Cja8l

I recently purchased a 2006 audi a8l quattro with 89k the previous owner i believe air suspension went up and dented the oil pan front crossmemeber and etc. My passenger wheel is straight when the steering wheel is turned straight but my driver wheel is cocked a lil. I removed the crossmember and everything but i just cant tell whats bent on the drivers side. Ive been looking at the knuckle for about an hour wondering if the driver side knuckle is bent where it meets the tie rod. Can someone tell me if it looks bent to them? This is the driver side looks like where the tie rod is the arm is twisted up
This is the passenger side the arm looks normal to me
Another pic of the driver side

Another pic of the driver side

Cja8l

https://youtu.be/z4l5OdbDlCE quick video

Jack88

I see a torn boot, but it's difficult from the pictures to see much else. Photos are 2 dimensional, and that makes it hard to see deformation. Both sides should look the same, so you should be comparing the two. My first thought is someone hit a curb, that could cause the damage you see and the misalignment.

richard-tx

Change the tie rod end and then take it to Audi for an alignment. If anything is wrong, they will tell you.

rich

Cja8l

yea the tore came from me but on the driver side its like the knuckle is twisted turning the tie rod towards the engine area vs the driver side the tie rod is pointing straight up

dvs_dave

The last pic you posted clearly shows it's twisted. Both sides should look the same.

Whatever did it was a big hit, and I'd be surprised if there wasn't more damage lurking elsewhere.

Cja8l

Whatever this silver bar is has a crack in it. Whatever they rode over was on the driverside.
On my lift at my shop. I. Thinking they rode over a curb or something idk

dvs_dave

[QUOTE=Cja8l;24960470] Whatever this silver bar is has a crack in it. Whatever they rode over was on the driverside.

There's a lot more than a crack! Look the end at the top of the picture. The whole front of that bar has been smashed off. Sway bar is bent too:

Definite collision damage. Did you know this when you bought it?

Cja8l

Yea i knew about it ive bout some cars before with undercarriage damage just never an audi. The front air suspension is busted im pretty sure thats how the damage happen we have a local junkyard with an 04 thats gonna sell me all the parts. I just wasnt sure about that steering knuckle. I couldnt pass up a 2006 audi a8l with 89k on it for 2k. Im prob gonna just replace the whole suspension with used parts just to be safe

Jack88

Now that I'm more awake, I can see what Dave is talking about pretty clearly. If I were you, I would recommend new parts, except for the air suspension where Arnott is a good source for rebuilt struts. These cars go through front suspension components, so any used parts are highly suspect. I wonder if the front suspension failed first, and the undercarriage damage occurred when the owner drove into something that would not have caused a problem otherwise. Heck, I've scraped my Dodge's belly pan on manhole covers here, and that's only lowered 0.8".