paullee

Hey all,

I just took my '08 S6 in to have the Front Upper Rear Control Arms replaced to get rid of a clunking noise in the front suspension the shop suspected was the cause. The new control arms were installed but the noise persisted. After 4 hours of diagnosis, it turned out that a steering rack bolt (1 of 2 main bolts for the steering rack) was loose.

Has anyone else experienced the same with their S6 or A6 (assuming the A6 shares the same front suspension components as the S6)? Should this even be a repair item for a car costing this much?

haloguy628

My car is in the service right now for the same reason. Thumping and squeaking noise and very nervous tracking at speed. I will post what the problem was once I get the car back.

haloguy628

Well the dealer plays deaf and blind. They can not diagnose any problems with the front suspension. Then when I ask for alignment telling him that I have a new set of tires waiting he says that alignment should be done with the new tires mounted. Fishy as I am pretty sure that you align the wheels, not the tires.

I am picking up the car tomorrow and going directly to private Audi shop to get it looked at. The car has been bouncy and there is loud thumping from the left side. There are also squeaks coming from the suspension when going over bumps. Exactly the same symptoms I had on my old B5 Passat when the bushings on the lower arms gave up, except that it had 120K miles on it vs 45K on my S6.

Lazydog

I have not had any noises from the front end thus far. I have replaced all 4 bushing already and had the carbon cleaning done.

haloguy628: what year is that S6 of yours?

haloguy628

I have 2007 S6 with 45K miles on it.

The problems with my car having sloppy and nervous tracking at speed, thumping noises when going over bumps at low speed, shuddering at full turn and my tires unevenly wearing turned out to be a loose steering rack.

Turns out this is pretty common problem on VAG cars. There are three 10mm bolts. They get loose and the steering rack then has some play which causes all the symptoms described.

Although I would consider this a safety issue, what if the bolts shear, it is not covered under the CPO warranty. Go figure. The original cost quoted to me to fix it was $190. After pointing out that the three bolts are pretty easily accessible he came down to $120.

I drove the car for few miles after it was fixed and it is a night and day difference. Then I got CEL and back to shop it went. Bad O2 sensor. But that's another story.

"nervous tracking" "sloppy steering" "shuddering when turning" "thumping" "steering rack" "loose bolts"

KevinGary

I am on my third steering rack and the noise is back again. It is a common problem

paullee

I've owned the S6 for about a year and have spent over $2K on 2 issues that really shouldn't need repairs on a car costing this much. One more issue and I think it will be trade-in time.

Lazydog

Sounds like a garage queen compared to mine. 2008 90K+ I bought my car to drive. I buy all my cars to drive and they get plenty of driving.

Knock on wood, I haven't had any of these problems. then again my car goes to the dealer for all of its services. They mist be checking and tightening what might be coming loose.

inivid

08 C6 4.2, here. Where are these bolts and how do I get access them? Pictures would be greatly appreciated. I'm having issues to the point that it's scary to drive the car. I completely avoid the freeway currently.

lliejk

This is from the Bentley.

Ed

<img src="http://12v.org/urs/08 S6 Steering Rack Mounting Bolts.JPG">