Fitted the H&R lowering springs today

[voyager162]

just in the midst of doing this now, top ball joints are a major ball ache to split (well they are on mine) Grrrrrr.

[voyager162]

ok top ball joints, "beware"

yet again Audi have used steel bolts in an aluminum assembly, to make matters worse its an interference fit between the alu carrier and the bolt, electrolytic corrosion has of course seized the bolts solid

i have had to drill one side out, which was an utter pain in the ass due to the location, so if you doing this beware those top ball joints as they could turn a 30 min job into a 2 day ballache. have replaced both old bolts with new tempered bolts, and copious amount of copper grease.

[ArthurPE]

be very careful tightening these
iirc people have cracked the pinch joint

[voyager162]

yeah its a fairly badly designed assembly, and very easy to crack the pinch bracket if not careful, i will have to take it apart again soon as i have pinched both rubber boots on the balljoints during removal as these were also fairly seized in the bracket, and ball joint rubbers are now an MOT fail if split.

to top it off it seems i have lost DRC pressure so will need to get this pressure checked for a leak and recharged again,

Audi ofc will glady remove my arm and leg to do this so i see a trip over to Unit20 later this week or next.

i have not had many issues with the B7 really but of 6 problems over the last few years 4 of these are due to dissimilar metals bolted or screwed together, such as the above and oil cooler pipes etc.

[07misanored]

Am I correct in saying that the rears are much more straight forward? Have new wheels on the way and am thinking the car won't look as good as it could until I drop it slightly. Expierienced in working on cars, have the correct tools, from your pictures I can handle the fronts but havent had a chance to get under the car and look at the rears. Debating on ordering these.

Just a note from my expieience... planning is key to a project and nothing has helped my projects go more smoothly over the years than taking time to hit all fasteners/conections involved with the project with some penetrating lubricant the day before, or at least several hours before I dive into a project.

Broke two studs off in a MK1 225hp quattro TT's turbo once on a downpipe install and after ~30 hrs of work fixing that I have lived by this motto ever since...and havent had a single problem since.

[caldy]

Rears are a doddle, especially using a ramp.

[kidyamlo]

Any ground clearance issues (speed bumps - all varieties; kerbed entrances to badly designed driveways / car park entrances, etc) with the H&R springs on?

I had H&R lowering springs on my B5 Avant and (largely due to the design of the exhaust I believe, the lowest point sitting just aft of the front axle - therefore the car would drop back down *on* to the cats after clearing a bump) I was constantly scraping concrete. Set my nerves on end!

Would love to have them on my B7 because they look ace, but not if I can't clear bumps.

Also, any issues with your DRC shocks since fitting these? I don't believe *any* warranty will cover DRC failure if aftermarket springs are involved (happy to be corrected) which is also putting me off. Wondering about going for SS+ springs as an alternative, if it's a simple case of swapping them out...

[ArthurPE]

the lowering is mild
mine ~5/8ths " in front
1/2" in the rear

[ashy]

ok top ball joints, "beware"

yet again Audi have used steel bolts in an aluminum assembly, to make matters worse its an interference fit between the alu carrier and the bolt, electrolytic corrosion has of course seized the bolts solid

i have had to drill one side out, which was an utter pain in the ass due to the location, so if you doing this beware those top ball joints as they could turn a 30 min job into a 2 day ballache. have replaced both old bolts with new tempered bolts, and copious amount of copper grease.

Spot on with your BEWARE voyager162, i have just bought the H+R springs and thought i would fit all four today. How wrong was i...lol.
Bolts seized solid in both sides, first side took us around 4 hours as we tried doing it on the car but ended up removing the entire upright and drilling and pressing the bolt out. Second side took around 2 hours as just went straight to removing the upright.
What a complete ass of a job that was.
Atleast i was prepared from your post so had new bolts...
Didn't get time to do the rears so how difficult are they?

[MikeFish]

Zombie!

Did you realise this thread is over 3 years old?

[ashy]

Yes i found it in the sticky threads but was just saying thanks for the heads up on the pinch bolts and to see if anyone had any info on the rears