C5Brett

I am just curious as to why exactly the control
arms wear out so soon on the A4's and why the
Timing Belt needs to be changed at 60K and what's
the deal with the WaterPump?

The reason I am asking is because I have never had
to change parts like this on my daily driver which
is a Dodge Stratus ES V6 (Mitsubishi 2.5L) which
at the moment has 114,000 miles on the ODO.

In fact the only non consumable items I have had
to replace on the stratus was a CrankShaft Sensor'
($50.00) and the Power Steering Pump, Rack&Pinion
and that was my own fault they went bad ($110.00
out of a salvage yard).

I guess I have had really good luck with my
Stratus in that respect and considering the car
has seen a buck thirty on a regular basis and is
always hammered in the turns

What exactly wears out in the A Arms? Or do they
bend because they are aluminum? (My Corvette has
Aluminum A Arms and they never wear out..)

Just curious is all!

quattrofrog

and this is something that HAS been covered hundreds of times.

1. its complex
2. its an audi... expect strange things to fail & for their fixes to be expensive.
3. the audi's suspension is several times as complex as your vette's its probably the most complex on the road today. Once tuned properly its capable of keeping a hefty 3000+lb car in the handling range of a porsche. So dont even begin to knock it till you've tried it.

C5Brett

I didn't expect a smart alek response. I guess
that's how we Vette owners differ from some Audi
owners (we aren't snobbish).

So the Corvette's suspension isn't as complex?
It's a Double Wishbone with SLA (Short Long Arm)
with a transverse composite monoleaf spring.

I think if you actually ever saw a 5th generation
Corvette with the skin removed it may just blow
your mind.. 99% of the car is either Magnesium or
Aluminum some parts are Titanium (Z06 exhaust
system for example) and the floor pan is made out
of natures most rigid composite material (Balsa
Wood).

I will search to see what I can locate on the
subject but I sort of expect the car to be as well
built as my low tech Corvette. If the A Arms fall
apart on the 3200LB A4 that doesn't bode well. My
C5's A Arms are just as complex and will last
hundreds of thousands of miles.

The only thing "more complex" is the fact that the
Audi uses Shock in Coil Spring where the Vette
uses the transverse composite monoleaf front and
back with decarbon shocks located inside the
double wishbones.

And as far as handling is concened... Don't try
and preach to the choir.. You are talking to a
guy with a car that pulls a hair less than one
full lateral G on stock everyday run flat tires
and over a G on real rubber.

*Shakes head*

CK:1.8T+Rabbitâ„¢

If so, how do you know you were doing 130? And I also thought they have S or T rated tires which would lead me to believe it's factory governed to 112 or 118. Just a question, not flaming you.

Turning Japanese

Timing belt - That's pretty standard. Every car I've had that is belt driven calls for a new belt at 60k.

Water pump - If you're doing the labor for the timing belt, you might as well do the water pump while you're in there. The pump can go longer than 60k, but you might as well save the labor.

Control arms - The problem has to do with metal rubbing because of lack of lubrication. For more specifics, try searching for it. I don't know all the details.

Turning Japanese

An A4 is a 3000+lb car capable of handling like a Porsche. Well, a base 996 C2 weighs over 3100lbs, so that's not impressive. A C5 Vette is not a camaro. Vettes handle very well and have a suspension that I would guess to be more complex than the Audi.

C5Brett

Turning,

I really appreciate the reply. I know I *should*
have used the "search" function but I didn't
realize some people (not you) on this forum were
so bitchy about it. And considering I was asking
a couple questions at once I thought it would be
nice to get the reply from those in the know.

I won't argue that changing the Timing belt at
60K is the most frequent interval on most cars and
with all of these engines today being interference
design you simply can not afford to let it go
because when it does fail (and it will) and cost
a fortune to replace head, pistons etc.

The waterpump I can understand also I agree that
"while you are down there" it's good measure to
change it.

The control arms baffle me though. I have never
heard of such a short life on CA's on cars before.
I will have to search more and see what can be
done to make them last longer.

I am not worried about any of these issues I was
just more curious than anything.

Again thank you!

dr.audios[the OG]

no matter what you do, aside from getting heavy duty ones, it just keeps on coming back. I am on my 3rd set, and I just had them replaced about a year ago, luckily my dealership is mod friendly, as they were nder warranty....

C5Brett

Later model Stratii are Speed Limited to around
115MPH. My Stratus is a 1995 ES Model which came
with the performance suspension package, larger
alloy rims, higher speed rated tires and the 95's
had no limiter at all.

The Speedo numbering stops at 120 but the actual
needle peg is much lower and if you just go based
on the spacing it's roughly 130MPH when it hits
the peg (and it has..) granted it takes fooooorever
to get to the peg

It's not a fast car by any means.. Then again a
stock A4 is not going to be fast either but I am
not looking for another fast car. I love the A4
because it is a Classy, Beautiful body and the
Quattro will afford me the safety I need during
my trips to work in the snow.

I will do some mods to my A4 to make it run better
than stock because 150HP is actually a step down
from my Stratus (178HP) but the Turbo makes it so
easy to mod.. And even if I kept it stock it's
such a better car inside and out than a Stratus is!

Turning Japanese

I mean it's not like a timin belt, where it just has a certain life and needs to be replaced. To the best my knowledge, it is some sort of design flaw that causes them to wear prematurely. Not everyone has had a problem. Most have not, but it is something to keep an eye on.

Hey, it's my pleasure to answer your questions. If you asked something that was in the FAQ or equally obvious, I would tell you to search. This forum is very different from a few years ago. I don't know most of the people who post on here anymore. It seems like so many of guys on here are just a bunch of kids now. Some of the older guys are still around, though. Even though I no longer have an Audi, I still stop by here to help out.