BikerBill

I tracked down the cause of the latest weird noise to a broken rear coil spring on my 2000 A4 Quattro. About half a turn of the spring is broken where it rests against the lower spring flange. It doesn't look like this should be too bad to replace. I know the conventional advice is to replace both rear springs. This car has 220K miles on it and I probably won't be keeping it for more than another year. So I'm wondering if I can just replace the broken spring and call it a day? Has anyone done this? Did you experience any ride or handling issues afterward? I also know I should replace the rear shocks while I'm at it but again I don't plan to keep the car that much longer.

BikerBill

Although it's not making any noise I decided to check the other rear coil spring. Turns out it's broken also. Looks like I'll be buying two new springs.

Old_School_Audi

I've seen this happen on several B5 quattro's rear springs. The paint on the lower spring coil gets damaged because the coils touch under load (coil clash) or rubs off on the spring perch. Then the corrosion sets in and produces a "stress riser". If you look closely you should find rust pitting at the edge of the break. It is a design flaw that only produces failures in the right conditions. More than likely your car has seen alot of wet winter weather.

BikerBill

The left side spring is in relatively good shape--the paint is intact except for the bottom of the spring. The right side spring is in really bad shape--the paint is mostly gone and rust is everywhere. Both springs broke at exactly the same place, several inches from the bottom end of the coil.

You're right about this car seeing a lot of winter weather. It's spent 15 years on Massachusetts and New Hampshire roads. Since I like to ski it definitely sees a fair amount of winter driving. I'm sure salty slush accumulates on the lower perch of the rear struts, right where the fail occurs.

northfork

Investigating a weird noise I found the same problem, one broken coil spring (Driver side). I plan on replacing both springs and shocks and need a little guidance. I need help with finding the exact replacement bolts and nuts and torque specs.

BikerBill fyi Pelicanparts.com has a great DIY under “Technical Articles”.

JAFO

i've had this happen twice in NH. i've associated it with worn rear shocks as a contributing cause

ECS Tuning-Audi

At 220k miles and two broken rear springs that sounds to be like the perfect opportunity to do a suspension over haul.

Check out our AK line of FK coilovers. $439.95 shipped to your door!

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Jason

northfork

Jason...What is the best deal you can give me on the rear coil springs?

ECS Tuning-Audi

Rear springs range anywhere from $115-$170 per spring depending on the paint markings if they are still visible other wise I'd need your VIN for the exact spring that came on your vehicle.

Jason

northfork

vin# WAUED28D7WA148028