How to: Replacing rear air suspension strut
08-17-2018, 08:05 AM
#11
AudiWorld Super User
Care to hear my nightmare story:
Rear right (passenger rear) strut was starting to sag and lose air over the period of a week. I purchased the re-manufactured Arnott rear assembly for a rather decent price of $611 plus a $100 core deposit.
Original rear air strut at 204k on the left, new re-manufactured Arnott on the right, with the deletion of the air resovoir
Here's where the ****storm begins..
Removal: Follow all the standard instructions previously laid out. I purchased a bottle jack per this thread. It is not only unnecessary but also dangerous as well. The jack isn't needed at all if you follow the following procedure. All you need is a breaker bar or a long bar to push down and the strut will come out no problem. To the commenter who said the strut can come out by simply depressing it by hand, that is completely wrong and not possible.
Installation: Should have realized it. The part number is correct for a rear-right strut. The valve connector for the air fitting is facing the incorrect way and allowed for near zero clearance of the air line installation, however I made it work.
Result: The car airs up and down no problem, however there is an error with the ride dampening system and I have a yellow icon glaring me in the face now. Connected and installed correctly, so not sure where that issue comes from. Replacement should fix it.
I've contacted Arnott, they realized the mistake and told me to re-order one. Problem is, I have to re-order one from FCP-Euro then return the defective one, on top of my original core. So Now i'll be out $1400 instead of a simple $700...
I've reached out to both Arnott and FCP-Euro and told them to talk amongst themselves to rectify and compensate me for the issue and the numerous hours I've spent on the phone and now installing the air strut for the second time. Fit and finish of the Arnott strut seems great, if it were assembled correctly. The removal of the air reservoir was interesting and allows for more room to work. Time it would take should you receive the correct part from start to finish including removal of old and install of new should be 3-4 hours. Currently at 5+ hours...
I will update as I'm sure or I hope Arnott &/or FCP will rectify this.
Rear right (passenger rear) strut was starting to sag and lose air over the period of a week. I purchased the re-manufactured Arnott rear assembly for a rather decent price of $611 plus a $100 core deposit.
Original rear air strut at 204k on the left, new re-manufactured Arnott on the right, with the deletion of the air resovoir
Here's where the ****storm begins..
Removal: Follow all the standard instructions previously laid out. I purchased a bottle jack per this thread. It is not only unnecessary but also dangerous as well. The jack isn't needed at all if you follow the following procedure. All you need is a breaker bar or a long bar to push down and the strut will come out no problem. To the commenter who said the strut can come out by simply depressing it by hand, that is completely wrong and not possible.
Installation: Should have realized it. The part number is correct for a rear-right strut. The valve connector for the air fitting is facing the incorrect way and allowed for near zero clearance of the air line installation, however I made it work.
Result: The car airs up and down no problem, however there is an error with the ride dampening system and I have a yellow icon glaring me in the face now. Connected and installed correctly, so not sure where that issue comes from. Replacement should fix it.
I've contacted Arnott, they realized the mistake and told me to re-order one. Problem is, I have to re-order one from FCP-Euro then return the defective one, on top of my original core. So Now i'll be out $1400 instead of a simple $700...
I've reached out to both Arnott and FCP-Euro and told them to talk amongst themselves to rectify and compensate me for the issue and the numerous hours I've spent on the phone and now installing the air strut for the second time. Fit and finish of the Arnott strut seems great, if it were assembled correctly. The removal of the air reservoir was interesting and allows for more room to work. Time it would take should you receive the correct part from start to finish including removal of old and install of new should be 3-4 hours. Currently at 5+ hours...
I will update as I'm sure or I hope Arnott &/or FCP will rectify this.
Last edited by Brozee; 08-17-2018 at 08:17 AM.
08-20-2018, 10:36 AM
#13
AudiWorld Super User
It was the correct side all along, at Arnott, they put the air valve on the incorrect side of the tube, facing towards the rear of the car instead of facing frontward toward the passenger side front like it should be. Not sure on the error light, guessing just a faulty unit as it didn't have that issue before replacing. Will report back once completed.
08-30-2018, 04:05 PM
#14
AudiWorld Super User
Update:
Received the correct Arnott strut in the mail with the air input on the correct portion of the strut. Installation went just as planned before and this time the yellow error light went away. Now everything is working perfectly. Shame I had to install the strut twice due to an error. Glad it came to a close. All in all, new rear strut installed in 2-3 hours and $650 total +/-.
Difficulty rating 7/10
Received the correct Arnott strut in the mail with the air input on the correct portion of the strut. Installation went just as planned before and this time the yellow error light went away. Now everything is working perfectly. Shame I had to install the strut twice due to an error. Glad it came to a close. All in all, new rear strut installed in 2-3 hours and $650 total +/-.
Difficulty rating 7/10
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