Disconnecting DRC?

[Zmey]

Hi, im looking to do upper control arms on both sides, and i did see DIY where the assembly stays in. I would prefer to take it out ( thats how i did it on b5 s4). My question is how do i go about disconnecting the shock from DRC, do i cap off the oil line? Or do i drain it? If i drain it how do i get it back in the sysytem? Never had a car with DRC suspension dont know much about it, any help would be greatly apreciated.

[Bigglezworth]

Hi, im looking to do upper control arms on both sides, and i did see DIY where the assembly stays in. I would prefer to take it out ( thats how i did it on b5 s4). My question is how do i go about disconnecting the shock from DRC, do i cap off the oil line? Or do i drain it? If i drain it how do i get it back in the sysytem? Never had a car with DRC suspension dont know much about it, any help would be greatly apreciated.
You do not need to decomission the DRC to do the control arms. You don't even need to decommission it to swap springs. As soon as you disconnect any of the fittings for the line(s), you will need to repressurize. Even if you have the most elaborate shop and set of tools, I can pretty much guarantee you don't have the one required to repressurize the lines to bleed out all the air. Disconnect the strut from the frame at the top and then swap the two arms out. Bolt back together while you have the suspension fully loaded and voila you're done.

[Zmey]

Got it, thank you. So then if you had to replace one of the shocks there is no way to do it yourself once you release the pressure only the dealer can pressurize it back?

[alrightroad]

Got it, thank you. So then if you had to replace one of the shocks there is no way to do it yourself once you release the pressure only the dealer can pressurize it back?

Correct. But, there are some UK guys who have successfully recharge their DRC. search 'DIY drc' and you should see it. There is one OEM audi fitting required to recharge (along with some DIY contraptions) and its a few hundred bucks so you are nearly halfway to the cost of what dealer would hit you with a recharge.

[Bigglezworth]

$200 to recharge just one bank at the Stealership.

[Zmey]

Haha yea im not looking to keep DRC. I just wanted to know what involved when DRC is disconnected. I just think its easier to replace control arms with the whole assembly out. But its a no go in this scenario.

[Aronis]

If you are removing the shocks and replacing then the worst case scenario would be a fine spray of clear thin oil. I found mine to be completely without any pressure when I disconnected the fittings. There is supposed to be a check valve there, so when you disconnect it does not leak. I could not see any mechanical check valve anywhere in the setup. I dissected it after removing the shocks. My car had gone through three replacements before the recall and failed after about 14,000 miles with the upgraded DRC. I was expecting a mess when i disconnected the first DRC line, so I wrapped it with towels, wore safety glasses, etc, and slowly disconnected the fitting. I found ZERO leakage of liquid. On the second side the friggen fitting snapped off the shock with the first little turn, no leakage on that side either. The rears were also dry. I left the two accumulators on the car, not worth the trouble to remove them.

The upper control arms are a bit of a pita to replace, if you disconnect all as you describe you'll need to do an alignment (no big deal). After I did my KWV3, I had my alignment checked and it was fine. The lower stance puts the camber out of the normal range but not by much. If you release the top mount from the fender well to get at the control arms you'll through the alignment off for sure.

Mike

[audiprotn]

You don't even need to decommission it to swap springs.
Could you please explain how to swap springs without disconnecting drc/shocks.
Thanks

[Aronis]

There is enough slack on the DRC tubing to remove the coilover struts and swap the springs

Mike

[Zmey]

Mike thanks for detailed info. I will most likely get alignment after, now im just thinking of doing everything at once coilovers, control arms, sways.