# B7 Neuspeed Spring Install DIY



## AZMCS (Dec 6, 2005)

Well I finally had a chance to help out my bro' and put the Neuspeed sport springs on his B7 A4. It is a tough job given the number of components that need to be removed but can realisticaly be done by 2 people in about 4-6 hours depending on skill level and patience. I didn't find a write up in the archives or recent posts so I thought I would put this together to help others out. It should work regardless of whether you are doing Neuspeed springs or H&R, Wietec, etc. Also, from what I hear the B7 job is very similar to the B6 job.
Please note that this is not a job for a first time shade tree mechanic to try to pull off. I recommend you recruit some experienced help to make this happen. it is just nuts and bolts, but you will be pulling signifcant parts of both your suspension and steering systems apart on your car. I also apologize to the better educated techs and mechanics out there. I am no expert and probably don't kow the "correct" or "proper" names for some of these specific suspension components.
Tools you will need
Philips and straight blade screwdrivers, various sizes
Hammer
Punch
Rubber mallet
3/8" sockets sizes: 10, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19mm
1/2" sockets sizes: 16, 17, 18 ,19, 21mm
Torque wrench
4 jack stands
Floor jack
Spring compressor
breaker bar
T-20 Torx bit
Tools you will find very helpful
Strut spreader
Impact wrenches, 3/8" and 1/2"
Air compressor
3/8" Impact ratchet
Strut spreader/Pickel fork
*Front Spring job*
We'll start off in the front. The first step to this job is getting the car in the air and getting all 4 wheels off. *If you can't or don't know how to get you car jacked up and on 4 jack stands stop now and get a shop to do this work for you*. In no way am I responsible for death/dismemberment/injury to you, your helper, spouse, friend, buddy, dog, cat, child, domestic partner, etc that may incure from following these instructions. Know your limits! Any shade tree mechanic that has done more than one spring install or any engine work should be able to handle this. If you are unsure before you start, DO NOT START!
Okay, now that that is out of the way, some before pictures are in order:
















Once you get the car up on the stands and the wheels are off, this is what you will see:








As you can see from the picture above, significant portions of the upper suspension assembly are outboard form the strut and connected to the upper spring perch. Those are gonna come out with the strut/spring assembly.
First thing is to remove the lower strut bolt and nut (16mm):








Then release the front sway bar from one side of the car only (16mm):








This will allow you to push down on the wheel carrier and get the lower strut perch off of the lower control arm as shown here:








Now the bottom is done, it is time to tackle the top. Open your hood and locate the 3/per side upper spring perch bolts. They look like this:








On the driver's side you will need to loosen the coolant reservoir to access the farthest back bolt:








Don't disconnnect the tubing or you will have an awful mess in your garage and need to refill your collant system when you ared one. You do not need to remove this all the way to get to all the bolts. They are 17mm by the way. 2 per side have washers, the 3rd does not:

























Once these are loose but still in place, go back inside the wheel well and begin releasing the wheel carrier drop link from the upper control arms. these look like this:








This is a 17mm pinch bolt:
















Once you get this out, release the 2 bolts, one 13mm and one 16mm holding the rack/steering arm to the drop link. They look like this:
























Okay now it is time to pull out your trusty punch/long screwdriver and hammer or rubber mallet. If you have a strut speader/pickelfork, etc this wil be much easier. You can do it how I did, but it is not the ideal way to remove these! _Carefully_ knock the upper control arms free from the wheel carrier drop link like this:
























You now have the strut assembly free except for one step. You will need to yank and pull on it to break a small plastic holding screw that aided in the factory assembly of the car. it has no role in strength and will break off by rocking the strut assemble back and forth in the car. Trust me it will come out eventually:








Congratulations, you have the front struts out! Now onto getting the stock springs off and getting your new ones on!
Next step is to remove both of the upper control arms from the upper spring perch (16mm):








This will allow you better access to get the spring compressors on the stock spring. It will take some fine tuning as the spring perch is huge. The air tools will also come might handy here as doing this by hand can be a long stay in hades!
Once you have the stock springs compressed, remove the top nut (19mm) being careful not to spin the strut shaft too much. I recommend some PB breaker or the like to get it to come off easy. There are two approaches to this part of the job. If you have access to a 19mm with slots for a open ended wrench this is best. You can then put a 5mm allen bolt to hold the shaft through the socket and then loosen the nut with the socket and open ended wrench. You need the air tools if you don't have this as doing it by hand will never work! You will just spin the strut shaft and end up ruining your struts!
Okay now remove the spring, bump stop and the little plastic cap on the shaft. Don't loose the spacer, its bronze that sits under the spring perch!
Cut your bump stops about 2 inches:








Throw these away:








Now reverse this whole process to re-assemble the front suspension. Make sure you torque eveything up good and tight!








