shep

NOTE: THE FRONT & REAR SECTIONS OF THIS WRITE UP, AS WELL AS ALL THE PICS, ARE NOW IN THE TECH SECTION. PLEASE GO THERE.

https://www.audiworld.com/tech/wheel28.shtml

I've seen a couple of suspension install how-to's, notably Piggie's in the S4 forum and the one in the tech section by Rich Letsinger. While they are very helpful, the lack of pics imho limits their usefulness. This write-up is intended to 'fill in the blanks' and help out people who have never done something like this before.

Although I've done suspension work on cars before, by no means am I an expert. I get by. I'm trying to provide as much helpful info as I can, but it's certainly possible that I've left stuff out and/or made mistakes. I may be calling something a doo-hickey when the proper term is actually whatchamacallit. If any sharp-eyed professionals or talented amateurs out there see anything I've done wrong, please let me know.

This write up covers H&R Streets on a 2001.5 S4. If you're working with a different combination, it's possible not everything applies to your setup. Also, the torque values listed are from the Bentley manual, and are intended for use with the stock parts. I used them without any problem on the H&R's, but if you have more exotic/expensive coilovers, you may want to check if the manufacturer has any special recommendations. There are also a couple spots where the manual says to use new hardware, and these are noted as well (FWIW, I just re-used the old stuff). Caveat Emptor.

Due to length, the write up will be in three parts: this general info bit, the fronts, and the rears.

I used the following tools:

Floor jack
Audi jack from the trunk (for when the car got lower than my floor jack could go :-P)
Jack stands
Lug wrench
Wheel chocks
Screwdrivers, one large, one tiny
Combination wrenches, 16,17,18,19,24mm
Sockets, 13,16,17,18,19mm
Deep well socket, 19mm
3/8 drive ratchet and various extensions
Torque wrench
6mm allen wrench
Vise grips, round-jawed
Ball peen hammer
Rubber mallet
Punches, various lengths/diameters
Spring compressor set
Spanner wrenches (included in H&R kit)
Tape measure
Needle nose pliers
Exacto knife
Six other things that I'm probably forgetting...

Even if it's your first time, you should be able to do all four corners in one day easily. Just take your time and be careful.

Once you're finished, there are a few things you'll probably want to do. If your brand of coilover is subject to corrosion, put some light grease on the adjusting threads. Drive the car around for a week or two and let the suspension settle, then re-adjust the ride height to your taste. When that's done, I would strongly consider going in for an alignment.

Good luck.

ec-s4

very cool. Thanks.

Steve Trac, Sec 303

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/23929/front_torque.jpg">
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/23929/rear_torque.jpg">

OldSkewS4

Are you that elephant in George Of The Jungle?

shep

1. Jack up the front end and remove both wheels. If you don't have jackstands, get some. You need to have both sides lifted so you're not working against torsion in the sway bar. (Sorry, no pic...if this is beyond your capabilites, stop right now and get thee to a shop)

2. You'll need to remove the plastic piece at the rear of the engine compartment. Grab one end of the rubber sealing strip and pull towards the front of the car. Once it's off, do the same thing with the plastic.

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/19361/front1.jpg">
3. Pick a side, and get started by removing the bolt holding the upper control links to the suspension upright (or bearing carrier, or whatever you want to call it--the big part that the wheel attaches to). 16mm.

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/19361/front2.jpg">
4. Pop both of the link ends out of the upright. You will probably have to use a hammer and punch to get them out. They're under tension from the bushings at the other end, so they will spring up a bit when they come out. The upright/hub/brake is loose from here on out, so try to keep it from knocking around too much.

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/19361/front3.jpg">
5. Take off the lower shock bolt. 18mm. You may have some trouble getting the bolt out; it tends to be blocked by the rear lower control arm. Carefully move the upright around until you can get a straight shot.

