General notes on rear axle — AUDI

General notes on rear axle
All contact surfaces must be cleaned when installing wax-coated components. The contact surfaces must be free of wax and grease.
Tightening torques refer to unoiled bolts and nuts.
Always renew self-locking bolts/nuts.
Always renew bolts and nuts which are tightened by turning through a specified angle.
Load-bearing components and other suspension parts must not be welded or straightened.
Do not subject coil springs to hammer blows or weld splashes and do not make any new colour markings.
Do not perform welding or cutting operations (using power grinders) near the coil springs or suspension struts. Cover up coil springs or suspension struts if necessary.
Make sketches or take photographs when unfastening or removing and installing hydraulic or pneumatic pipes or electrical wires. This ensures re-installation at the original location.
Any cable ties, brackets or fasteners removed during repair work must be re-attached at their original standard locations.
Do not let drive shaft hang down under its own weight when performing repair work, as otherwise excessive bending could damage inner CV joint.
Do not attempt to move the vehicle without the drive shafts fitted; this would result in wheel bearing damage. If the vehicle does have to be moved, always note the following points:
Fit an outer joint in place of the drive shaft.
Tighten bolt securing drive shaft to wheel hub to 200 Nm.
Bonded rubber bushes can only be turned to a limited extent. The suspension must therefore always be in the unladen position or the reference position when the suspension link attachments are tightened.
Lifting suspension to unladen position
Chapter
“
Lifting suspension to unladen position on vehicles with coil springs (rear axle)
”
From model year 2010 onwards, steel track rods are being introduced gradually instead of aluminium track rods. Mixed installation of different track rods on the same axle is not permissible; for correct type, refer to
Electronic parts catalogue
.
If the wheel alignment has to be checked and adjusted at a later stage, all bolts and nuts which need to be slackened to make adjustments should initially only be tightened to the specified torque figure. After wheel alignment has been checked and adjusted, bolts and nuts must then be fully tightened by turning them through the specified angle.
WARNING
All bolts and nuts must be fully tightened according to specifications before the vehicle is driven on public roads.
WARNING
Risk of personal injury caused by automatic engine start on vehicles with start/stop system.
On vehicles with activated start/stop system (indicated by a symbol in the instrument cluster) the engine can start automatically under certain conditions.
When working on the vehicle, it is therefore important to ensure that the start/stop system is deactivated (switch off ignition and switch on again if required).
Note
During a limited period, a subframe for four-wheel drive vehicles was installed on front-wheel drive vehicles; please refer to
Electronic parts catalogue
for more information.
During a limited period, a wheel bearing housing for four-wheel drive vehicles was installed on front-wheel drive vehicles
Item
; please refer to
Electronic parts catalogue
for more information. Mixed installation of different versions on the same vehicle is not permissible. Procedure for vehicles with four-wheel drive wheel bearing housing
Chapter
“
Removing and installing wheel bearing housing - four-wheel drive vehicles
”
During a limited period, a steel wheel bearing housing was installed instead of an aluminium wheel bearing housing on front-wheel drive vehicles; please refer to
Electronic parts catalogue
for more information. Mixed installation of different versions on the same vehicle is not permissible.