Thank your helper:








Take a bit of a break:








*Rear Spring Install*
You are over half way there! First things first, remove the wheel liners from both sides (T-20 torx, and a 13mm on passenger side):








Loosen the rear anti-swaybar from one side of the car(16mm) This picture shows the anti-swaybar and the lower strut bolt:








Remove the Strut top bolts (13mmx2):
















Remove the lower strut bolt (21mm). Again the strut bolt is obviously the bolt through the strut:








Now you can pull the struts themselves out! You need to do this to get at the springs themselves. Note that the bottom of the struts are offset. The deeper offset goes towards the _back_ of the car:








Disconnect the Xeneon autoleveling arm from the driver's side lower wishbone (10mm):









This keeps you from ripping it off when you do the next step.....
Next you need to drop the top control arm camber bolts (18mm):
















This will let you push down the lower wishbone enough to wiggle the spring out. Slow down though! You need to sneak a spring compressor in there on the spring to help get it out. Note it just behind the air ratchet on the spring in this picture. You only need to use one, which is good becasue to would never fit. Otherwise it is too tight:








Keep working the spring. I sprayed a bit of WD-40 on the rubber spring perches to help get them out, but they are in there tight. Keep at it, if you made it this far, this shouldn't be too hard!
Next step is to remove the rear strut top bolts (16mm) and remove the bump stops:









Again discard those black plastic covers:








And cut about 2 inches of the stops:
















Now reassemble the struts and put your new rear Neuspeed springs in on their rubber perches. You will not need to compress them as they are shorter than stock and fit right in. Make sure to line up the rubber stops with the ends of the springs though!
Now you need to reverse the steps and reassemble the rear suspension! Don't foget to re-atach your Xenon leveling arm, and torque everything up to specs. Replace the rear wheels and lower off the jack stands.

Remeber to be careful lowering as the car will sit quite a bit lower:








Recheck that everything is tight. Torque your wheels up and take it for a careful test drive. Listen to clanks, bangs, or grinding. None of that should occur!
Here are post lowering pictures:
















Congratulations you just dropped your A4 to the height it should have been at originally!
Thanks to Jim(aka bluedogA4) for letting me "experiment" on his car and John (slowgolf20) for the helping hands.
Cheers!



_Modified by AZMCS at 10:52 AM 5-31-2006_


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## KubotaPowered (Jan 27, 2005)

*Re: B7 Neuspeed Spring Install DIY (AZMCS)*

Looks good Joel! All the bases were covered. Ill chime in and say that having a balljoint separator or picklefork would have helped to separate the top control arm ball joints. http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif


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## mml7 (Dec 3, 1999)

*Re: B7 Neuspeed Spring Install DIY (AZMCS)*

GREAT write up! http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif If I may be so bold...it would be nice if you could also include the torque specs (if you know them).


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## AZMCS (Dec 6, 2005)

*Re: B7 Neuspeed Spring Install DIY (mml7)*

Yeah, I will work on that. I just don't own the service manual.


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## AZMCS (Dec 6, 2005)

*Re: B7 Neuspeed Spring Install DIY (AZMCS)*

Anyone have the Bentley for the B7? I was lookin gfor the torque specs to put the final touches on this write up.


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## Soon2bS4 (Jan 15, 2006)

If u dont mind me asking whats that filther next to the strut and also how ****ty is the ride with the stock struts??? deff a waiste of time why wud u put soft sports on there it looks like my stock sport suspension is even lower.


_Modified by Soon2bS4 at 10:20 AM 6-4-2006_


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## BlueDogA4 (May 17, 2006)

*Re: (Soon2bS4)*

the ride is just like any when it is lowered. I think it is only a little harder than the stock springs I had on it. it has gotten even lower in the past week with the settle in the springs. I didn't have "sport" springs on it and these are the "race" springs on it now. it dropped a little over 2 inches total and would not want to go any lower. Its great though. Just the first mod of many to come.


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## Soon2bS4 (Jan 15, 2006)

got any recent pics on the dropping?


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## BlueDogA4 (May 17, 2006)

*Re: (Soon2bS4)*

I'll try and get some this weekend for ya


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## jnkoh (Apr 14, 2006)

awesome writeup.


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## Soon2bS4 (Jan 15, 2006)

*Re: (BlueDogA4)*

alright thanks , well im thinkin of suspension set up.. i saw stasis for 955$ others are too expensive.. i had shine race kit on the VR then went to bilstiens with neuspeed race , then to Patec Holeshots, but with the new audi i cant decide $$$ thier all soo expensive. ha, wats best set up for the price???
ALso why cud u not take out the front strut just by itself why did u take the joints out with it?? its one peice? i did a setup on a B5 but not a B6 yet. 


_Modified by Soon2bS4 at 8:09 PM 6-6-2006_


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## KubotaPowered (Jan 27, 2005)

*Re: (Soon2bS4)*

That filter in the wheel well that I saw looks like a breather for the evaporative system.


