Panelhead

[QUOTE=mcs;24580194]What brand and where do you guys get struts from?

Arnott don't seem to post internationally,

Cheers guys.

Mike[/QUOTE

I forget which seller had them. But they were selling the Arnott for almost a 100.00 off list.
There are definitely Sport and normal struts. The Sport give a lower ride height. Sometimes cheaper, not sure why.

mcs

Ok guys, the local dealer quoted me $5,777.24 for a new replacement strut assembly.

I will definitely be shopping aftermarket. Has anyone got a rebuilt one in their car? Do they work just fine? Because that will be the next option for me.

Mike

Petahs

Both of my frunt struts are from Arnott. I replaced the passenger side last October and the driver's side last week both were due to them leaking. Compressor is not as robust as it was before the leaks, I rebuilt it last October so going to replace that as well I ordered a rebuilt unit from RMT.

Panelhead

There are many options today. But Arnott has a track record with many cars.
They told me rears would be available this summer. But have not seen them purchasing cores.
One parts group was selling Arnott for about 550.00.
Since this is only the airbag replacement, hoping mine stay up for a long time. If they addressed the dampening, it would be a home run after replacement.

aTOMic

Fark! I had this long detailed reply and this POS android crashed.

Pinpoint the leak if possible. Vacuum tubing (4') one end in your earhole and the other checking the air connector. Known fail point. And all along the tubing; you might get lucky. Audi makes a repair kit for the tubing (see Bentley). Last resort, slime it until you find a replacement.

Mine had a leak right at the pump where the brown tube comes out also; it was not visible but a big leak. That's the vent/intake, so if that was it you'd probably have correlated it to the normal venting by now, though.

Lastly I got my compressor - all new not rebuilt - from Germany (so they ship internationally and it only took 2 days!) look for Meisser (sp?) on ebay it was $500 shipped but they've gone up to $600.

Did you read my post (the one I linked to above with the photo of the sensor in a glass of ice water reading 130C) that describes how the temp sensor reading is not a true indicator of compressor temp? Worth noting. Algorithm is what you're seeing; it'll give you a temp with the sensor detached. It's described in an SSP - I'm not assuming.

Flame suit on for the slime recommendation.

-Tom

Petahs

Did you use the slime? If so did you have to replace anything as a result? I was afraid to do it due to the issues it caused some people later on.

aTOMic

Petah (ha),
I did not use the slime. Even though my car let random corners down, I first replaced the compressor, and found the brown tube broken right at the compressor, so who knows what got sucked into there. The biggest part of the compressor is the dessicant canister which filters the air pretty effectively (AFTER the pump, however but don't quote me on that, not certain)

Slime: NUMEROUS heated discussions on the allRoad forums. What I took away from my research was one must remove the strut to do it right (some of theirs you can see the bladder; ours have a cover that's supposedly "unremovable"); remove the residual air check valve which is designed to keep a minimum amount of air in the spring in case of leaks anywhere BUT the spring, then you have a nice big opening to introduce the minimum amount of sealant and hopefully seal the one little hole (if you're lucky) by placing it with the hole in the lowest position and gently inflating it til it seals; let 'er dry after draining excess slime, and you're done. Unfortunately what many find is the rubber is cracked all the way around and not worth repairing
For $6000 durn right i'd try, but I'd try not to leave enough slime in there to ever escape the air spring.
For half that you can have one shipped from the UK jolly good. A8Parts.com - and they have a forum with a bunch of guys who talk funny there, too! You should be able to find one on copart.com or for that money buy a "totalled"A8 (if that's feasible for you) and you'd have a million-dollar spare parts inventory!

-Taummy
(I assume "Petah" is how they say your name in New England; mine's "Taummy)

mcs

Thanks guys!

Buying a smashed car is not feasible, as a written off car is still worth about $17k from an insurance auction.

Since the aussie dollar and the greenback are near enough to parity, so it is worth me looking stateside for parts.

I am going to remove a few parts this weekend to determine the exact leak before I buy a strut, but its always the left front side of the car that's low.

The car won't go into lift mode, and generates the fault codes for leak, G291 sensor and intermittent.

The compressor runs more often but by all means not all the time, and the warning light for the lower limit exceeded has only come on once.

The spring doesn't deflate fully ever either. I will look into the compressor ports as unfortunately the compressor, the G291 valve block and the spring all are in the same place.

However, when the car is parked the it tries to level and the only wheel that immediately drops is the passenger side front.

Mike

mixja23

I'm told I need to replace at least one front strut but same as most, I'm on a budget, won't be forking out for new OEM sadly...!!
Was wondering if anyone had used these...?? Says as good as OEM (I guess they all say that tho!) plus a 3 year unlimited mileage warranty... Can't argue with that to be fair, certainly not at that price....

https://www.ebay.com/itm/For-2002-20...da1HfU&vxp=mtr

I also need a compressor apparently...

Jack88

There are no good aftermarket options, and none are as good as those, no matter what they say. Get a used strut that matches the part number(or superceded version, if applicable,) for your car if you are on a budget. You can get a warranty at extra cost.