There's a decision to make here. There are two ways to dismount the top of the shock from the body. The way I've seen in most write-ups is to remove the three 17mm bolts and take out the whole upper shock mounting plate, together with the attached upper links. The other way is to remove the two 13mm nuts holding the shock to the mounting plate, leaving the mounting plate and the upper links attached to the car. Each way has it's own PITA bit--the first method requires removing an annoying locking ring from the locator pin, the second involves prying/gouging out two plastic plugs that are glued into the car body. I chose the second method, for a few reasons: I thought it might be easier/less awkward moving the shock around without the links attached, fewer parts sticking out to possibly scratch things (i.e. paint on the fender lip), it might possibly avoid some microscopic changes to the suspension geometry, and two small nuts should be less work than three big bolts (yeah, I'm a lazy SOB). This is also the method that the Bentley manual uses, so what the hell. No comment on which method is easier. I guess I could have done the left side one way and the right side the other, but I didn't think of that until I was finished. Anyway, if you choose to go with the three bolt method, fine. You're on your own for a few steps, but I'm sure you can handle it.

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/19361/front4.jpg">
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/19361/front5.jpg">
6. Find the two plugs (mine were painted to match the body) covering the upper mounting nuts. One of the plugs on the passenger side is blocked by a tab attached to the battery box (wtf this is for, I have no idea), but if you remove the 13mm bolt just in front of the battery, this loosens up enough so you can get in there.

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/19361/front6.jpg">
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/19361/front7.jpg">
7. Pry/pull the plugs out. I tried to preserve them, but with the amount of glue they use and the tight work space, it's kind of hit or miss.

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/19361/front8.jpg">
8. Loosen (but don't remove) the two upper mounting nuts. 13mm. You want enough slack so the shock can move around, but you don't want it dropping down just yet.

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/19361/front9.jpg">
9. Push down on the lower control arm a bit, until you can pull the U-shaped bracket on the end of the shock clear and move it towards the front of the car.

10. While supporting the shock (either with your free hand or by resting it on the lower control arm), remove the two upper nuts.

11. Carefully remove shock assembly from car. Watch the fender.

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/19361/front10.jpg">
12. Now the fun starts. Take the shock to your work bench and get out your spring compressor(s).

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/19361/front11.jpg">
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/19361/front12.jpg">
13. Put a compressor on each side of the shock and snug them up. I used the supplied safety hooks, but found myself wondering if I'd be wearing them like bellybutton jewelry if something went wrong. Be sure to get the compressors as diametrically opposite as possible to balance the load. If your spring compressor is different (read: better than the POS I'm using), follow the instructions that came with it.

14. Compress the spring *slowly*. 24mm or 15/16", I guess you could use a crescent in a pinch, but I wouldn't recommend it. I did a full turn on alternate sides. That may be a bit cautious, but this type of compressor scares the crap out of me. If you go more than two turns per side, you're nuts IMHO.

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/19361/front13.jpg">
15. Squeeze the spring 12-15 turns, about 3/4" to 7/8". Any more, and you may be taxing the compressor; less, you're asking for more excitement when you take the shock apart. If anything starts bending, creaking, cracking, or otherwise acting strange, STOP!

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/19361/front14.jpg">
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/19361/front15.jpg">
16. Now you're ready to take the top of the shock off. 18mm. I didn't have any problem with the shaft spinning on either shock, perhaps that had something to do with the age/condition of the suspension (~27,000 mostly highway miles). If the nut won't break loose from the shaft, you may have to get creative--see step 25 below for ideas. The cap may pop off with a little force behind it (depending on how much you compressed the spring, it moved a couple inches for me), so you may want to clear stuff out of the way.

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/19361/front16.jpg">
17. Success! (No, that's not how far the stuff popped off)

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/19361/front17.jpg">
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/19361/front18.jpg">
18. Pull the shock body out of the spring, then *slowly* un-compress the spring. Bear in mind that the spring will expand to its free length, so it will take more turns than you put into it. It expanded over two inches from compressed--&gt;free in my case.

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/19361/front19.jpg">
19. Take the rest of the shock apart. The parts you'll need are the jounce bumper/dustcover and (perhaps) the spring seat.

As far as the next couple of steps go, they could be considered optional. My coilover kit (H&amp;R) didn't include a spring seat, nor any instructions, so I guess they intend that you just let the spring rest on the perch as shown in this picture:
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/19361/front20.jpg">
I've seen lots of installs like this, and I'm sure it probably works fine, but to me it looks like a potential source for squeaks/rattles. If the front springs were like the rears (tapered, pounded flat, whatever) and sat more flush on the perch, I wouldn't care. Piggie talks in his write-up about using the stock spring seat, so that's good enough for me. Other than it being a bit of a PITA, I can't think of a good reason not to do it. If you disagree, then please feel free to ignore the relevant steps.