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## AZMCS (Dec 6, 2005)

*Re: (Soon2bS4)*


_Quote, originally posted by *Soon2bS4* »_
ALso why cud u not take out the front strut just by itself why did u take the joints out with it?? its one peice? i did a setup on a B5 but not a B6 yet. 
_Modified by Soon2bS4 at 8:09 PM 6-6-2006_

If you look at this picture:








And this one:








You will see the upper control arms are part of the upper spring perch and must come out with the strut.
B6 and B7 are very similar from what I remember. Don't know about B5.
And yes he will be facing struts sooner rather than later due to the drop. But the price of entry for springs and aftermarket struts down the road is signifcantly less than that of coilovers, or doing both up front. As you have noted


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## AZMCS (Dec 6, 2005)

*Re: (slowgolf20)*


_Quote, originally posted by *slowgolf20* »_That filter in the wheel well that I saw looks like a breather for the evaporative system.

Thanks for chiming in on that one John. I couldn't remember what we decided it was for


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## KubotaPowered (Jan 27, 2005)

*Re: (AZMCS)*


_Quote, originally posted by *AZMCS* »_
Thanks for chiming in on that one John. I couldn't remember what we decided it was for









Anytme, yeah thats what its there for, just a vent to the filler neck and evap system.


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## NJRrado (Jul 11, 2003)

*Re: (slowgolf20)*

huh. the suspension isnt much different (is it at all?) from the B5's. i would have thought they'd change something by now.


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## AZMCS (Dec 6, 2005)

*Re: (NJRrado)*

Yeah I've never done a B5. I knew it was almost exactly like a B6 though.


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## [email protected] (Feb 7, 2006)

Here are some comments..
B5 is different from the B6/B7 in that the shock/spring combination CAN be separated from the upper control arm plate. You can remove the spring/shock combo without removing that upper control arm plate on a B5.
If you're going to remove the upper control arms from the plate, be sure that you record the ANGLE that they rest. This is CRITICAL to make sure that the bushings remain in a neutral position when the car is ultimately on the ground. The best thing to do is to tighten the inner control arm bolts when the car is on the ground (obviously this isn't trivial). If you don't at a minimum record the angle they rest, you can very quickly ruin those inner control arm bushings. The same applies to the lower shock bushing, tighten this with the suspension loaded.
There's no need to remove the tie rod end. The spring/shock can be removed completely without touching this.
I wouldn't recommend tossing the dust covers. They help prevent any dirt/debris from scratching the shock piston shaft. Keep those in there to help prevent any damage to the shafts.
Congrats!


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## AZMCS (Dec 6, 2005)

*Re: ([email protected])*

Mike,
Thanks for the pro feedback. Didn't actually think about not dropping the tie rods. Looking back and thinking back about it though I can see how this makes sense.
Thanks too for the info about the control arm bushings. 
For those who have followed this thread. This was addressed when the post spring installation alignment was done.


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## KubotaPowered (Jan 27, 2005)

*Re: (AZMCS)*

The only reason the dust covers were tossed was because when you trim the bump stop the dust cover cant be used any longer.


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## AZMCS (Dec 6, 2005)

*Re: (slowgolf20)*


_Quote, originally posted by *slowgolf20* »_The only reason the dust covers were tossed was because when you trim the bump stop the dust cover cant be used any longer. 

and then they just rattle around like crazy!


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## Soon2bS4 (Jan 15, 2006)

alright, now before i order a suspension kit. whats good out there im thinking either FK's patecs,eibach,H&R,kw's. trying to spend leAST as possible.


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## AZMCS (Dec 6, 2005)

*Re: (Soon2bS4)*

Patecs are probably gonna be the least expensive (I hate the word "cheap")
If you are doing co's it should be a _slightly_ easier job.


_Modified by AZMCS at 1:47 PM 6-12-2006_


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## KubotaPowered (Jan 27, 2005)

*Re: (AZMCS)*

You know what they say about cheap. Suspension is not a place to cut corners, shell out some money and do it right the first time and leave it at that!


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## Soon2bS4 (Jan 15, 2006)

im going with KONI


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## Soon2bS4 (Jan 15, 2006)

i just got the FK silverline PLUS X these things are sweeeeTTTT im instlling them tom. at work ill take pics .


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## BlueDogA4 (May 17, 2006)

*Re: (Soon2bS4)*

Good luck with the install. Sorry I haven’t gotten any pics up from post lowering of the A4 but I was rear ended a few weeks ago and the car needs to go in for repair.


