Allroad - Changing Front Air Springs

[Mike Smith]

I have read somewhere that the Arnot bags carry a lifetime warranty?

[bagpipingandy]

I have read somewhere that the Arnot bags carry a lifetime warranty?

Yes they are sold with a lifetime warranty from Arnott.

[WesleyP]

Tried and failed...I managed to snap the head off the pinch bolt trying to undo it...it was solid. Garage did it for me, they had to use heat to get it out damaging the ends of the two arms that the pinch bolt locates in position. However the total bill for an Arnott air spring, and fitting, including two replacement arms, was about the same as one OEM air spring from Audi.

[Brian Johnson]

Hi, have changed my front air springs about two months ago. I opted for two Arnott springs for economy reasons. I read up all the advice I could find before starting. The dreaded pinch bolts looked likely to be a problem, so I spent a week beforehand spraying on WD40 every evening. No luck, the bolts were seized solid. Then I spotted a posting somewhere saying it was possible to do the job without having to undo the pinchbolts. They were right, so thank you whoever that was. It was a bit awkward, but not too difficult. After removing the lower shock absorber bolt you disengage the lower end of the shock absorber. You then remove the top three support bolts and lower the whole assembly and twist it outwards. It is then possible to get at the six hex bolts on top of the air spring. These had a 12 point hex bolt heads and I had problems trying to get them undone as I did not have the correct fitting. However, having looked on Google I found out that you can undo them using a normal allen key - end of problem. I can report that the Arnott springs have been performing well with no problems and to me they do not feel any different to the originals.
The pinch bolts had the last laugh though, because about a month after completeing the job I took my car for an MOT and whoops both upper ball joints were worn. So, the pinch bolts had to come off after all. There was no chance that I could have done the job without major traumas, so the car had to go into the garage. The pinch bolts sheared off at both ends and the whole assembly had to be taken off to go into the vice. One side responded to being heated, but the other side did not and the bolt had to be drilled out. Also, two new ball joints and suspension arms needed each side.
Anyway, I hope this information may be of help if you are about to start on this job.