AUDI/VW
Question:
There have been conflicting application listings reported for the 1996
to 2005 VW Passat
Tie Rod Ends. What are the correct part numbers for this application for
these model years.
Answer:
The correct part number for all the VW Passats from model year 1996 to
model year 2005 for both
the tie rod assembly and the tie end are as follows.
8E0 419 801 B
MEYLE 116 030 8227/HD Tie Rod Assembly

8E0 419 811 B
MEYLE 116 050 8228/HD Tie Rod End

There is another similar tie rod and tie rod assembly
available but it is specific to various Audi A4 from 2000 to 2004 only.
The
part numbers are listed on the
HD Audi/VW page on this website.
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Question:
Can you please tell me the part number for the Audi S4 (early 2000) control
arm set.
Answer:
There is no official complete kit available for the 2000 S4 since 2 of
the upper front arms designed specifically for the S4 are only
available from the Dealer or the OE manufacturer aftermarket marketing
channels. A few of the independent Audi/VW repair shops
that I have spoken with have been using the same upper arms that they
use on the standard A4 and some of the online resellers of the kits are doing the same thing. I have no idea what the
difference in the arms are.
You can also pick and choose or mix and match control arms from
different brands to get the specific S4 control arms and the Heavy Duty
control arms from MEYLE instead of going for the kit. I recommend
contacting one of the online Audi Specialists and see what they usually
do depending on the customer's needs and driving habits.
The un-official kit from MEYLE # 116 050 0029/HD has all the arms that
have been used by some of the independent Audi repair shops for
the model year 2000 S4.(this kit comes with tie rod ends and stabilizer
brackets).
There is also another kit available (Less the Stabilizer Links) 116 050
0020/HD.
The most popular internet
online Audi/VW suppliers of the control arms and kits are:
www.blauparts.com
BMW
E36/E46
Question:
I have a 2004 BMW 330CI and I have
heard from one source that the ball joints are not replaceable and from
another source that they can be changed once before the factory control
arm has to be replaced. Can you comment on this? and if this is the case,
what is the part number of
the outer ball joint for my application.
Answer:
When
you look up any E46 models in the in the BMW electronic parts catalog
the ball joint is not listed separately. This is the same ball joint
that was used in the E36 3 series with the cast iron arms. There were
lot of complaints on the original ball joint design with the E36 and E46
of premature failure because of the rubber isolation that the ball pin
and cup itself would sit in.
MEYLE has
marketed the the replacement ball joint
BMW part Number
31 12 6 758 510 MEYLE
# 316 010 0003/HD for only one
replacement in the original BMW control arm.
I
recommend being careful and make sure the new ball joint requires
sufficient force to be pressed into the original control arm so they are
held firmly enough in the old original control arm. If it goes in
too easy then I would replace the complete arm. If you are the original
owner of the car then you would know if the ball joints have been
replaced. If you are not then I would take a look at your arms and see
if the original metal cover plate that covers the bottom access the the
original ball joint has been removed, if so then the ball joints have
been replaced once before.
I
would also be more careful if the car has higher mileage on it, like
more than 80,000 to 100,000 or more miles and the car has been driven in
severe climates where there are salts used on the roads to melt snow or
the car was kept in very salty areas like along the coast by the ocean
because it is possible that more electrolysis has taken place and when
the old ball joint is remove it has the possibility of taking more
aluminum material with it. If installed in a used control arm with
a larger diameter hole than recommended then because of the way the ball
joint is designed with a large lip on the bottom of the housing there is
no possibility of the ball joint coming completely out of the arm, it
would only make noise from the up and down sliding movement as it slides
up and down in the control arm hole.
I have heard of only one case when the ball joints
were installed and they became loose in the arm during the first test
drive. That customer just turned around and purchased new MEYLE arms
that were designed to be able to have it's ball joints replaced twice in
the lifetime of the arm and come with a 4 year warranty.
You should also take a close look at the control
arm bushings since the original control arm bushings are oil filled to
dampen bumps and vibrations more softly when the oil starts to leak out
or has lost all of it's oil charge
the steering will also be unstable. MEYLE produces this bushing with HD
rubber and no oil charge and gives the steering more of a firm
performance type feel.
That part number is
OE #
31 12 6 757 623
/
MEYLE 300 311 2604/HD.
Question:
Can the MEYLE HD ball joint 31 12 6 758 510 /
316 010 0003/HD be used as a replacement ball joint in either the
E36 or E46 original BMW M3 version control arms?
Answer:
No, the outer diameter on the MEYLE HD 31 12 6
758 510 is larger than the original M3 ball joints used in
both the OE BMW E36 & E46 control arms.
Question:
Will the MEYLE inner ball joint 31 12 1 139
131 / 316 010 4345 used in the MEYLE E36 control also fit into the
OE BMW control arm.
Answer:
Yes the MEYLE 31 12 1 139 131 / 316 010 4345 inner ball joint can be used in
both the OE E36 control arm
and the MEYLE E36 control arm.
Question:
Can the MEYLE E46 Heavy Duty Control
be used as a replacement for the Control Arm used in the E46 M Sports
Package II
Answer:
MEYLE does not list an equivalent control arm for the M SPORTS PACKAGE II
part number or the M3 part number. The sports package has a different number
control arm than the M3. The control arm bushings supplied with the
M SPORTS PACKAGE II are the same part number that MEYLE offers for the
standard E46 models 31 12 6 757 623. There used to be a left and a right
side but it was subbed to a kit of 2 pieces. The M3 arms use different
control arm bushings.
This information below is from
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/select.do
For the E46 330ci, FOR VEHICLES
WITH M SPORTS PACKAGE II
LOWER CONTROL ARM, LEFT - from
11/2000 PART NUMBER 31 12 2 282 121
LOWER CONTROL ARM, RIGHT - from
11/2000 PART NUMBER 31 12 2 282 122
CONTROL ARM BRACKETS WITH RUBBER
BUSHINGS D=66MM 31 12 6 757 623
For M3 E46
LOWER CONTROL ARM, LEFT PART NUMBER 31
12 2 229 453
LOWER CONTROL ARM, RIGHT PART NUMBER
31 12 2 229 454
CONTROL ARM BRACKET WITH RUBBER
BUSHINGS, LEFT PART NUMBER 31 12 2 229 623
CONTROL ARM BRACKETS WITH RUBBER
BUSHINGS, RIGHT PART NUMBER 31 12 2 229 624
Question:
Are there any other details that you can supply me with concerning the
E46 control arms
and the "HEAVY DUTY" outer ball joint used in both the E36/E46 MEYLE control
arms?