<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/19361/front21.jpg">
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/19361/front22.jpg">
20. The spring seat doesn't fit nicely on the spring perch, so you have to make adjustments. Pull out your weapon of choice and have at it. I used a large exacto knife. *Note* Performing this step makes it impossible to revert to stock without obtaining some new spring seats.

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/19361/front23.jpg">
21. When you can set the spring in the seat and the bottom coil fits around the raised lip of the perch, you're good to go.

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/19361/front24.jpg">
22. Put the shock together. Turn the adjusting ring and the locking ring all the way down (mine were shipped at the top). The washer goes silver side down against the adjusting ring. Put on the perch/seat combo, then the dust cover/jounce bumper. Then put on the spring, widely spaced coils at the bottom.

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/19361/front25.jpg">
23. Stand the shock up and put on the upper seat/perch. Fit the end of the coil into the groove.

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/19361/front26.jpg">
24. Put the new washer on the shaft. I adjusted the lower perch up a bit so that the washer was about even with the upper perch, that way I could be certain that the washer wouldn't snag above or below the perch when I started to tighten things up.

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/19361/front27.jpg">
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/19361/front28.jpg">
25. Put the rubber cap and new nut on and tighten the nut. 19mm (the stocker is 18mm, go figure), 6mm for the hex hole in the shaft. If you have or can find the proper deep offset wrench, good for you. I had to improvise with some vise grips and a deep well socket. If you have Proto/Mac/Snap-On/etc, you probably will want to go get a cheapie socket set like I did. I used a piece of half inch pipe to hold the allen wrench. If it matters, Bentley says to torque a new (stock size) nut to 44 ft lb.

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/19361/front29.jpg">
30. All put back together, ready to go back in the car. Unfortunately, I didn't have a clue about where to set the perches. This is something that's definitely easier to do out of the car.

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/19361/front30.jpg">
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/19361/front31.jpg">
31. Put the upper perch back into the shock mounting plate and loosely install the nuts. Bentley says to use new ones. This can be a bit tricky if you're by yourself.

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/19361/front32.jpg">
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/19361/front33.jpg">
32. Installation is pretty much the reverse of removal. Some tricky bits may require jacking up the suspension to get the lower bolt in, or gently prying the gaps on the upright in order to get the upper links back in. Tightening sequence and torques follow:

Lower shock mount to control arm. New nut, 66 ft lb. Bentley says to do this with the car on the ground to avoid putting stress on the bushing. I just jacked up the suspension a few inches.

Upper control arms to upright. New nut, 30 ft lb.

Upper shock mount to mounting plate. New nuts, 15 lb ft.

Bonus info: If you happened to use the three bolt method, the torque value for the 17mm bolts is 48 ft lb.

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/19361/front34.jpg">
33. Before you put your wheels back on, adjust the preload on the springs so that both sides match. The big ring is for adjusting, the small ring is for locking the big ring in place. The more threads showing below the rings, the higher your car will sit. This is a lot of fun, 1/8 of a turn at a time, about 16 turns per inch.

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/19361/front35.jpg">
34. I started with one inch of threads showing below the lock ring.

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/19361/front36.jpg">
35. A lot of people might think this is too low. I agree with them. I think a better starting point is 2.5 inches or so of threads showing. Personal preference, wheels, tires, driving environment, etc. will all play a part in how you set up.

36. Put your wheels on and get the car on the ground. If you didn't totally mangle the covering plugs, you can put them back in (&lt;cough&gt; duct tape). Re-install that tab that was blocking one of the top nuts on the passenger side. Put the plastic cover and the sealing strip back on. You're done!

Steve Trac, Sec 303

<center><img src="http://mywebpages.comcast.net/larrytrk/BlackS4/Misc/gearratchet%20002.jpg"></center><p>
step (instead of vise grips):

shep

Compared to the fronts, the rears are a piece of cake.

1. Put the car up on jack stands, remove both wheels. Again, if you try to lift/do one at a time you'll be working against the sway bar.

