Rear Suspension parts

[tjg04]

Hi all,

Got a '97 A4 Avant with standard suspension. The rear shocks have gone, so I got round to changing them today.

First off, one of the bolts that mount the top of the shock to the wheel arch just kept spinning. The nut was behind the spring so I had no way of stopping it. (even removed the arch liner, to no avail). So I drilled it out, and got the shock assembly off no problem.

Second problem came when I tried to remove the nut from the threaded piston of the shock, it was on so tight I sheared off the square top of the piston which you're supposed lever against to get the nut off. :zx11:
So I drilled that out...

Third problem, the shocks I took off, clearly aftermarket and before my time, have the lower spring seats welded onto the shock. ETKA tells me that these spring seats should be removable and my new shocks don't have any spring seats.

Haven't even tried to get the other shock off yet, its taken me all day to get this far.

My question is, I've looked up the parts I need on vagcat so I have the VAG part numbers, but where should I get these from. Will a dealership be able to get hold of these even with the age of my car? Or am I better off finding an a4 that's breaking and cannabalising the rear suspension? I need two lower spring seats, at least one upper mounting plate, two gaskets and the nuts and bolts.

Thanks,

[hibbsy21]

Where did you get the shocks from?

When i bought my rears from europarts, they were bilstien ones with all the spring seats and new bolts with them.

[tjg04]

I got mine from motor parts direct. They've been pretty good in the past. But the new shocks were just them in a box. Sounds like I need to take em back and go to ecp then. Did the ones from ecp include the upper mounts and gaskets too?

[tjg04]

Quick update: I took the shocks from MPD back and went to euro car parts today. Got some Sachs shocks from them that do indeed come with the lower spring seats, bottom cap and the locking nut that goes onto the threaded piston. Went to the Audi dealership in Pompey and they were able to order me the other bolts and gaskets that I needed. Turns out the shocks I took off didn't have the protective plastic bellows fitted above the bump stops either. Might explain why when i drilled the old shock before disposal, no oil or gas came out, only rusty water!