A6 C5 Avant broken a spring, 1BE/sports suspension

[lost in espace]

I bought my father in laws A6 off him, and early 2004 model, a few months ago. It has always clunked from the front o/s on speed bumps and the mot fail confirms this is a broken spring.

It has the flaming low and annoying sports suspension, although it is probably lower than it should be due to the broken spring.

Finding replacement springs seems to be far from straightforward, GSF and Eurocarparts don't sell the sports springs. Ebay only has "lowered" springs, which I think are about 40mm shorter than standard, and OEM is 20mm lower.

Anyone recommend somewhere that sells reasonably priced sports springs?

[lost in espace]

Update: found some Apex lowering springs that should do the job, and DIY fitting seems straightforward.

[Adrian E]

You're looking at £112 each incl VAT RRP from TPS. Probably knock anything between 5-30% off that depending on their mood/access to discounts for that item.

For 1BE/1BV there are 9 options for front springs, depending on number and colour of paint marks on the springs, which relates to model specific PR code.

Happy to list them if you're needing them, but no point if you've ordered already

[lost in espace]

Thanks Adrian I will have a look, much appreciated.

[Adrian E]

PR code to confirm is one of:

0JD
0JE
0JF
0JG
0JH
0JJ
0JK
0JL
0JM

These have corresponding paint marks (up to 4 of various colours) to confirm spring part number, which from the PR codes above I can provide colour and part number

[lost in espace]

Thanks again Adrian, I actually ordered the Apex springs for £114 for the 4 which seems a bargain and I spoke to a parts guy who said the part I ordered would fit. If I need to get back to you I will, top man :-)

Just checked the ride height and the drivers side is 2" lower than the passenger! No wonder the ride is so awful, and it is generally boomy in the back so fitting a full set can only help.

[Andy JB]

To confirm the sports springs on my old B5 were Audi order only - Good luck with the Apex

[jith]

lost in espace said:

Thanks again Adrian, I actually ordered the Apex springs for £114 for the 4 which seems a bargain and I spoke to a parts guy who said the part I ordered would fit. If I need to get back to you I will, top man :-)

Just checked the ride height and the drivers side is 2" lower than the passenger! No wonder the ride is so awful, and it is generally boomy in the back so fitting a full set can only help.

I wouldn't fit them if I were you. Messing about with Audi suspension is not that easy. To get the suspension working correctly, particularly the ride height and quality, means ensuring the spring and shocker ratings are matched. This is a very exact science and some of the aftermarket springs are bloody dreadful and will cause premature failure of the shocks.

I would bite the bullet and order the genuine Audi item. I have genuine Audi springs on my A6 combined with Bilstein sport shocks which are Audi approved and it's a real animal; and the ride quality is superb. But they're not cheap!

J

[robin_cox]

Apologies for resurrecting an old thread, but I have found myself in the same position as the original poster and unable to obtain an informed answer thus far.

2003 A6 C5 2.7Tq Avant, with 1BE sport suspension and 0JK weight range - and one of the front springs may have broken last weekend.

Is it possible to confirm the part number for this? - in particular, if Adrian E is still around with the information offered previously I would be much obliged.

One source online suggests that the part is 8K0411105EF (coil spring 3 paint marks violet) PR-0JK, or the Bilstein equivalent 36-250073 but when I've searched for these online the 'compatibility' checker keeps identifying these as being springs for an A4 B8 or A5 TDi convertible and absolutely not compatible with an A6 C5 - this sort of conflicting information is a bit frustrating. Any suggestions will be much appreciated. Many thanks, Robin

[Adrian E]

robin_cox said:

Apologies for resurrecting an old thread, but I have found myself in the same position as the original poster and unable to obtain an informed answer thus far.

2003 A6 C5 2.7Tq Avant, with 1BE sport suspension and 0JK weight range - and one of the front springs may have broken last weekend.

Is it possible to confirm the part number for this? - in particular, if Adrian E is still around with the information offered previously I would be much obliged.

One source online suggests that the part is 8K0411105EF (coil spring 3 paint marks violet) PR-0JK, or the Bilstein equivalent 36-250073 but when I've searched for these online the 'compatibility' checker keeps identifying these as being springs for an A4 B8 or A5 TDi convertible and absolutely not compatible with an A6 C5 - this sort of conflicting information is a bit frustrating. Any suggestions will be much appreciated. Many thanks, Robin

Hiya

Sorry for slow reply - had to be in front of my desktop PC to check. The correct part number should be 8d0 411 105 fj with 1 brown paint mark and 2 grey. The retail at about £100 each from Audi.

[robin_cox]

Hello,

thank you for confirming that - I've had the same number / paint marks recommended a day or so ago so it is good to have corroborating information.

Do you have any suggestions for appropriate shocks? if I'm getting the control arms done at the same time I may as well refresh the lot.

Best wishes, Robin

[Adrian E]

Hi

I can probably identify the OEM part number for your car, but don't have recent experience of aftermarket suspension as haven't fitted any in about 20 years!

You can't go far wrong with the German manufacturers - the only thing to be wary of is brands where the rights to the name have been bought by one of the well known online and store retailers, who apply them to 'cheap' products.