This car had a recall, while the previous owner had it, for lower front suspension arms. I think the problem was that the ball joint seals failed, they filled with water, and they rusted. And, to make things difficult, you need to replace the entire arm, because the balljoints aren't removeable.
So at the recall, the dealer replaced the two lower arms on the right side. Now the left sounds like death -- grinding, groaning -- at any suspension movement or steering input. I suspect the lower joints on the left side -- the ones that the dealer didn't think they needed to replace under the recall.
I'm trying to figure out whether I need to replace one, or both, of the lower arms on the left side.
Messing around a little yesterday, I sprayed some lithium grease on each boot. Did the rear first, then lowered to the ground and bounced the car/moved the steering wheel. Much less noise with vertical movement, but steering made about the same amount of noise. Then did the front one. Not much different. Then took it for a drive; and for the first 5 miles of the 5.5 mile test drive, there was no noise. Then it came back -- first in steering, then in suspension travel. Re-applying the grease is now ineffective. (It was a diagnostic attempt, not a cure)
Anyway, anyone have a diagnostic suggestion/spare set of left-lower arms for a B5/better idea?
As always, your thoughts are much appreciated. Matt
