I wouldn't trust any of my body parts to that jack. I had used it a couple of times without incident. However; it did totally collapse(actually broke) once while the car was jacked up on it. Fortunately, the tire had not yet been pulled (and no body parts in the squish zones) so no damage was done. However; if the tire had already been pulled, it would have been flat on the rotor. Just a cautionary tale about a bad experience I had and why I consider the jack a POS.

[4everRS]

Alright everyone, I finally got this fixed. As you can see from the previous posts in this thread, I did not go the route of the 1 year warranty from the DRC repair, as what I heard when talking to Audi made me believe they wouldn't cover it. Also, it was NOT a bushing issue, contrary to the title of thread.

So here are some photos of the fix. And yes, I realize my suspension is dirty. :nono:

The problem area turned out to be where the spring perch meets the rubber spring cushion. The brake caliper and disc were removed for easier access. We marked the alignment bolts and removed the outer lower bolt to drop the lower control arm. The lower shock bolt was also removed and the hold downs for the wheel speed sensor were removed to gain more freedom in movement. Also the DRC line was loosened from the sway bar mount.

http://i864.photobucket.com/albums/ab210/crocodile64/RearSuspensionAarm.jpg

http://i864.photobucket.com/albums/ab210/crocodile64/RearSuspensioncoilover.jpg

http://i864.photobucket.com/albums/ab210/crocodile64/RearSuspensionDRC.jpg

Then the 2 bolt holding the spring perch were removed and the coilover assembly was lowered and we were able to gain access to the top locknut. This is all with the DRC system intact.

http://i864.photobucket.com/albums/ab210/crocodile64/RearSuspensionspringperchtop.jpg

Here is the issue. The rubber spring cushion was seized in the spring perch. We had to pry it out carefully with a flat screwdriver. There was a bunch of hardened grime on the inside edge of the perch.

http://i864.photobucket.com/albums/ab210/crocodile64/RearSuspensionspringperch.jpg

This is after we cleaned in up obviously. The grime was so hardened in there, it would not wipe or scrape out. We had to use a sanding disc and flap wheel to remove the crude. Then greased the inside of the perch where it meets the rubber.

Put it all back together and it has been silent.

[snoopra]

Good to here you got it fixed. Did you install new rubber inserts?

[SteveKen]

This seems to be a common cause to noise and clunking.

There is no real freedom of the coil spring to rotate slightly. Theoretically, I guess the effectiveness of the spring is lessened, but they only twist a bit.

I think that BMW along with some other aftermarket companies use a bearing assembly at the top of their struts and it alleviates this.

[ben916]

:)

So how long was the repair?
What was the sound like and was it consistent or random?

[4everRS]

snoopra- nope didn't have to replace the rubber. It was fine after a good cleaning in the parts washer.

Steve - after we cleaned and greased the inside of the perch, it a able to move free-er. Still there is something left to be gained in this design.

Ben- it took about 2 hours. However, we didn't really know what we were getting into. It would go far faster if I had to do it again. The sound was sort of random. If it was very wet out, it would go away for a couple days. If the car was on lift, it would be gone for a breif while. Maybe a day or so. If people rode in the back, it was rediculously annoying, and embarrasing.

[MaxRS6]

Congrats and thanks for the info

[hahnmgh63]

I thought the rubber was vulcanized to the aluminum upper strut mount and not intended to move (though it should)? It's been a while since I replaced mine when I did the KW's but I thought it was a one piece rubber/aluminum mount.

[4everRS]

They were definitely not vulcanized to the mount. I guess it could have been glued in? The crude that we ground out was not evenly in there though. Now, the very upper part of the perch has a rubber bushing up in it that seems to be vulcanized to the aluminum. There is also a yellow cushion that fits neatly up inside the perch.
I thought the rubber was vulcanized to the aluminum upper strut mount and not intended to move (though it should)? It's been a while since I replaced mine when I did the KW's but I thought it was a one piece rubber/aluminum mount.