My car is at SRS for groaning/clunking from the front left suspension
02-12-2004, 05:55 AM
#1
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My car is at SRS for groaning/clunking from the front left suspension
I just dropped off my car at Shine Racing Service in Walpole, MA, and as always I left there feeling better about my car. It really is great to have a competent and honest shop right around the corner.
I told Eli that this one issue had me doubting my car and that I was afraid that the bill was going to be painful. The reply was along the lines of, "it could be if you went to a shop that replaced all the control arms regardless of need".
It seems as if the control arms almost never need to be completely swapped out. The control arms that go bad are generally the ones that are directly attached to the shock. The lower control arm takes the biggest beating; it's attached to the shock and the sway bar. The lower CA generally needs to be replaced at a cost of roughly $280 for the part + an hour or so of labor. The upper control arm is usually the other one to go, though less frequently than the upper and it's cheaper... $120 and roughly an hour of labor. The labor rate at SRS is $70/hr.
This leads me to believe that the dealerships would prefer to replace ALL the control arms on both sides for a grand total of $2k - $2.5k to cover all the bases, but is that necessary? I doubt it. The dealerships don't want a customer coming back in a few months with another control arm bushing/ball joint gone bad, so they do it all and avoid the possibility of looking like they don't know what they're doing. I also suspect that the dealership either doesn't take the time to explain the full issue to the customer, or they don't think the customer is capable of understanding the issue. That's just my opinion.
Now this is not to say that SRS won't completely go over my front suspension and let me know what's wrong. I'm hoping it's nothing too major, and I realize it could be expensive, however, it's a great feeling to have trust in your shop. I wonder if anyone ever really gets that at a dealership? I don't think I ever felt as though I trusted the dealership's service department.
There will be updates throughout the day.
I told Eli that this one issue had me doubting my car and that I was afraid that the bill was going to be painful. The reply was along the lines of, "it could be if you went to a shop that replaced all the control arms regardless of need".
It seems as if the control arms almost never need to be completely swapped out. The control arms that go bad are generally the ones that are directly attached to the shock. The lower control arm takes the biggest beating; it's attached to the shock and the sway bar. The lower CA generally needs to be replaced at a cost of roughly $280 for the part + an hour or so of labor. The upper control arm is usually the other one to go, though less frequently than the upper and it's cheaper... $120 and roughly an hour of labor. The labor rate at SRS is $70/hr.
This leads me to believe that the dealerships would prefer to replace ALL the control arms on both sides for a grand total of $2k - $2.5k to cover all the bases, but is that necessary? I doubt it. The dealerships don't want a customer coming back in a few months with another control arm bushing/ball joint gone bad, so they do it all and avoid the possibility of looking like they don't know what they're doing. I also suspect that the dealership either doesn't take the time to explain the full issue to the customer, or they don't think the customer is capable of understanding the issue. That's just my opinion.
Now this is not to say that SRS won't completely go over my front suspension and let me know what's wrong. I'm hoping it's nothing too major, and I realize it could be expensive, however, it's a great feeling to have trust in your shop. I wonder if anyone ever really gets that at a dealership? I don't think I ever felt as though I trusted the dealership's service department.
There will be updates throughout the day.
02-12-2004, 06:02 AM
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That's fantastic!
Good for you. Do you have a lift available to you or are you just going to pull off the wheel and have at it?
How much did the whole kit cost from ECS?
This will be a great comparison for people to see the two different possibilities here.
PLEASE take pictures when you swap out the arms; it'll make a great addition to Stoney's FAQ.
How much did the whole kit cost from ECS?
This will be a great comparison for people to see the two different possibilities here.
PLEASE take pictures when you swap out the arms; it'll make a great addition to Stoney's FAQ.
02-12-2004, 06:35 AM
#4
Both sides?
I've considered going this route: When something goes, buy the full kit, completely upgrade the side with the failure. Store the parts, do the other side when something goes there.
02-12-2004, 08:34 AM
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You don't have to hit anything for them to go bad
Here's my understanding on the subject:
It comes down to the design of the front suspension. If you remember back in '96 the car mags were falling all over themselves because of Audi's innovative front suspension on the A4. We essentially have the same design on the A6.
It's the ball joints. The ball joints are integral to the control arms. Ball joints do go bad on other cars, too, they're just not part of the control arms. A ball joint on a VW is a $50 part and some labor to replace it; on the Audi it's a $120 - $300 part, based on the control arm.
The upside to the suspension is that it really is a great front suspension design for wheels that receive power from the engine. The downside to the suspension design is that the ball joints are expensive to replace.
It comes down to the design of the front suspension. If you remember back in '96 the car mags were falling all over themselves because of Audi's innovative front suspension on the A4. We essentially have the same design on the A6.
It's the ball joints. The ball joints are integral to the control arms. Ball joints do go bad on other cars, too, they're just not part of the control arms. A ball joint on a VW is a $50 part and some labor to replace it; on the Audi it's a $120 - $300 part, based on the control arm.
The upside to the suspension is that it really is a great front suspension design for wheels that receive power from the engine. The downside to the suspension design is that the ball joints are expensive to replace.
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02-12-2004, 10:18 AM
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Geez, I think SRS is getting cocky! HAHA
I just called for an update, it's 2:15 pm, the car was dropped off at 9 am and I told them it would be left for the day. They haven't even touched it yet! hahahaha
They're so convinced that it'll be no more than an hour or two to do the suspension that they haven't even brought it in yet. Gotta love it.
They're so convinced that it'll be no more than an hour or two to do the suspension that they haven't even brought it in yet. Gotta love it.
02-12-2004, 01:12 PM
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Good news and bad news
The good news is, SRS can't find anything wrong with my control arms or tie rods. The bad news is, they couldn't hear the groan or clunking either.
I have to take one of them in the car and reproduce it now. Damn. What else could it be?
I have to take one of them in the car and reproduce it now. Damn. What else could it be?