Allroad airbags finally given up.

[mike ryan]

I have a 2004 allroad and the front airbags have now stated to get to the point where they wont stay up overnight. It is also dropping whilst i am driving along so have decided to get some new ones from the bay. Question is there a few on there for around the £150 mark which seem to be identical to the original type fitted. I am guessing theey are chinese due to the seller being from Hong Kong. There are some arnnot ones for around £170 each which i have already fitted a pair to my mates one last weekend. Which are better and why? What is the difference with the Arnott ones if any?

Thanks Mike

[bagpipingandy]

i have seen the rubber part only also sold in china and you can replace it only, a bit crazy but possible, maybe someone is crimping it on to OEM struts and selling, I think personally would stick to Arnott although they have had quality issues recently going to the plastic body but their warranty covers any issues, or even better if you can afford it go for Oem at Audi dealer

regards

Andy

[mike ryan]

i have seen the rubber part only also sold in china and you can replace it only, a bit crazy but possible, maybe someone is crimping it on to OEM struts and selling, I think personally would stick to Arnott although they have had quality issues recently going to the plastic body but their warranty covers any issues, or even better if you can afford it go for Oem at Audi dealer

regards

Andy

just confirmed what I thought. I would not want to buy just a rubber and install it as you need some specialist crimping machine to get that sealed. There are some gen1 arnott on the bay for 170 quid so will probably go for them. Do you know the difference between gen1 and gen2? All I can see is that they are progressive on the gen2

[bagpipingandy]

Gen 2's have a metal cylinder wrapped around the rubber to support the rubber airbag, this potentially will to 2 things, stiffen the airbag's performace and also partly protect it, they will potentially perform different to the gen 1 so i would suggest if going to gen 2 at least do them in pairs or ideally all 4, easiest option is gen 1 as it is the same/similar to audi original when it comes to performance so you could change only the 1 required if required.

regards

Andy

[kid-jensen]

According to the American Forums, who seem to buy a lot of Arnott stuff, Gen 2's are harder riding than Gen 1's which are about the same as OEM.

Just what the Allroad needs.....a harder ride!

The Americans seem keen on turning the Allroasd into a Low Rider, with almost no clearance between the tyres and wheel arches....each to his own, I guess.

Wouldn't want to try that on any of the roads near me.

[mike ryan]

To follow up on my airbag issues. I bought a kit from ebay initially to sort out the compressor. All kits are the same so i thought,well it would seem not.I bought the cheapest one and it failed to pump after about 30 seconds. Well after much distress i refited the original and things were ok again. I contacted bag piping andy and he was a wealth of knowledge despite me buying a competitors kit. There does seem to be some difference in the kits that we could tell and as a consequence i would say that andys kit worked first time and the other did not so cheapest is not always best. And it is worth the extra money for the advice he can offer.

Any way had to fit 2 new airbags but i did find that the old ones were leaking from the joint at the top where the airbag bolts to the top mount. i just used soapy water in a spray bottle and it was easy to see. This combined with a leaking joint was enough to let it down every morning. It is worth looking for leaks before replacing the airbags as you might get a few more miles out of the old ones. I found cleaning the joints up on the top mount and a small amount of sealant cured the leak.

i ended up fitting a set of new arnott gen 1's from of ebay for £170 each. Delivered quickly and fitted straight on without any issues. Whilst under there found a whole host of other things to do so one thing leads to another.

Once again many thanks to Andy for all the advice.

[bagpipingandy]

thanks Mike, no worries,

any improvement with the compressor performance?

regards

Andy

[paulcd]

i have seen the rubber part only also sold in china and you can replace it only, a bit crazy but possible, maybe someone is crimping it on to OEM struts and selling, I think personally would stick to Arnott although they have had quality issues recently going to the plastic body but their warranty covers any issues, or even better if you can afford it go for Oem at Audi dealer

regards

Andy

So you don't rate the Chinese ones then? These ones are made in China - Audi A6 Allroad Quattro Wagon 4B C5 Allroad Quattro 2000 2006 Air Spring | eBay ). I don’t expect the replacements to last another 12 years like the originals but I still want them to be good quality. The supplier says “We are selling more than 1000 a month and none of them are having problems.” Thx

[bagpipingandy]

So you don't rate the Chinese ones then? These ones are made in China - Audi A6 Allroad Quattro Wagon 4B C5 Allroad Quattro 2000 2006 Air Spring | eBay ). I don’t expect the replacements to last another 12 years like the originals but I still want them to be good quality. The supplier says “We are selling more than 1000 a month and none of them are having problems.” Thx

I was mocking the "rubber only" solution where you buy the rubber sleeve only and try to crimp it into the original strut!!, that would be not so easy , funny enough i have just purchased a chinese unit with the plan to test it eventually unless someone wants to test it for me, get in touch if you wish to try it, made from ally, its looks good but ive not tested for fitment or durability/leaks yet, arnott themselves have had quality issue lately with airbags not lasting long hence i was looking at alternatives with an idea to possibly distrobute them from the UK,

regards

Andy

[All-rod]

Audi A6 C5 4B allroad quattro genuine air suspension air spring front 4Z7616051D | eBay

Is this the same unit then?
Dirt cheap!