front shock replacement

[swalker]

I have my MOT on Thursday and I was planning on changing my shock for it as it is leaking.
However i dint have access to a garage so the job will be done in my driveway.
The audi workshop manual details nearly stripping the complete corner including that top pinch bolt.
Am I fighting a loosing battle or is there a quicker more simple way?

Thanks

[Crasher]

Thirteen year old Q5 front upper arm bolt… We did a 2019 A4 a few months ago and it only just came out.



When it inevitably won’t move, we cut the upper arms off and take the upright to an engineer who charges us £50 per bolt to drill them out. If you use heat, you still kill the upper arms and run a high risk of changing the state of the alloy which can crack as you tighten down the new nut and bolt.



Anyway, you don’t need to touch it, take out the upper link inner bolts and the lower fork bolt, then lift the strut out.

[swalker]

Thanks crasher I was hoping that would be the case.

[swalker]

well i got the strut out
But
wrong shock and the tip of the spring is broken so i get to do it all agian tomorrow...

[swalker]

and it continues - I was asured the shock was right as its an insert, I never opened the box as it was too small to have the spring carrier on.
got back opened the box and it was totaly the wrong shock.
Raced back to the motor factor - promosed one for 08:30 this morning - bearing in mind the car is now stripped, i have a full days work in my actual work and wont get at it until near 5, and my MOT is at 19:30 an hour away!!
guess what wrong shock again....
They have just delivered the correct shock with spring carrier attached, so no pressure come quitting time.

I am happier with the carrier attached (as long as it has a key for the bottom fork), as it all needs to line up from what i see, and that would be a job in its own..

[Crasher]

Insert, on a Q5? What a twonk!

[swalker]

I got sorted with 20 minutes to spare and it passed the MOT.
No key but i assembled on the car so everthing would line up.

Thanks for reading and the input crasher.

I think i change my motor factors again, it was a mission getting a wheel bearing off them as well.

[Crasher]

Parts suppliers are nearly as much of a PITA as customers, nearly but not quite…