cruiser647 Posted March 21, 2016 Report Share Posted March 21, 2016 My 'new to me' A8 had squeaky suspension as you went over bumps and turned corners and was also sitting high on the air suspension. It would not lower. I could hear the pump working hard and my local garage could not change the rings as they could not take it apart. I think it'll need replacing soon. Anyway, I took a look around the suspension level sensors and one of the front ones' ball joint was loose in the palstic housing. Found a replacement - after being told the actual rod is the same on each side for the front and took it apart. Obviously, they are not the same. So I olied the existing ball joint and put it all back together after checking the suspension level 'lever' had free movement. I then changed the drop-links The first side took 60 mins and the other was 45 mins and I knew what was needed. Started car and it still sat high (as I might have expected), changed the setting to Dynamic and it lowered! Yay!!!! Not quite to how 'dynamic' my previous 8 was, but a lot lower than the 4x4 setting it felt it was on. Just need to sort the nav out now. It refuses to read discs. Have cleaned the lens, but no change. Will try again with a different lens cleaner. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muppet_man Posted April 9, 2016 Report Share Posted April 9, 2016 Can you notice a ride difference as well now that you've changed those? I would imagine it must have effected the ride a bit as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewNiceMrMe Posted April 9, 2016 Report Share Posted April 9, 2016 Drop-link replacement can make a huge difference. The biggest is usually to steering in my experience, often lessening any judder you feel through the wheel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tipex Posted April 9, 2016 Report Share Posted April 9, 2016 Personally, the only difference I've ever noticed from worn drop links on a VAG car is the knocking noise, never noticed any difference in feel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patently Posted April 9, 2016 Report Share Posted April 9, 2016 Andrew at http://www.carlimits.com/ is really good at helping you develop sensitivity to feedback from the steering wheel 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tipex Posted April 9, 2016 Report Share Posted April 9, 2016 You don't get much feedback from VAG products, perhaps that's the issue, it's nearly always the rear lower drop links on the front suspension, makes no difference to feel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiser647 Posted April 10, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2016 Very hard to tell if it has made a difference in feel. Moving from the heavy V6 diesel to an aluminium V8 petrol has made more of a difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewNiceMrMe Posted April 10, 2016 Report Share Posted April 10, 2016 I was speaking generically. We replaced a front drop link on the Range Rover Vogue and it transformed the steering. There was a judder on it prior to replacement. Afterwards, it was as smooth and stable as could be. I also had two front drop links replaced on a Mazda Xedos and that made it feel much more connected. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tipex Posted April 10, 2016 Report Share Posted April 10, 2016 Oh I don't doubt it can make a difference on a lot of cars, just in my experience of putting hundreds of thousands of miles on VAG products, you can't feel it on them. Interestingly (or not), I've never had to replace one on any other brand, my 250k mile Galaxy has never even had a bush replaced in the suspension. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiser647 Posted April 10, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2016 Yep, VAG Audi suspension bushes are crap. Made of marzipan, I reckon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patently Posted April 10, 2016 Report Share Posted April 10, 2016 We replaced a front drop link on the Range Rover Vogue and it transformed the steering. There was a judder on it prior to replacement. Afterwards, it was as smooth and stable as could be. Wait - how old was that car??? my 250k mile Galaxy has never even had a bush replaced in the suspension. Yes, but I don't imagine taxi work strains them especially? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tipex Posted April 10, 2016 Report Share Posted April 10, 2016 (edited) Yes, but I don't imagine taxi work strains them especially? As opposed to cruising up and down a motorway all day? Nothing strains them more than town driving on constantly pot holed roads and driving over speed bumps all day. In fact, just about the worse thing for them is those speed bump 'pads' that aren't quite wide enough to straddle completely, they push your wheels out sideways and destroy parts like drop links and bushes. As Cruiser says, VAG are particularly bad in this respect, as a taxi I'd expect to replace drop links and bushes every 40k miles or so on any Octavia/Superb/Passat/A4/A6. I'm not saying Ford are better cars, all brands have strengths and weaknesses, but now I think about it, I never had to replace a bush on the Mondeo either. Edited April 10, 2016 by Tipex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patently Posted April 10, 2016 Report Share Posted April 10, 2016 Hmmm. Fair point Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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