4ringsinutah

Hey everyone,

So its been a while since i have posted here, with winter and my cars condition i havent been able to work on my car for a few months.

Well the last time i posted on here, it was because my car was having a weird floating feeling, and would constantly click from the right front passenger tire......Well i recently got it up and found the problem.....i can literally rock that tire back and fourth by about 8 inches.....so the ball joint is TOAST. I sourced the correct ball joint, however i am worried that driving around on the bad ball joint may have bored out the control arm bolt slots (the bolts that connect the lower ball joint to to the control arm keep coming loose) anyways i will be digging into that mess on Saturday. I wanted to see if anyone in the Utah or surrounding areas had an the lower control arm for 1993 audi 90Q that they would be will to part with? I am not sure i will need it till Saturday, but with how much play i am seeing, i think its gone beyond the Ball Joint.

Second. What are the performance specs on the 90q sport? i know they are not "fast", however i feel like they should be able to hit 100 MPH without much issue with a V6. I was cruising recently and i could not seem to get it above 80.....i am wondering if its because of the ball joint and the bald tires because of the ball joint. Does anybody have any one have any experience pushing these cars to the limit? I live in Utah, and on occasion i like to go on spirited drives through the desert, and sometimes i like to let the needle go north of 100.....just curious to see the numbers you have seen out of your cars.

Also, anybody know how to reset the airbag light in these cars? Mine went off because one time the tire shifted bad enough to set off a sensor and now i have the light.

Thanks for any advice you can give, i am excited to finally get my car into daily driver status after owning it for a year.

Rusty Spokes

Sounds like you may need lower "A" arms and the ball joints..and the bolts that go through the "A" arms to the sub-frame. If you have 8" of front to back play in the wheel..it is more than a bad ball joint..the sub-frame may be damaged and not holding the "A" arm..along with your bad ball joint.

"A" arm bushing are a typical wear item..and when they fail the "A" arm will move around.

There are two types of "A" arms available. One is forged and you probably have those. They are expensive ($400 each from Audi) and if yours are damaged..they need to be replaced.

The second type "A" arm is pressed metal..and some folks have used these if the forged "A" arms are damaged. The Audi 90 came with pressed metal "A" arms. The Quattro with forged "A" arms.

There are different ball joints used between the forged and pressed "A" arms..you need to know which "A" you have now..

This is what the forged "A" arms look like:


This is what the pressed "A" arms look like:


New "A" arms come with new bushings. You will need new ball joints and the holding bolts that go through the "A" arm to the sub-frame.

When you replace the "A" arm bushings or the "A" arms..prior to tightening the through bolts to the sub-frame..the wheels must be "loaded" as if the car was on the ground. If you don't do this the rubber bushings will not last long.

Use ramps and an offset wrench to get to the back through bolts so the front wheels are loaded with the weight of the car on them.

Hybrid_Hatch

Give me a call, i'm in SLC, i have control arms and i have a vagcom to reset your airbag light. 8o1 645 o825

4ringsinutah

Hey guys, thanks for the advice, sorry i haven't gotten around to responding for a while , life has been pretty hectic, but i finally have some time set aside for this project during the weekend

First off thanks Rusty spokes for the pictures, it looks like i do indeed have the forged control arms "GRRRR". That being said, i have been looking into a couple of options because i dont have 400 dollars for a new control arm.

option A: pressing in new control arm bushings....best case scenario my control arm is not damaged and all of the bushings are just toast. I have been looking online/ youtube and it seems that it is pretty easy to do. You can use a ball joint press and just pop them right out......since i will already have a ball joint press (for my new ball joint ) this should be as easy as popping the control arm off the car, pressing the control arm bushings out via the ball joint press, pressing the new ones in and installing the ball joint and presto!!!!.........however for some reason this seems too easy to me......and these cars are never that easy.....can anyone tell me if i am on the right track here or if this is just crazy talk?

Also Hybrid hatchback, i have been meaning to call or text you, will text tommorrow to see about price for control arm + getting that pesky light turned off. I am hoping i dont have to buy another control arm, but i am a glass empty kind of guy when it comes to cars.

Also, how fast should these cars be able to go, i am not crazy in thinking that 100 mph should be a breeze with the v6 am I?

Rusty Spokes

Removing the old bushing can be fiddly..I use a press, hole saw and an assortment of big sockets and metal plates to remove the old bushing rubber..then cut the outside metal sleeve with a hacksaw..then chisel/fold and remove the old outer sleeve. Got to be careful and not cut the "A" arm with the hacksaw. Also..be careful if you use a press and don't do any wild things on the "A" arm..I've seen some try to do two bushings at once..it will spread/distort the wishbone..work just one "eye" for the bushings at a time.

Scroll down about halfway in this link. The fellow here uses a small saw, drill and hacksaw to get the old bushings out.

Justin's Lago Coupe Project... :: motorgeek.com

waninae39

you need a bearing press to get bushings and bearings in. in a pinch, you can use a vice, i find it helps to place wood on the jaws so that i don't damage what i'm pressing );

4ringsinutah

Does anybody know of a write up for replacing the ball joint only? i took a look at the control arm bushings, and they seem alright but the ball joint is completely shot. any DIY or first hand advice would be helpful.

Hybrid_Hatch

its a matter of removing 4 bolts and rebolting them. You'll need to have the alignment done after you finish.