Roughly how long should ball joints and control arms last

[Ian9]

I know it could the "how long is bit of string"...first of all I didn't know there was 4 each side if buying cheaper one it would still be about 200 a side. I know the trw and lemforder make but they're the most expensive but would hopefully last longer. What I should say, it's a 2.0 tdi estate with already 140 on it but I don't do many miles, maybe about 6-7000ish a year but the roads (as many are) full of holes ect.

so if/when I need to replace what should I get, when I think about it if was to get everything both sides and was trw ect it'd be £650-700 my god...audi's are good cars but christ thats a lot just to replace b/j's and front control arms

[Guest 2]

Lemforder or Meyle HD, you'll regret buying the cheaper ones when you're replacing them again.

[Ian9]

True.....I guess I'm right on the price if the all need done

[Roonster]

I've changed all the arms, Drop-links, ARB Bushes and track Rod ends on the front of mine. Now drives like new. Managed to get Febi/Bilstein parts which are top quality. Totally agree that you get what you pay for and not to buy cheap. Fitting is pretty straight forward except for the Pinch Bolt that secures the Ball Joints of the Upper Arms. They are a total nightmare.

[Ian9]

And price wise for all that is about what I said isn't it

No wonder the mechanic I use warned me off Audi

[rowdy-999]

But why on earth, unless you have money to burn, or have to have a old car working at 100%, would you change every joint or bush, even though they were well within spec/tolerances?
If I found a worn joint on one side, I might replace the corresponding joint on the opposite side of the vehicle if I was bothered. I would not replace all the joints.....where do you stop.....springs.....dampers? We're not talking race cars here.

[windyj]

Just done mine on my Avant (103,000 m). Last Mot had snagged both bottom arms for leaking grease and both fwd top arm for perishing ball joint rubbers. Also noticed passenger side shock weeping. So bought a febi arm kit Lemforder drop links and bilstien shocks. It took me a whole day to do the first side. I had to heat the pinch bolt to get it out. Second side took about half the day as I had worked out a good routine. The Febi kit was bought off Amazon for around £400 which included all the arms, tie rods and fitting kit. Shocks were £90 from eBay.once it was all done I took it for a 4 wheel alignment. No more knocks or squeaking.

[spartacus 68]

A lot depends on mileage, driving style, existing component manufacturer make, and the types of roads the car is driven on. As suggested, quality OE kit such as Meyle HD or Lemforder should be on your shopping list. When you consider the labour involved to physically strip out the old components, it simply pays to fit robust parts. Cheap EBay imports are a complete waste of time. You get what you pay for. Then there's alignment/tracking costs on completion.

Shock absorber/dampers should be replaced in opposing pairs, as should coil springs, regardless of condition.

I've just stripped out the original wishbones on my wife's A2. The lower balljoints came up as an advisory on the MOT due to the rubber boots being compressed, but not split. It was a bu**er of a job, but the original balljoints were still tight, which surprised me. Car is 2003 (140k miles). Done now and I fitted Meyle HD.

Audi A4s, then you're likely to see wear on the upper arms first. I'd replace the ARB links and bushes as they're relatively inexpensive. The trouble just replacing individual parts, is as soon as you finish one bit, something else goes. Meyle HD kit comes with 4-years warranty. Fit and forget.

[Ian9]

Yes but we don't all 2-3-400+ ready just for stuff like that....I'm dreading it

[windyj]

Well I bought mine with 54,000 miles on it and have had it 7 years it now has 103,000 miles on it and I have just changed all the front suspension as I said above. So my mileage is similar to yours. My last 3 annual service reports had mentioned suspension wear and also the MOT. So the car wont fall apart instantly! I changed it because it would fail the MOT and being an engineer changed it all as I knew I would only be back in there again. I think you have to be realistic and accept that these cars will need replacement parts as they are quite old now. Have you actually been told that the suspension needs doing? do you have any evidence of any suspension replacement in the past. To be honest if I bought any car with 140,000 miles on it. I would expect to change the odd suspension part and factor that into the purchase price. Don't worry to much and enjoy the car.