Photos of the carnage...
05-13-2008, 05:10 PM
#1
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Photos of the carnage...
RF lower ball-joint went on me today. Honestly, it could not have been at a better time. I was 1.5 miles from home, the tow company was completely free (3 min wait after calling AAA), and it happened at about 10 mph. I'm very happy that it didn't happen on the highway.
Oh joy... they took the wheel off and used "the skid".
<img src="http://www.showyourmedia.com/files/1210726310.jpg">
As she sits now:
<img src="http://www.showyourmedia.com/files/1210726526.JPG">
Fender damage from the wheel:
<img src="http://www.showyourmedia.com/files/1210726755.JPG">
Can this axle be rescued?
<img src="http://www.showyourmedia.com/files/1210726625.JPG">
<img src="http://www.showyourmedia.com/files/1210726666.JPG">
So, stuff that needs to be replaced:
1) <A HREF="http://www.autopartswarehouse.com/details/QQAudiQQS6QQMevotechQQControl_ArmQQ1995QQMEMS9720. html">RF Control Arm</A>
2) <A href="http://www.autopartswarehouse.com/details/QQAudiQQS6QQEMPIQQAxle_AssemblyQQ19951996QQW0133-1597374.html">RF Axle</a>?
3) ???
4) Muscle the fender back into looking somewhat acceptable.
The brake pedal feels a bit mushy after this, but there doesn't seem to be any brake fluid leaking. Any thoughts? Should I get the car back together and see where it stands from there?
What about the other side? I looked at these components recently, and the ball-joint seemed to look okay. I'm worried that something else may fail on me soon. What should I look into?
Thanks,
Mike
Oh joy... they took the wheel off and used "the skid".
<img src="http://www.showyourmedia.com/files/1210726310.jpg">
As she sits now:
<img src="http://www.showyourmedia.com/files/1210726526.JPG">
Fender damage from the wheel:
<img src="http://www.showyourmedia.com/files/1210726755.JPG">
Can this axle be rescued?
<img src="http://www.showyourmedia.com/files/1210726625.JPG">
<img src="http://www.showyourmedia.com/files/1210726666.JPG">
So, stuff that needs to be replaced:
1) <A HREF="http://www.autopartswarehouse.com/details/QQAudiQQS6QQMevotechQQControl_ArmQQ1995QQMEMS9720. html">RF Control Arm</A>
2) <A href="http://www.autopartswarehouse.com/details/QQAudiQQS6QQEMPIQQAxle_AssemblyQQ19951996QQW0133-1597374.html">RF Axle</a>?
3) ???
4) Muscle the fender back into looking somewhat acceptable.
The brake pedal feels a bit mushy after this, but there doesn't seem to be any brake fluid leaking. Any thoughts? Should I get the car back together and see where it stands from there?
What about the other side? I looked at these components recently, and the ball-joint seemed to look okay. I'm worried that something else may fail on me soon. What should I look into?
Thanks,
Mike
05-13-2008, 05:24 PM
#2
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y-i-k-e-s
man, makes you wonder what an aceptable test procedure is for checking the ball joints. Usually I just jack up a corner and kick the bottom and top of the wheel and look for movement...
sorry to hear about that man, glad it happened at low speed!
sorry to hear about that man, glad it happened at low speed!
05-13-2008, 05:45 PM
#5
Lucky...
I was similarly lucky years ago on a non-Audi. Got off the highway to get food and the ball joint let go at 20 MPH. Though in my case I was 300 miles from home, but still lucky with the speed.
05-13-2008, 06:13 PM
#6
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Same thing happened to me on a hwy onramp doing 40. Your VERY lucky.
In my case, the tech over tightened the ball joint bolt, which stretched it and the ball joint came out. Ripped the inner cv joint, ball joint boot, and shoved the fender back.
05-13-2008, 06:15 PM
#7
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My buddy had a Porsche 928 that had a ball joint fail...
He pulled into a parking lot and when he stopped the wheel fell over. I think when you are rolling, the centrifugal force keeps the wheel upright.
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05-13-2008, 07:30 PM
#9
AudiWorld Super User
my techs usually slide a big prybar on top of the control arm and wiggle it up and down
if the balljoints are bad, you can pretty clearly feel the slop from the far end of a 36" prybar. this also works great for testing control arm bushings, just at the other end of the control arm.