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/19361/rear1.jpg">
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/19361/rear2.jpg">
2. Remove the lower shock mounting bolt. 19mm. You're probably going to have to move the parking brake cable out of the way to get the bolt out. You may also have to 'encourage' the bolt to come out with a hammer and punch.

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/19361/rear3.jpg">
3. Remove the upper control arm bolt. 18mm/19mm. Just like the fronts, it will pop up a bit when released from the tension in the bushings.

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/19361/rear4.jpg">
4. Remove the four bolts holding the upper housing to the car. 17mm.

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/19361/rear5.jpg">
5. You need to separate the bottom of the shock from the lower control arm, then push it towards the car in order to lower it into the gap between the control arm and the car. (Ignore the jack, it's not doing anything)

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/19361/rear6.jpg">
6. Be *extremely* careful here. Quarters are very tight, both the upper control arm and the upper shock housing will get very close to the fender lip. Complicating things are the locating pins for the housing and the wheel liner--the edges of the housing tend to hang up on both of them. Slowly lower the shock into the hole, then tip the upper part out away from the car. Lift the whole assembly up and out.

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/19361/rear7.jpg">
7. Take the shock someplace where you can work on it.

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/19361/rear8.jpg">
8. Remove the upper mounting bolt. 19mm.

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/19361/rear9.jpg">
9. Once the end of the bolt clears one side of the housing, force from the spring will pull down and bind the bolt. Using a punch is tough since the end of the bolt is conical. Luckily, you can simply turn it out with a ratchet.

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/19361/rear10.jpg">
10. When you do get the bolt all the way out, the shock will pop out three or four inches. Move your beer out of the way first. You could also use a spring compressor here if you want to avoid the excitement.

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/19361/rear11.jpg">
11. The rear coilover is pretty much a direct replacement, no parts need to be pirated from the old shock.

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/19361/rear12.jpg">
12. If needed, bottom out the adjustment ring on the shock (mine came that way). Insert the shock into the housing, matching the spring to the seat.

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/19361/rear13.jpg">
13. The shock won't quite reach the hole, but it's easy enough to push it down with your hand to get it to line up. You may have to fiddle a bit to get the rotation of the shock hole just right. Put on the mounting bolt. Bentley says to use a new nut *and* bolt. Tighten to 52 ft lb plus 1/4 turn.

<img src="http://users.rcn.com/sheperson/rear14.JPG">
14. Having learned my lesson on the fronts, I adjusted the springs *before* putting the unit back on the car. The punch is just to keep the lower part of the shock from turning.

<img src="http://users.rcn.com/sheperson/rear15.JPG">
15. I left 1.75 inches of thread below the collars. I would probably go more like 2.25 if I were doing it again.

<img src="http://users.rcn.com/sheperson/rear16.JPG">
16. Ready to go. Watch the fender when you slide it back in. Installation is the reverse of removal. Assemble everything, but don't tighten anything yet.

<img src="http://users.rcn.com/sheperson/rear17.JPG">
17. The hardest part is getting the lower mounting hole lined up. In addition to the up-down/left-right, the shock lower can (will) rotate out of whack. A floor jack and a long punch, drift, sacrificial screwdriver, etc are helpful here. Be patient and try not to get angry.

<img src="http://users.rcn.com/sheperson/rear18.JPG">
18. Tightening sequence and torque values from Bentley:

Upper shock housing to body, tighten all four bolts to 41 ft lb.

The last two bits are to be done with the car on the ground, according to Bentley. The idea is to avoid preloading the suspension bushings. Good luck with the upper control arm bolt; I'm sure you could fit a torque wrench around the tire easily, provided you remove the fender. Instead, I just jacked up the suspension a few inches to simulate being on the ground.

Upper control arm to bearing housing. New bolt, nut, and washer. Tighten to 37 ft lb plus 1/4 turn.

Lower shock to control arm. New bolt and nut, 52 ft lb plus 1/4 turn.

19. Wheels on, car on the ground, done.

shep

I'm kinda tired of typing right now.

jyoteen

Very nice writeup, and hence should be used as an addendum or a whole new FAQ, and let the people decide which one they want to use.

Thanks for the hard work. Writing this stuff up isn't easy.

shep

I'm not following...was he called Shep?