_Modified by BlueDogA4 at 1:24 PM 6-24-2006_


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## Soon2bS4 (Jan 15, 2006)

HOLLY **** MAN that was a pain in the ASS /// i ****in hated it!!!! wut a retarted setup.. the ball joints were the WOURST trryin to freakin get them out then bak in .. in had to clean allll the rust and corrosion and grime from the ****TY aluminum wut a stupid thing.. then the ****ty part also was the part where i had the big ass strut with a jack under it to push it back up in the tower area. anyways its done and nicley put its at stock hieght for now till the rear is put in. but WUT AQ DIFFERENCE!!!! nice and smooth with perfect balance in progressive and softness.


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## Soon2bS4 (Jan 15, 2006)

also the tools u used. were nothing to wut i had to use.. and the sizes were all differnt since i had the sport suspension from SACH.


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## AZMCS (Dec 6, 2005)

*Re: (Soon2bS4)*


_Quote, originally posted by *Soon2bS4* »_also the tools u used. were nothing to wut i had to use.. and the sizes were all differnt since i had the sport suspension from SACH. 

Yep this A4 was not a factory sport setup. I am suprised though that the actual sizes of the bolts/nuts were different.
I wouldn't run to long with only the front done though. Get the backs in ASAP.


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## Soon2bS4 (Jan 15, 2006)

Yep everything was 1 size or two sizes bigger than had written. Anyways i just rememberd this morning how stupid i am because the Koni strut is adjustable and i forgot to adjust it before i put the strut in for Hard and Soft now the only way i can do that now is to take everything out again!? because from the engine bay all u see is the 3 bolt for the tower.


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## dogmavskarma (Nov 18, 2004)

good writeup.


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## evoic (Jun 11, 2006)

*Re: (dogmavskarma)*

That was an amazing write-up with a ton of helpful pics.
Thank you for taking the time to post this here, I'm sure it would be quite useful to put a write up like this on ALL of the Audi sites.


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## AZMCS (Dec 6, 2005)

*Re: (evoic)*


_Quote, originally posted by *evoic* »_That was an amazing write-up with a ton of helpful pics.
Thank you for taking the time to post this here, I'm sure it would be quite useful to put a write up like this on ALL of the Audi sites.

No problem I'm glad some folks are getting use of it http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif


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## AZMCS (Dec 6, 2005)

*Re: B7 Neuspeed Spring Install DIY (AZMCS)*

Just wanted to bring this out of the archives as there are more and more B7's out there now and more on Fourtitude. http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif


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## ATL_B7_A4 (Jan 4, 2008)

*Re: B7 Neuspeed Spring Install DIY (AZMCS)*

I was just wondering if this would also be a good guide to follow for Eibach spring installation. I just ordered a set that will be in next week.


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## EternalMind (Jun 8, 2005)

*Re: B7 Neuspeed Spring Install DIY (ATL_B7_A4)*


_Quote, originally posted by *ATL_B7_A4* »_I was just wondering if this would also be a good guide to follow for Eibach spring installation. I just ordered a set that will be in next week.

it should be exactly the same as this.


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## ATL_B7_A4 (Jan 4, 2008)

*Re: B7 Neuspeed Spring Install DIY (EternalMind)*

Thanks eternal. time to start doing my very first mods to the car.


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## EternalMind (Jun 8, 2005)

*Re: B7 Neuspeed Spring Install DIY (ATL_B7_A4)*


_Quote, originally posted by *ATL_B7_A4* »_Thanks eternal. time to start doing my very first mods to the car.

don't forget to take (and post) pics http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif


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## mml7 (Dec 3, 1999)

*Re: B7 Neuspeed Spring Install DIY (AZMCS)*


_Quote, originally posted by *AZMCS* »_Just wanted to bring this out of the archives as there are more and more B7's out there now and more on Fourtitude. http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif 

TTT. better this thread than one of the annoying ad posts....


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## tivoom00 (Feb 20, 2005)

Great write up...


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## yimstab7 (Dec 3, 2009)

*Re: B7 Neuspeed Spring Install DIY (AZMCS)*

is this a 1.5" or 2.0" drop?


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## tntomek (Mar 11, 2005)

Just wanted to add ... I found it impossible to remove the long horizontal bolt on one side of the car, no matter how much we tried it wouldn't move and hammering it was not a good option. It's FAR simpler to not worry about top control arms at first. Remove the top 3 screws holding the entire strut assembly and drop the whole thing with all arms attached. One its lower you can easily remove the top arms where they attach to top strut mount (vs the main piece). Just remember the angle. This is fool proof and might save you hours or in my case an mechanic. One of the other poster suggested this and I really recommend you try that first, it will work and there are no bolts that can be rusted/corroded using that approach.


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## atrat7 (Apr 28, 2008)

I know this post is pretty old. But it's well written and can't view the pictures anymore? Is there anyway to refresh the images? Thanks Matt.:thumbup:


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## Yak Meat (Sep 28, 2011)

Pics dont work! Fix it! PLEASE!


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