jaymac

That's a wrap for today.
I started around 11:15, and took about an hour to get the pinch bolt out. It wasn't stuck, just slow going with a measly 135 psi. mini-compressor and a ratchet. Then I got the axle bolt out with little more than a good tug on my 18" breaker bar (I don't know what all the fuss was about!), and then, the ONE thing I NEVER read about being an issue - the upper control arms won't come out!!! After I sat around for 4 hours twiddling my thumbs waiting for my wife to get home so I could take her car to buy tools, all I could come up with was a pickle fork! NO ONE in my area sells or rents ball joint separators! THe front is finally out with the help of the fork and a chisel and 4 lb. sledge. I've PB blasted it, pried it, smashed it, etc. from every which angle and it won't even BEGIN to give! The boot is destroyed, so apparently I'll need new arms anyway, but I don't want to mangle them to get them out, as I need to be back on the road by Tuesday, whether I keep trying to get it out or just bolt it all back together and pay somebody else to do it Saturday will be a wash as I'll be at an event all day long.
So I figure my options are:
1. Try to track down and attempt to use a traditional ball joint separator;
2. Try MAPP gas on the upright with my pickle fork or separator if I find one.
3. PB Blast it occasionally from now until Sunday and just try the pickle fork again.
4. Put it all back together again and pay someone else to do what I was too incompetent to do myself

Anyone have any other helpful idea's? (I don't have an air chisel by the way)

MHC1

I have done MANY CV boots as well as complete CV joint kits on Allroad, A6 and more.....I've found the EASIEST way to do it, is to not mess with any of the upper control arms (almost impossible to remove) but instead i remove the LONG bolt that connects the lower rear control arm to the chassis carrier (and sometimes I have to remove the front lower as well, but not usually) and that gives me plenty of movement to be able to turn the hub all the way to the front and "swing" the assembly out and pop out the axle from the hub. Hope this helps......Like I said, I have done a TON this way and will never, ever go back to removing the upper control arms!

jaymac

Thanks. I actually did think about trying that at the end of the day, but that bolt seemed VERY tight to remove, so I didn't try it for more than a few seconds. So I should give it another try?
I thought I've read something about that method not working for the 2.7T for some reason... but if you say you've done it, I'll try it! Any trick to removing the bolt?
Thanks