Todays task - change the wishbone bushes and balljoints

[s2driveruk]

Guys,

Any BTDT's - seems simple enough, remove pinch bolt on bottom of the strut and knock the wishbone to release the knancked b/joints. Then undo the bolts to the wishbones.

Should the wishbone bushes come out of the w/bone easily or am I in for a fight The are the pressed versions, not forged.

I could be delusional, i'm thinking about 3hrs max for both sides - sound plausable?



David

[Greg_S]

it depends how long the bushes have been in there, when i did mine they were stuck pretty solid. So i drilled the centre out, the cut round with a saw and finally pressed the metal part of the bush out using a vice and a large socket. Then before fitting the new ones i used some emery paper ot clean the surface of the wishbones. also worth outting plenty of copper slip on the bushes when you fit them.

Greg

[s2driveruk]

Cheers Greg - much appreciated! I'm hoping they will be ok, only been in since Oct 2002.

[martinjs]

Are you fitting powerflex's or sticking with stock bushes david?
think my bushes are on their last legs
interested to hear how you get on.

[Greg_S]

if your using powerflex bushes make sure you have the latest version of them that has a spiral groove in the metal insert and a couple of groove bands around it.

Super flex also mae wishbone bushes because i spoke to them about ARB bushes, they seem to think their desing is alot better than the one powerflex use because it is all integrated and ready to fit and you dont have a seperate plastic washer because it is inbuilt into the bush.

incidentally I have power flex bushes fitted and have helped handling no end, but they have been changed 3 times while they sorted out the sweaking problem the earlier designs had.

Greg

[Stick Insect]

When the wishbones are off I would suggest trying to clean them properly and paint them. It will look much smarter.

Once done a geometry check is very advisable.

I fitted some aftermarket wishbones+bushes+ balljoint on the Mondeo and the steering was 10mm out!

Yours will not be that far out but still worth it.

David

[s2driveruk]

Ok - update after day 1 (Using OEM bushes)

Got off to a flying start, removing them is a doddle although access to the nuts is a nightmare as they are recessed in the subframe and access is thorugh a poxy hole so an offset spanner is a good start!

On the drivers side, the balljoint was indeed fooked, absolutely shagged! As for the bushes I was amazed they were still attached to the car. There was 1cm of left/right movement and .5cm forward/backwards (as if facing the brake disc). The front bush was actually in two pieces

Getting them out is not easy, essentially you need to lock them into a vice and then using a hammer, smack the sleeve out of the bush so it leave a thin metal collar and the outer metal cover which slides into the hole in the wishbone. Once the main sleeve is out, use a thin blade hacksaw and cut through the next sleeve, then right through the rubber (be prepared for smoke, or if you want really cool looking smoke, add some 3-in-1 oil to lube the blade At this point you can try and force the metal collar but you will probably need to cut all the way round the rubber its attached to. Finally you need to make 2 cuts in the outer metal cover about 1 cm apart, then drive a large flat blade screwdriver in and force the lip into the middle. Give it a couple of good belts and it should come out. By the 3rd one i'd got it sussed....

As Greg mentioned, use a bit of emery paper and smooth the wishbones out, smear copper slip all over the holes and the outside of the bushes before TRYING to refit them. I managed to get them about 1/2 way in before they stuck fast. However I am off to a friendly garage round the corner in the morning as they have a hydraulic press which will force them home and they said i am wlecome to pop in and get them to finish them off!

So tomorrow i can just refit them to the car, then on Friday i'm having a full front alignment (camber, castor and toe) so hopefully everything should be square them. I've tried to put them back as close to the way i found them in terms of visual alignment but its only for a few days. I'll stick up a How to on my website in a few days if anyone wants it.

Pics to follow,

Cheers

David

[Doug_RS2]

It is one of those jobs you think will not take long and ends up taking the whole weekend - The poly bushes are easier to do - the pop into the wishbones.

I think I might have kncked the metal sleeve inwards in 4 places and then used a socket to push it out.

[s2driveruk]

Yep, poly bushes for me next time for sure, these last bushes have lasted about 30K miles but only about 20K in any kind of decent shape

[s2driveruk]

Some pics: 1st = 3b pressed wishbone

[s2driveruk]

bush nearest to the front of the car - knackered, u can see daylight through the rubber

[s2driveruk]

All cleaned up and ready for the final pressing in of the bushes (thats as far as i got by hand and using a block of wood and a hammer)

[newsh]

Good for you for going with the stock bushes, I had poly ones on my 10valver for a couple of years but went back to the rubber ones as they were noisy and they went loose really quick, I was for ever making up bigger sleeves for them. They are brilliant when brand new though, (except for the road noise).
When you bolt them back in leave it all loose till the weight of the car is on the wheels and roll it back and forth a foot or so to settle the suspension, then tighten the bolts. Otherwise there's tension in the rubbers and they'll be gone again in no time.

All cleaned up and ready for the final pressing in of the bushes (thats as far as i got by hand and using a block of wood and a hammer)

[s2driveruk]

was planning to use the trolley jack to lift the wishbone/strut to simulate the weight of the car whilst it was still on axle stands to torque them up, do u think that will work ok? not sure i will have the space if the car is on the ground???

Cheers,

David

[JariP]

Here's one idea how to change those bushes yourself, with rather simple tools. http://www.humanspeakers.com/audi/bushings-pix2.htm
I did mine (old ones out,new ones in) using same kind of tools, a long bolt, nut and some washers, some pieces of pipe, some sockets, two plates with holes... The smaller bushes (pressed wishbone) are rather easy to do, forged ones are much harder. I did 3 out of 4 wishbones under the car, had to take the fourth one (forged) out to a vice to get it done.