Front strut wear-out symptoms?

I wonder what symptoms people experience as the front struts/shocks/dampers
begin to wear out on Audis.

I've got a '98 A4 Quattro, 82,000mi on the odometer. I bought it used, so I
don't know if the front struts have ever been replaced. I'm noticing:

1) a slight "hitch" through the steering wheel when braking at slow speeds
2) a thumping in the front end, when crossing a gutter or a speed bump.

Is replacing the front struts a job a handy person can do, or does it require
professional help? And probably an alignment afterwards?

Thanks for you thoughts.

--
Famous last words? "It seemed like a good idea at the time ..."

Paul R. Dhuse Mirapoint, Inc. (408) 720-3783

> wrote in message
m...
> I wonder what symptoms people experience as the front
struts/shocks/dampers
> begin to wear out on Audis.
>
> I've got a '98 A4 Quattro, 82,000mi on the odometer. I bought it used, so
I
> don't know if the front struts have ever been replaced. I'm noticing:
>
> 1) a slight "hitch" through the steering wheel when braking at slow speeds
> 2) a thumping in the front end, when crossing a gutter or a speed bump.

Tthe latter sounds like the control arm issue. It's a common problem on that
vintage of A4. Do a search on audiworld.com for "control arm symptom". Audi
struts usually last longer than 80,000 miles.
>
> Is replacing the front struts a job a handy person can do, or does it
require
> professional help? And probably an alignment afterwards?
>
> Thanks for you thoughts.
>
> --
> Famous last words? "It seemed like a good idea at the time ..."
>
> Paul R. Dhuse Mirapoint, Inc. (408) 720-3783