Lower suspension arm, but which one?!?!?

[Samuraibunni]

Hey guys, moi once again!

As everyone has been really helpful thus far (Thanks by the way!:D) I thought I'd put this one out there.

My left hand side is making a terrible creak/grind type of sound which I can feel if I put my hand on the centre of the wheel and bounce the wing (It's not a CV). I thought it was the drop links, so I changed those (lining up that bolt through the strut is a BITCH!!!!) anyways, the noise is still there. I reckon it's either the front or back control arm, but I'm having real trouble pinpointing where the sound is coming from. I've had a look and they both seem fairly straightforward to change, so before I go buying parts I don;t need, is there any way I can tell which one it is?

Tips/tricks all appreciated! I can't feel play in either of them, by the way, but when the noise happens and I place my hand on each one, I can feel the vibrations.

Cheers again!

[Withnail]

Assuming you are right and the noise is coming from one of the joints on one or other of the control arms - and that the noise is from a joint starting to sieze up (since you can't detect any play) - given that you can't try putting any lube on the joint (because it would involve damaging the rubber boot in order to get it in there) you could take the opposite tack and try a good blast of freezer spray on the end of each arm in turn in the hope that it would tend to contract the outer part of the joint onto the ball and make the noise temporarily louder when the suspension is bounced. I should say that I have NOT tried this out myself as I've only had one arm wear out in 160k and the "knock" was not difficult to see! Quality arms ie Lemforder, are worth the money and I'd certainly avoid blitzing the lot with one of the cheap kits after what I've read about their durability on this and other forums...

[adamss24]

It's usually the front lower control arm but as it's constantly under load from the spring and shock assembly then it doesn't show much play unless about to fall off ! I use a pry bar and a block of wood with the wheel in the air and lift on the wheel in a up-down motion. If the balljoint is fec*ed then you will see it moving...

[Samuraibunni]

Thanks for the help again guys. I actually took it to the local Audi dealer in the end...as one of the reps was having a listen, a tech guy walked past and said "That's yer rear arm mate"!!! He had a look and confirmed!

They want £166 for part and £207 for labour!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I decided to tackle it myself and have gotten ALMOST done...(see my other thread erk)

[spartacus 68]

The front lower arm is straight forward. Wire brush the thread on the bolt end and grease it before removing the nut... saves a lot of swearing and skinning your knuckles - trust me!

The rear lower arm can be a bit trickier, as the bolt is longer and it can hit against the underbody when trying to remove. I had to undo the bolts slightly on the subframe to allow a little more clearance. If you're going to the bother of replacing one of the lower arms, then I'd be inclined to do the other one at the same time. As suggested Lemforder is a quality part, but if money is tight then a budget counterpart will do the trick, but you might be doing the job again in a couple of years as a result.

[Samuraibunni]

Cheers Spartacus. Money is tight, I managed to get one from GMF for £40. I don't mind if I have to do it again in a couple of years - a lot can happen then and I'm aiming for a newer A6 before then!

I managed to get the rear off and put the new one in, but I can't seem to locate the ball joint into the knuckle as it's at an angle. Would I need to loosen the other arm before attempting this?