TheGoldenOne

HI all I've seen some posts stating various steering wheels in the VAG group are interchangeable, but not seen anything about an 02 A4. I've seen a decent leather wheel on an A4 in a breakers yard - no wheel controls and the airbag shape appears the same. Would this fit - and would the bags be interchangeable please? My car is a 2001 Octavia Elegance estate. Also - any tips to removing the wheel? I understand that I need to disconnect the battery for a few minutes, then release the spring clips from the rear of the wheel, remove the airbag and unclip all the wires? Many thanks all

Thanks Octyal - where is the best place to get the springs then? I've seen various makes, and would be happy with OEm or equivalent. Thanks again

Hi all, still need to get this on a ramp to check out the springs!! But - I have seen a VRS for breaking on ebay and the springs are up for a tenner. Would these be interchangeable, without changing anything else on my car? What impacts might a straight spring-swap have? Thanks again all :-)

Dammit!! OK - had a cursory look under the wings at the springs on both sides and can't see any obvious snapping or issues? Presume it would be fairly obvious if this had occurred? Car still driving well despite the twangs ??

So more of an update. Yesterday morning as I drove out of our village, there was a fairly loud twang when the car was barely moving - and then a fairly horrific speed related grinding noise. I could not stop due to road conditions, but steering felt fine, brakes were working, so I drove on carefully, until I was able to pull into a side turning. As I turned in, there was a similar twang noise - and then all the grinding stopped. Everything felt fine, and no issues since - and - the knocking that had come back - has now gone again? This is all a bit weird - any thoughts - aside from the car being haunted !!!

Hi all, a bit of an update on this. So, yes, all nice and quiet after arb bushes and drop links fitted, but steering wheel out of line, so got the tracking done. Got it back, steering wheel back straight, but mild knock back again, which has got worse again over the last couple of days and almost back to how it was??? What is going on? Ok, so the kit was only £20, but I wouldn't expect it to knacker out in 2/3 days? Any more ideas please guys?

I'll probably just have to live with it at the moment as funds are tight. The car itself was only £420 - but great value. It feels great in the corners - there is a roundabout on the way home where I get to the apex and boost off in third down the exit and it feels nice and tight there. There is also a sort of corkscrewing shimmy I can feel under acceleration going uphill - accompanied by an apparent loudness - (as mentioned above) - I'm wondering if this is an engine mount(s) allowing some movement and some stress on the exhaust? But what am I on about? £420 for a comfortable economical and pretty fast motor with a few battle scars is hard to beat!!

Thanks Ken - the undertray does seem to have dropped. The front bumper has clearly had a whack so is distorted on the lower edge - (speed-hump maybe) - and this was there when I bought it. The undertray is fixed to that, so I reckon maybe the miss-shapen bumper is meaning the tray is lower. It's all fixed up with cable ties though. I'll maybe have a roll about underneath it at the weekend. Cheers . .

Hi all So - the suspension arm was replaced and one of the bushes was totally knackered - but it still knocked. Quick scan of the bay and saw a drop link and arb kit for sub £20. Bought it - got it next day - and the garage chap fitted day of receipt for £30. Knocking all gone - so thanks all for the input - a nice simple fix in the end! The front suspension is really soft though and it bottoms out against the undertray a lot on bumpy roads - is this a trait of the mk1 - or does it suggest front suspension tiring? It's a 2001 1.9tdi Elegance and done 137K . .

The "lower" bit is probably me miss-describing the diagnosis rather than a fault at the garage! Don't think it's wheel bearings as very familiar with the grinding noise they make - plus it's knocking in relation to road imperfections and not speed related. The garage is right next to my office, so they are looking again today as I said I felt like the noise was coming from both sides. Will see what they find next. Thanks all so far . .

Hi all, been away for a while after selling my Fabia VRs, but back and happy in a 1.9 tdi Octy estate. Have a bit of what sounds like suspension knocks, mainly over more bumpy roads. Had it looked at by a local garage, who said the near side lower suspension arm needed replacing, which could well be correct, but it really feels like the knock(s) are both sides. So, could it be as diagnosed and the noise/feel transferring, or, could it be something else, like engine/gearbox mounts, dog bone? One other factor, accelerating hard up hill in 3rd, with a gentle right-hand curve results in a slight vibration/wobble through the steering. Any thoughts please?