Upper control arm pinch bolts

[peter goble]

Can anyone advise me of the details for these bolts? I have measured the ones on my car and they are 110mm long. Anything else special about them.
Also can anyone advise the replacement part numbers for the bushes and ball joints so I can refurb the ones that come off.

[dan2485]

Buy a Lemforder bolt kit No. 39129 01 from ******* £20.03 a kit, the bolts and nuts are in the kit that you need.

Febi may do a kit also.

******* Deliveries take around a week to get completed.

As for the upper control arm its better just to replace the arms than re-bush them as the ball joints cannot be replaced.

If you have never had them off give the job to a garage as the pinch bolts will be a hellish job to remove without destroying the upper arms.

Once the job has been done, remove and renew the bolts and nuts every year during a service to prevent the pain off getting the bolts out (if you need change a damper at a later date).

Steel bolt in an alumiminum strut = galvanic corrosion

Coating the bolt in copper grease wil provide some sort of protection but the nut is a torque prevailing nut as such when undone it damages the threads ,so you should replace the fixings and not reuse them.

The struts cost £400 to replace new, then you need wheel bearings and hub bolts.

[dan2485]

The YouTube videos give an impression that all will be fine with a bit of effort, this is not the case if the bolts have been in place for some time.

If you have a press remove the entire strut and pack the pinch bolt gap in the strut and press the bolt out, still alot of work with no guarantee that the strut will not crack.

You need to have the wheel alighment checked after the job if the control arms are removed unless your certain that they are setup correctly as the camber setting will be out.

Another thing that is not mentioned is that the suspension top mounts bolts can damage the threads in the mount when removing them (ally and steel again) and then you cannot tighten them correctly, again new bolts as to reuse them can lead to a sheared bolt when tightening.

The ******* video on YouTube has the wrong torque settings check elsawin for the correct ones.

[peter goble]

Hi Dan, thanks for the very in depth reply, will now not waste time trying to refurb old units. Not done this before, and yes Youtube does make it look relatively easy (sure it is not as easy) my mate will help me and he is a mobile mechanic. Your reply obviously indicates a mechanical / engineering knowledge or a previous bad experience. Haha. The biggest problem is obviously the pinch bolt and the stupid push on spring clip. the ones on my car don't look in bad condition bearing in mind the environment they are in and are certainly not 13 years old indicating they have been changed before I owned the car.
First point does the kit you mentioned contain enough fixings for both sides or is it one kit per side?
Second point the bolts on my car are measuring 110mm to underside of head, I think the Lemforder are listed at 100mm???

Was looking at trying to get the machine shop where I work to "knock up" an extraction tool as per GEDORE one, but not the easiest thing to measure up for. maybe in the future?

Once again many thanks for your reply.

[dan2485]

The kit is for one side and it includes all the fixings that you need for removing the suspension strut as this has to come out to change the upper links.

I have had a bad experience with the pinch bolts and the suspension top strut mounts.

I had to drill out the bolts when they snapped in the arm, not easy to do and keep the drill bit straight. I replaced both struts, not a cheap option.

I am an Engineer, used to be an auto electrician and mechanic also.

The Pinch bolt is a M10 by 110mm long bolt with a 21mm threaded section. (part no. N10491802)

Repair Kit, wheel suspension LEMFÖRDER 39129 01 Front Axle, Upper, Left and right — Buy now! the cost has gone done to £18.1, also they charge £8 for delivery.

[peter goble]

Ordered 2 sets thanks Dan.

[peter goble]

Thanks all, managed to get the drivers side done but did damage the main leg not massively but enough to think about changing it can anyone advise the part number or what the part is actually called??

[peter goble]

AUDI A6 C6 FRONT SUSPENSION LEG HUB CHOCK ABSORBER RIGHT DRIVER SIDE 2.0 TDI | eBay
would this do even though my car is a 2.7 Quatro??

[dan2485]

I would say no as the caliper fixing holes would be wrong.

You need a 4F0 407 254 H this the right side wheel bearing housing (spindle) which a 92mm for engine codes BMK,BNG,BPP,BSG and ASB.

If your engine code is not on the list of codes then it will be the one in your link as this the 85mm version.

I might be wrong with the caliper mounts it could be reference to a bigger wheel bearing.