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Best bush setup for non-track use
- Thread starter iammooks
- Start date
Thanks!
Went for a Febi kit in the end - I haven't had any issues with their stuff in the past, and it can't make things any worse than they are...
Now to hunt around for a 7mm allen key that I'm sure I've got but have no idea where it is... And a spring compressor... I know the guy across the road from me has one, but I could just buy a Hilka one for £15...
I'm not sure - is this a tie?
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Hard to say. They both look the same
A definate hidden horror though.
Hard to say. They both look the same
A definate hidden horror though.
To be honest it looked better than I was expecting and the bearing was fine. Nearside still needs to be done though - had a van blocking the street so I couldn't work in the road without getting buzzed by cars. It's definitely squashed though. Looking forward to a road test tomorrow.
Top nut was impossible to get off. Drove down the road to my local garage and the guy there got his ugga-dugga gun on it and it came off in seconds. Now the car is on axle stands I'm tempted to do the wishbones, but one job at a time.
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Front ARB bushes likely won't come out without snapping the ARB at that age. At least that's what the garage told me last month because mine's knackered! They recommended I get an H&R one and worth getting the rear as well, so just trying to find the £360 
I know what you mean but it hasn't got the weight of the car pushing down on it now.
Take another 5-8mm off for that.
Front ARB bushes likely won't come out without snapping the ARB at that age. At least that's what the garage told me last month because mine's knackered! They recommended I get an H&R one and worth getting the rear as well, so just trying to find the £360
I can't speak for yours, but mine was pretty knackered too and other than having to chip away at the plastic sleeve that was left on the ARB, I didn't really have any trouble putting new bushes on. It's rusty and the powdercoat has cracked and come off, so I'll probably treat it at some point and spray it, just to keep the rust off. Putting a new ARB on the front will involve dropping the subframe and by all accounts sounds like it would be a right pain in the backside - and expensive too... Rear ARB is ridiculously easy to put on though, but there does seem to be some "science" about the thickness of the front ARB compared to the rear.
It felt much more snug when I jacked up the knuckle to tighten everything up, and it was nice to have the top cap flush again, rather than sticking out an inch. It's mad that every time I was going over an uneven road or speed bumps or whatever, that there was that much up and down movement between the bush and the top mount.
As if, its just 2 crusty clamps and out it comes. I doubt the ARB would break if it hadnt done already if it was that bad.Front ARB bushes likely won't come out without snapping the ARB at that age. At least that's what the garage told me last month because mine's knackered! They recommended I get an H&R one and worth getting the rear as well, so just trying to find the £360
Yup, it gives the strut room to pivot around
And after...
Much better, but just wanted to check to make sure a little bit of a gap is normal?
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Perfect. You know how it is - you've lived so long with them sticking out the top like that, you can't remember what normal looks like.
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Bling.
Bling.
Everything is back on the car and back together now. I had to start work after I torqued up the wheels again, so I've not been able to go for a drive, but I'm guessing it'll drive like a pig until I get the wheels aligned.
Not really sure what's left to do on the bush side! I've still got my steering rack bush ready for if I ever drop the subframe, but in the meantime...
Front and rear control arms: SuperPro
Dogbone mount: PowerFlex red
ARB: SuperPro
Rear beam: FloFlex
Top mounts: Standard rubber
Now I just have to decide where to put the SuperPro sticker...
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Bling.
Everything is back on the car and back together now. I had to start work after I torqued up the wheels again, so I've not been able to go for a drive, but I'm guessing it'll drive like a pig until I get the wheels aligned.
Not really sure what's left to do on the bush side! I've still got my steering rack bush ready for if I ever drop the subframe, but in the meantime...
Front and rear control arms: SuperPro
Dogbone mount: PowerFlex red
ARB: SuperPro
Rear beam: FloFlex
Top mounts: Standard rubber
Now I just have to decide where to put the SuperPro sticker...
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It drives like a pig. Going to get the wheels aligned next week, but it was a really interesting drive. The shifts are just so much more precise with the dogbone in - I can hardly describe it, but there's no notchiness, it just slots in every time.
Steering feels much more precise as well. There was some slack in it before - a bit of play before the steering actually engaged, but now it's there straight away.
I wish I'd maybe done everything one component at a time, so I could say 'that's the dogbone', 'that's the new control arm bushes' or 'the new ball joints had more of an impact' but hey, that's a lot more effort
Scared myself when I turned the engine over though - I must have pulled the gearbox at an angle while I was doing the work, so it meant the clutch was touching the flywheel in neutral ever so slightly for a few seconds. No extra noise or vibration though, and nothing fell off either, so I'm guessing it's all back together properly.
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Steering feels much more precise as well. There was some slack in it before - a bit of play before the steering actually engaged, but now it's there straight away.
I wish I'd maybe done everything one component at a time, so I could say 'that's the dogbone', 'that's the new control arm bushes' or 'the new ball joints had more of an impact' but hey, that's a lot more effort
Scared myself when I turned the engine over though - I must have pulled the gearbox at an angle while I was doing the work, so it meant the clutch was touching the flywheel in neutral ever so slightly for a few seconds. No extra noise or vibration though, and nothing fell off either, so I'm guessing it's all back together properly.
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How has your poly kit faired in the year since fitting? Just trying to find out if it's worth doing or not mainly on the lower control arm rear bushes.
I have a MK4 Jetta in Canada and a MK1 Leon in Uk and I'm undecided whether to go poly on the rear LCA Bush or R32 lemforder or meyle inserts.
Searching for answers before I fly back to Toronto end of Jan as will be taking replacement LCA's with me bushed ready to go.
Cheers
To be honest, and this might not be very popular, I can't say I've noticed a massive difference in handling with the polybushes. I think the biggest impact I've had was when I changed the rear beam bushes for polybushes, and even the cheaper ones made the car feel much more planted, but the fronts I can't say I noticed as big a difference as I'd hoped. I was hoping for everything to feel really solid, but while the steering felt less sloppy, that could have been because I changed the ball joints at the same time. I haven't noticed any issues with ride being any more harsh though, and the car's still plenty comfortable while also handling well.
That said, I've not driven much this year what with Covid and everything, and I haven't had much of a chance to give the car a real shakedown after changing the front and rear shock absorbers as well.
I'll be putting in a rear ARB next week, and I've heard that makes the biggest impact, so it might be a matter of saving money by using the OEM bushes and putting the money you've saved towards a rear ARB?
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