Gearman

Hello Members - I am new to the forum purchasing a used 2006 A4 Quattro base sedan earlier this year.

I need some information to help me replace rear an upper control arm, ( Transverse link in Audi service book speak) on the passenger side in order to get my alignment corrected before installing new tires, (toe is +0.10 out of spec). I have two main questions

1. I have a discrepancy of information between my factor service book information and my dealer's parts department information regarding how the upper mounting bolt attaches. My service manual shows just a bolt going through the link for the upper mount, (leading me to think there is a welded nut in the subframe and for the lower attachment/adjusting point a special bolt, washer, and a nut. (See attached PDF from my service book, bolted joint in question is Number 10). The dealer's parts department claims their image on the screen and BOM shows that the upper mount is attached using a bolt, washer, and nut.

My issue here is that I can barely get my fingers up into that RH side area to even feel around, (there is no real clearance) and I am not sure I could get a socket up in there and have clearance to remove a nut and washer. Not counting the fact that it is bound to be rusted and I cannot a spray can of penetrant up in there very well to coat the end of the fastener as it comes through the frame. I tried looking with my inspection camera but could not Identify conclusively what I was seeing.

2. My service manual indicates that I need to drop the rear subframe to get access to the upper bolt, (although it does state when standing on wheels) "Due to the inaccessibility of the inner bolt -1- when the vehicle is standing on wheels, the transverse link can only be removed after the subframe has been removed"

Both using a nut up top and having to drop the rear subframe seems silly to me. I am asking someone that has done this replacement to shed light on these two issues. I looked for some U-tube video for the replacement of the rear upper control arm but could not find any. I did see some information in the how-To's section on the forum here, (Audi A4 B7: How to Replace Ball Joints/Control Arms), that went into detail with pictures on changing the front upper control arms but only showed a single picture of the rear upper control arm with a statement that it is easier to replace, see below.

Step 5 – Replace the rear upper control arm

The rear arms are a lot easier to replace.

• Thoroughly lubricate each side of the control arm.
• Use an 18mm socket to remove the front and rear bolts.
• Install the new rear control arm.

I am sorry for the long post/explanation here. I would really appreciate any help you can provide to sort this out.

Thank you in advance for your help!

Gearman

No one! Really??? I cannot be the first person to replace one of these.

Jayzb7a4

I changed mine a few months back. The nut that you were talking about on the inside of the upper control arm, is a press-fit nut. Real pain in the *** to get off cuz as soon as you start loosening the bolt the night usually breaks free. Then just spins with the bolt, especially cuz they're usually rusted. I had to lower my subframe for enough to get a small pipe wrench on the nut to hold it. I bought new press-fit nuts to replace them with, when installing. When reinstalling, tighten the bolt up to pull the nut into the subframe. Then loosen it, so you can jack up the spindle to put the arm at right height before tightening. Hope this helps