A6 Quattro Suspension

[gazza57]

Hello All,

I have a 2001 A6 2.7t Quattro, which is due for it's MOT in Feb, I have only acquired the vehicle last August and upon looking through the paperwork, I have discovered that the car has had the tracking checked and adjusted three times. Inspection of the spare tyre showed excessive wear I think on the outside.
I have replaced the spare and the tyres on the car now do not appear to be wearing unevenly.
I did notice that sometimes during braking I get a knock from the front, I know that the front suspension arms are a known weak spot and I suspect that if there's any slack in the ball joints thats where the knock may be coming from.
Can anybody enlighten me further?
regards
Gazza57:o

[giblets]

Hello All,

I have a 2001 A6 2.7t Quattro, which is due for it's MOT in Feb, I have only acquired the vehicle last August and upon looking through the paperwork, I have discovered that the car has had the tracking checked and adjusted three times. Inspection of the spare tyre showed excessive wear I think on the outside.
I have replaced the spare and the tyres on the car now do not appear to be wearing unevenly.
I did notice that sometimes during braking I get a knock from the front, I know that the front suspension arms are a known weak spot and I suspect that if there's any slack in the ball joints thats where the knock may be coming from.
Can anybody enlighten me further?
regards
Gazza57:o

Hi Gazza

I've got a 1999 2.7T. I'm a bit of a fussy bugger and I've spent around £2,000 on the car since I bought it in April of this year. One of the things I got done (apart from the timing belt, the clutch, the brakes etc) was knocking in the front.

You tracking receipts and worn tyre would suggest that the previous owner kept kerbing it. Either that, or the garage charged for it, but never did the job properly. The other alternative is that it is related to the knocking noise, in which case, get the wishbones checked.

When buying a secondhand car of this nature, you have to expect that people will have driven it harder than your average car, so things like ball joints etc. are bound to go. From my experience of having work done on such cars, it is just as likely to be the wishbones as the ball-joints. I had the lot done because there is nothing worse than not being able to trust a powerful car's running gear.

If I remember rightly, I got the timing belt, the brakes AND the front wishbones done for around £800.00 (sure as hell not from an Audi authorised dealer).

You may also want to get the engine mounts checked out.

Now that I've had the clutch done, the car runs like a dream. I love it.

One thing to watch out for is fading/failing dashboard LCD. It's a design failing with Audis, but don't expect to get it done cheaply!

For a mere £10,000 you can turn this car into a 500bhp monster!! You'll need an uprated clutch, new exhaust, diverters, stage 3 k04 turbo kit, chip mod/software, uprated brakes, better shocks/springs, filters and the best tyres you can afford.

When you consider that the car only cost me £3750, it's not a bad price to pay for a supercar!!

[gazza57]

Thanks for the info Giblets!

I have a Tiptronic Auto which is wonderful, up to now with none of the other faults you mentioned.
My 250bhp is enough the thought of 500bhp is frightening, not the speed you understand but the insurance premium!
All the best have a merry christmas
Gazza57

[giblets]

Thanks for the info Giblets!

I have a Tiptronic Auto which is wonderful, up to now with none of the other faults you mentioned.
My 250bhp is enough the thought of 500bhp is frightening, not the speed you understand but the insurance premium!
All the best have a merry christmas
Gazza57

Hello again Gazza

Mine is only doing 235bhp as standard, but a £500 ARP encrypted chip should give you around 310bhp.

I haven't dared check with my insurance company what it would cost me for the upgrades I want. Currently paying £400 for my standard model.

If I started with the chipping, I'd have to have a new exhaust too, and an uprated clutch. You could probably bang on another 300 to 400 per annum on the insurance for the chipping, but if you went for the stage 3 turbo, the clutch, the exhaust, the brakes etc., I reckon I'd be in to about £2,000 at leats for the insurance.