What a ride - suspension nose-down
 

Trying to fix this suspension has been quite a ride...

I used to own a couple of Lincoln Mark 8s so I know about dynamic air suspension systems, in principle, but not Audi-specific. So, the other day after work, the Audi is nose-down - all the way down. Rear at normal height. Blinking yellow and green lights.

I hit the internet, checked my compressor - using a jack to move the wheel up and down the compressor triggers on and off. But it was jumping out of its mount and loud. Soapy water - no leaks around the compressor, or either front air lines visible from the wheel wells. E-bay, scored a used compressor for $180, installed, it runs smooth and quiet. But nothing goes up, lights still blinking.

So at this point, the hood release cable just pops and swings freely, no hood release. I drop the dash panel, the cable is still in place, pulling on it there is no resistance :'( I hit the internet: how to open the hood. Lots of answers, none of them have worked, although I haven't tried anything destructive. Hood still impossible to open. Got drunk on Bourbon cocktails.

Back into the passenger (american-side passenger side) again with soapy water. I can;t see the back of the strut, but I try really hard to detect any leaks on it by touch and sound, and in the wheel well lines etc and find nothing. I decided to put this side on a jack stand since the only jack that would fit under the dropped car, even driven up on bricks, is the Audi tire-change jack. While using my floor jack under the front end, something goes wrong and the Audi jack fails, the central screw twists out of it's mount. I feel like an idiot, but I'm still not sure how that happened, but somehow it seems the weight shifted onto that jack at the behind-the-tire lift point?

If you are keeping score now that is one broken hood release and one broken jack, and one replaced compressor. And zero repairs effected.

Not only can I not detect any leaks, I also cannot find any way to open the hood from tat wheel well either. So I go back to the driver side, find the module where all the lines are distributed, and spray all around it for leans,and track those lines as far as I can, no leaks.

So where am I now? My working compressor is installed but the lights still blink, and the suspension will not move at all. I can't get the hood open to look for air line leaks in there. It's sitting so low I don't know how I can even get it to a repair shop, scraping the nose up onto a flat bed or towed behind dragging the rear :(

I don't even know what my next step should be. My wife is breaking out the emergency credit card, wants me to send it to a shop, but I know she'll be making me "pay for it" in other ways until that bill is paid off :/ And like I said, how do I even get it towed without damaging it?

I look forward to any advice on how to fix my car or calm down my wife.

thanks!

That does not sound good, I have no idea how to help but I wish you all the best, sure someone will be along with some info on how to get the bonnet open at least.

Del

Well, try getting your wife drunk on bourbon cocktails until you get it fixed. That would solve that problem at least.


With regards to the car, sorry, I can't offer anything useful :(

GENIUS!

That will work! Here is my favorite, it was also a favorite of Al Capone

1oz simple syrup
2 basil leaves
1/2 teaspoon of balsamic vinegar
2 oz Bourbon (or Whiskey)
smash the leaves a bit, then pour over ice and shake.
Strain over ice, and top off with soda water or ginger ale.

I prefer the soda water. You have to get the amount of vinegar to match the strength of your Bourbon, so you might have to drink 3 or 4 to get it just right :ROFL:

Hi David, I'm not sure if this will help, but it may be an idea to look on Craigslist and see if there is anyone with a flatbed vehicle truck, nearby who could transport your A8 to a local Audi specialist. If you have no luck there, I did a quick search to see if there was any Euro specialist independent garages nearby. I took a screenshot with some phone numbers here. It might be worth while giving a couple of them a call and seeing if they can help, or even shed some light on the matter. They may also have a recovery truck.

Keep us posted as to how everything turns out.

thanks! I just called Cordel, he can look at it next week, but says it is a high probability one of the front struts has failed. And that I would need to replace both sides if doing one.

Is that true? If one side fails is it a safety issue to not replace the other side too?

He said he would do a diagnosis for $100 if I wanted to then do the work myself - depending on what the diagnosis is.

I have a tow service who brings flatbeds, but getting on and off without wrecking the nose will be tricky...

Surely it can be jacked up with airbags of some sort and put onto wheeled trolleys? Like the F1 guys use. ;)

If it was traditional style shocks, then replacing a pair is usually the best idea (though they still sell them seperately..)

With these units, it's perfectly safe to do one at a time (and a whole sh*tload cheaper!)

Not sure if this will help, but might be worth a shot. It's a seller from Gemany selling the struts. I would contact the seller and see if they can send them internationally. I know that A8 Parts send parts to all over the world, so give them a call too. However, I agree, you should be ok replacing just one strut. Also I would maybe call around a few other Euro car specialists, just to get an idea of pricing and to see if any of them have dealt with A8's before.

You might have to clear any fault codes with Vagcom or similar before the suspension starts working