ajg617

Had the Avant on a lift last week. Got to look at the rear coils, the left one of which Audi says is broken so they can't set the alignment. I couldn't see any crack and not much rust inside the supporting infrastructure. Very hard to tell because of all of the suspension parts in the way. I was going to pull the wheel off this week to check, but just thought I'd ask if anyone has done so before to inspect the coil spring. What's the best view of the coil spring to check for a break? No noise out of the rear on bumps and drives normally except I know that the alignment is not right due to tire wear and slight pull to the left.
Thanks,
AJG

Kris Hansen

When they break, they no longer sit in the perch correctly, so they tend to develop a curve. Also, when they break, there will be the part that broke off clanging around in the bottom of the shock assembly. I've never seen one of these little pieces fall out on its own, so if the shop can't produce that for you, it's probably not really broken clean through. I've had way too many break through the years.. But never a REAR on a C5. 2 times left front. B5 A4, I've done more rears than I care to mention.

ajg617

I could not detect anything from underneath. Springs were shiny and completely rust free at least the parts I could view. I'll try to get another look by pulling the wheel on that side.