Just finished a set today second car this week , I've done countless amounts of these on many Audi and Volkswagen cars over the years without the tool I always heat the alloy housing enough to persuade the seized bolt to start moving then always use a new one when reassembling. I'll definitely need to invest in this tool and give it a go. Thanks guys
@@Sugarkryptonite that's the approach I use when I am replacing the arms. To be honest I've never heard of anyone successfully removing the bolt and ball joints with out causing any damage to the arms ,unless they've been recently fitted of course and aren't seized in already
@@richiec9077 Well with this tool it is possible to remove them without damaging the arms. Mine are seized but I will get them out without damaging the arms. I don't have the tool but I will get them out.
@@Sugarkryptonite the more I think about it I can't see why you would want to remove the arms from there ball joint ends unless you were replacing them anyway
@@richiec9077 I never said removing the arm from their ball joints...I am talking about removing the ball joints from the upright, exactly as shown in the video.
Hav you ever tried it on the b6/b7 model...thsts the b5 with cast steel steering knuckle you are working on ...the aluminium steering knuckle is the real nightmare!
Here you are , no big deal......... vw.snapon.com/SpecialToolsDetail.aspx?type=Tools&itemid=30160108&PrevGroup_Name=Suspension%20&PrevGroup_Id=108&groupId=1058&Group_name=Suspension%20&Cat_ID=1058&Cat_Name=Suspension
hi does the upoer control arms determine ride height? Arms on both sides have to be the same position or else one side of the car will be higher than the other?
+EDGEMOTORS, thank you! Strange, I've installed both sides identical same everything, Bilstien sport shocks and megan lowering springs.. all new upper and lower arms also tie rod ends.. However one side (driver side) seems to sit a little lower than the other (passenger side), I didn't get coil overs so the shocks are not adjustable to balance each sides ride height, they are pre-set.. everything is done identical on the car, 2004 Audi A4 fwd 1.8t sedan 190k miles.. My personal car, currently working on cv boots, crank case breather hose/pcv valve, rear coolant flange hose, motor mounts and trans mount need work.. my only car for now to get to school.
I had to bring the whole knuckle to the machine shop with the control arms still attached and they took almost 2hours to get that bolt out …they charged me 135 dollars
I helped my god-daughter with her A4 B5 and it took several days of heat, penetrating oil, and lot of cursing to persuade it to come off. The good thing is that I saved her lots of money, but phew, it was a tough bolt😅
No no no no no. Rock the bolt back and forth while apply a bunch of penetrant. It's really only going to flex in the beginning, but will eventually start to turn more and more. Keeping spraying oil during the process to wash the rust away and expose more of the bolt to the oil. The hexhead side will start to move while the threaded end is still locked in place. Just continue rocking your wrench back and forth. In 10 minutes you'll have that bolt spinning around freely and it will come out without resistance. Don't push to hard while working the bolt loose. You don't want to weaken or break the bolt. I know this post is old, but too many still make this rust-locked bolt more of an issue than it really is. And given the amount of time put into all of the excessive methods for removing it, a little practical knowledge on the matter seems like it would be a welcomed thing.
While I agree with u in respect of patience and teasing it out have u actually done these on audi with alloy hubs? The one in vid is steel (frankly a walk in the park) I've done atleast 10 or 15 and the alloy hubs I use air hammer on thread end and impact gun on head. Just teasing it for up to 2 hours. I find penatrating oil takes away the friction between the bolt/corrosion/aluminium. Tbh I've tryed the method u mentioned for several hours to no avail on alloy hubs
@@alan-barnes7299 On my 03 Allroad it took me 3 hours of constant beating while torching it and cutting it in between the slits. One turn of the wrench and the head of the bolt was in my hand lol. Those things are welded in there and I still have to do the driver's side which will probably take me another 3-4 hours of soaking and torching it. I will try a mix of Acetone with transmission fluid too but I doubt that will help any. Rocking the wrench back and forth didn't work for me either.
Yes yes yes yes, if you have a workshop and do this often it is of course worth it to have proper tools that saves time and therefore in the end money. I've done it once and the cursing, heat, and penetrating oil together with patience worked fine, but if I was going to do it on a regular basis with economics in the equation, I would buy this without hesitation. I'm glad for you it took so little time, but that's usually not the case for these bolts.
Air hammer will mushroom the bolt. Best way to do it is shear the bolt head and use the nut to pull the rest of the bolt out. You’ll need some spacers when you run out of thread,
@@twatflaps thanks for the tip! I had to hammer the passenger side pinch bolt for 3 hours while I had it cut in between the slots, soaked in penetrating oil for 3 days straight and torched too. I'll report back on how that works!
@@Snippiii had mines off by cutting them in the slots and pounding with a hammer and a round chisel the diameter of the hole. The driver's side was easier than the passenger side but they do come out eventually.
What a waste of money. You need three tools. MAPP TORCH, PENETRATING OIL AND AN AIR HAMMER. Put a wet rag on the control arm ball joints. Heat, spray and air hammer. Keep repeating and you'll see a space form at the bolt head. Victory will follow soon after. I replaced the bolt and never seized the ever living hell out of it.
Not a waste if you do this for your living. For a car or two occasionally it's too expensive, but that's pretty obvious so I don't think your comment is very useful.
I am currently going through the pain of of these damn aluminum steering steering knuckles we have in the b8. Steel bolt with aluminum knuckle, who would've thought that's the dumbest thing you could do unless you wanted both to weld to eachother😂
