Suspension refresh D3 4.2 tdi
 

Hi all and happy new year.

My car is now approaching 100K so I am thinking about refreshing the suspension. Air suspension seems fine and holds height OK so its more the bushes etc that I was looking to renew.

The car is pulling to the left, initially a small amount but now noticeably worse in the last month. ARB links are new TRW (after Meyle disintegrated after 10K miles :mad:) my thoughts are the track control arms are the culprit.

As the car feels just a little baggy now I thought I my as well have tracking done on new arms rather than trying to rectify this on the factory fitted parts, but then wondered if I should bite the expensive bullet and do everything in one job.

Is there a definitive list of parts anywhere? From searching I found a few threads where only certain elements were done.
I noticed this kit but was assuming quality was probably a bit iffy?

Would a match of these elements in TRW parts be OEM quality or are some other bushes needed?

Thanks.

I ran a 2004 3.0TDI D3 past 200K when I sold it and the front lower arms were the only major suspension components I replaced over the years.
From memory, I got lucky on eBay on the first set of genuine arms. 2nd time, the the inner bushings were replaced on these lower front arms.
As you can expect with such miles, I went through multiple sets of drop links but even if buying genuine they are only a fraction of the cost of the other suspension components.
I also had to replace the ARB at around 150K miles as bushings weren’t available.
This made a noticeable difference in handling from memory.
I can’t help you with part numbers as I don’t have the old invoices with me at the moment. I can have a look for them next week if you wish.
You might be better to get the car on a lift and have a good poke around all the suspension components with a pry bar or similar and see what needs replacing and price up the parts before going any further.
Spurious suspension arms can be of dubious quality and your choice of parts might be influenced by how long you intend to keep the car.