Rich22

The rear upper and lower control arm bushings need to be replaced on my 2018 A4 (41,500 miles). I am thinking of replacing the whole control arms myself as I do not own or know anyone that has a hydraulic press to remove and insert the new bushings; however, I am not experienced in working on cars and this would be my first time taking on wrenching job like this. Have any of you ever replaced the whole control arm on a 2018 A4 and if so could you share some solid resources you used to complete this job. For examples, what tools did you need, are there torque specifications to follow, etc. Any help would be great!

SMac770

Removing the arm is the first step in replacing the bushing, so it's the same start either way. Just a trade off of bushing replacement labor cost vs whole arm part cost. So you have to address the whole removal and re-installation of the arms either way.

You need to find a copy of the workshop manual for the type 8W (B9 A4) - suspension, steering, wheels (aka what Audi calls "running gear"). That'll have the how to, torque specs, and what bolts and nuts are replace if removed. You can find old copies on cardiagn.com, but it's a pita to view the PDFs through their site. Versus having your own local copy from erwin.audiusa.com. It's generally the same concept for all B8 and B9 A4/A5/Q5, but you'll want the 8W manual for the specific details.

LightningTruck

They sell the whole arm with bushing installed, is 30, 36, 42 dollars depends on what you need, but my 2017 at 89,000 miles look fine.
https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=12243981
https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=12243877
https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=12243793
https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=12243841
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142 guy

Do as suggested. Register on Erwin and then pay the 24 hr access fee which will allow you to down load every service manual that applies to your VIN. I recall that 24 hr access is less than $50. Read the service manual and it will provide the step by step in full gory detail. Having a complete set of service manuals will always be a good future resource if you plan to keep the car.

For a 'first timer', complete replacement of the control arm is the way to go. A machine shop can press out old and press in new bushing; but, the cost for the bushings and machine shop labor (and your run around time) will likely approach or exceed the cost of complete control arms from RockAuto. If you purchase a complete control arm you can generally eyeball the replacement arm and the original arm and make a 'will fit' / 'will not fit' determination before you start yanking things apart and end up with a car in pieces in your garage and a part that does not fit.

Read the service manual before you start. If there is something that is unclear in the service manual then come back and post a specific question.

rennen-affe

You aren't the first, maybe class action stuff.

A4Driver

This was a long time ago, but a month after the warranty expired on my '96 B4, my front suspension control arm bushings went bad. The car had about 40k miles on it. My dealership replaced the entire control arms (can't remember if they were upper or lower) for $800.

I wrote a letter to Audi of America, telling them that I had previously owned several American cars with almost 100,000 miles on them, and not one of them ever developed any suspension problems. How is it that my Audi, which was much more expensive, had parts that don't stand up as well? I told them that if they don't take care of this, my next car would be a Toyota.

Audi refunded my money.
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SMac770

Just glanced back at the opening post and realized he said rear suspension arms. The B9, like the B8 before it (no idea if at some point in A4 history it was different), but Audi has no parts or process defined for replacing just the bushings on any of the rear suspension arms. From an Audi workshop perspective, it's only whole arm replacement.

There's the large center lower control arm that the spring sits on. Then skinnier forward and rearward upper control arms. Then the rearward track arm that attaches to the upper rear of the wheel bearing housing (sets camber). And the forward track arm that attaches to the front lower of the wheel bearing housing (sets toe). The four smaller arms have bushings on both ends. The large center lower arm is not like the others.

Which specific bushings are in question? And that's terrible to be replacing any bushings at 41k. But just look at the rear spring mount problems with the B9 and how Audi tries to pawn that off as a wear item.

142 guy

Good point on the front - rear designation. You do need to be careful with the terminology and the parts descriptions. In the Rock Auto parts descriptions there is front -rearward, rear - forward and similar rather ambiguous terms. Probably need to get the actual Audi part numbers to confirm what you are getting.

I was assuming that the OP was referring to the front - rearward control arms.