Worked on the wife's Audi Allroad today.
One of the front suspension airbags has gone down. It's a 2004 and in 2010 I replaced both fronts with Arnott American made replacement bags, which are warranted for life (they don't say who's life tho), I called their warranty dept and they sent me a new one (I had to pay for it of course) and a prepaid shipping label to return the old one, if they find it's bad they credit me back for everything, including the shipping.
So, on to the job......since I've done it before I figured it would be a pretty quick and easy swap - they're not hard to change - when everything goes to plan, which of course it didn't. Getting it out wasn't hard, just a matter of undoing the appropriate bolts and lifting the assembly out. Once out you remove the top cap........erm, remove the top cap..........uh, Houston we have a problem........
It did finally come off with a judicious application of a 3 lb hammer - but it was supposed to just slip off. Putting it back together was easy peasy and then I went to put it back in the car - where the hell's that damn bolt?
1/2 hour later the wife found it in the driveway where it had rolled under the garage door and out.....
OK, we're moving along now, lower ball joint back in the control arm, shock bolt in, upper ball joints back in the hub, pinch bolt in, all that's left are the three bolts that hold the cap to the tower. Got the wife to raise the jack while I guide it into place....good, now where's that damn bolt?
It had fallen under the battery tray......OK I'll take that out. ****, there's a strut tower brace in the way, OK, I'll take that out......**** there's something zip tied to it under the........**** can't get cutters in there and it won't move till I do. OK, razor knife will get it........done! Now why won't the damn brace come out? OK, just got to finagle it just right.....and out. Battery tray out - there's the damn bolt. OK, good news, there's a plenum drain under the battery tray that's plugged up too, I'll clean that out while I'm in there.
Meanwhile....got all the bolts back in, struts all tightened up - oops, wife says dinner time, I'll finish it later.
All that's left now is to put the battery tray back in, the strut brace back in, zip tie the cable to it again, recheck all the bolt, put the battery back in, then connect the air line and see if I fixed it.
Maybe tomorrow.
