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D2 - Axles, Brakes, Suspension and Steering Brakes, Springs, shocks, steering racks, steering columns, suspension arms, wheel hubs etc.

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  #11  
Old 18th December 2016, 11:00 AM
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>> Notorious - I've never seen any as bad as that one of yours.
>> It looks like it was torqued up with an impact wrench at some point in its life?

I was on genuine untouched suspension since new. Touched pinch bolts for the 1st time this year when I changed all arms. 1st owner lived in Scotland (this is where I bought the car in 2010), so salty roads for 8 years of 1st ownership. Pinch bolts were removed very carefully and corrosion was noticed where the upper tapers are. After 4000 miles after changing upper arms I noticed that the taper wobbles in the upright. Perhaps OEM specified torque was not enough to hold it properly in place due to corrosion. Tightening as much as possible didn't solve the problem since the hole was already worn too much with all the wobbling. Since there was no donor car in the whole world with cast iron uprights I made strategic decision to change everything to brand new (thanks God, all parts are still available!).
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  #12  
Old 18th December 2016, 11:20 AM
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£2,400

I'm definitely planning to keep the 8 for a number of years but I don't think I do enough miles annually to warrant replacing the entire setup if I'm able to salvage the current upright. The other side was welded after snapping off near the pinch bolt and has been fine after being torqued up correctly.

I will see what the prognosis from the garage is first and make a decision after that.

It's funny, this started off with me addressing the rear and it's possible that all of this was due to the front. I've asked that the rear gets a good going over as well whilst it's there. Are there any kits available like you can get for the fronts?
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  #13  
Old 18th December 2016, 11:22 AM
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My car is daily driver and it's a keeper
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  #14  
Old 18th December 2016, 11:33 AM
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Which maybe makes sense to replace them in the long run. Mine is also a daily but we only do about 5-6k per annum.

Hmm....decisions, decisions.

Thank you for the parts list - most helpful by the way
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  #15  
Old 18th December 2016, 11:44 AM
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http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/400943552308

Here is the steel upright for A8 FL that will accept your current 82mm wheel bearings. The other side you'll still need to buy brand new from TPS. This has different brakes attachment 1LT & 1LX.

BUT the beauty is that it will accept excellent D3 drakes. If you can source, say, D3 S8 brakes for cheap from A8 parts or from German eBay the job can be more cost efficient than buying all new stuff from Audi. You can then sell your Brembo kit.

Good luck
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Old 20th December 2016, 08:25 AM
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Quick update.

As suspected, corrosion had set in on the alloy upright where the arm sits and is held by the pinch bolt. This caused some small play which caused the hole to become oval shaped on the top side.

The upright was taken off and a machined piece of metal was inserted which has allowed the correct fitment and torque settings...so now I have two modified uprights

So far it feels great. Actually the car hasn't felt this tight since I bought it. They also picked up a noisy nearside CV joint which was replaced as well.

I will run it for a few weeks to monitor it but so far the "issue" with the rear suspension seems to be gone. In theory the uprights should not cause any further issues. The litmus test will be when i hopefully get lowered suspension fitted next year. If I get any problems I will look at brand new uprights or adapt other models with iron ones to fit.

Thanks for help guys.
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  #17  
Old 20th December 2016, 09:12 AM
MikkiJayne MikkiJayne is offline
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Excellent
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  #18  
Old 20th December 2016, 01:00 PM
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Result.

Now watch repair area for bimetallic (galvanic) corrosion from time to time.

meanwhile, I'd watch for donor car with steel uprights...
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Old 25th December 2016, 01:37 PM
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I was just thinking as I read through this post that machining out the upper portion of the insert holes for the upper arms to make them round then inserting a machined sleeve (preferably made from Aluminium) would be a relatively inexpensive solution to this corrosion problem.
It should last another ten years like that and provided the sleeve is alloy, you should be able to simply replace it.

I don't think the design of the uprights is necessarily flawed. Protecting against salt corrosion for 14 years or more is a pretty tough ask.
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  #20  
Old 25th December 2016, 02:03 PM
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Thats a pretty good idea actually
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