axle bushes

[andynick69 0]

Need new axle bushes on rear of my vr,ive heard original vw items are as good as aftermarket items,eg powerflex,is this trye?? ive been quoted 150 fitted for gen vw items? any advice welcome as usual,ta

[eastwood john 1]

need them to mate, mine totaly nic naked,

was thinking powerflex mi self,

is this a hard job to do ?

if not to hard maybe cud help each other out andy, *-)

[andynick69 0]

not sure,unfortunately im useless with spanners,lol

[eastwood john 1]

i`m ok with spanners matey,

its just how to do,, :S

[andynick69 0]

powerflex rears any better than vw items guys??

[spadam 7]

Powerflex are much easier to fit. U need a specific tool to fit gen vw bushes so go with the polybushes.

[jason2875 0]

mine needed doing as well so decided to have a go myself,got some power flex ones ,hardest bit about the job for me was getting the old bushes outer metal casing off ended up just sawing with a hacksaw blade remebering to keep it level,did find a guide on how to do it will try and find it and post up here ,if you need decide to have a go yourself give us shout will try and pop down n help you out if you want

[eastwood john 1]

nice one mate,

how to do thread would be great,

[jason2875 0]

Support the rear of the car on axle stands on the innder chassis box section in front of the axle mounts.

Disconnect the ABS sensors and feed them out the bungs in the floor

Disconnect the spring clips (2 on each side) on each end of the rear beam flexi hoses and free the flexis from the rear beam.

Disconnect each brake line from the plastic clips along the trailing arms

Unclip the calliper flexi hose spring mount using a flat blade screwdriver and a gentle tap on the retaining tab (inside the box section where the lower shock bolts onto the trailing arm) with a hammer

Disconnect handbrake cable from its mountings along the trailing arms.

Free the axle beam bolts and drop down using a trolley jack given nothing but the callipers are now connected. Alternatively unbolt callipers and tiewrap to rear shocks, unbolt the lower shock mounts and remove axle from car and work on the beam at leisure.

Get drill out (I used an 8mm bit) and chase around the inside of each old axle bush until the centre falls out.

Here's the sneaky part - You can use a hacksaw or compressor and air saw.... but I'd get comfy if doing it manually!

Sit there getting bored/swearing/whatever and cut through the length of the old bush to release the interference fit/pressure, spray in some plusgas/wd40 etc and then chap out with a chisel hammer.

Shove in new polybushes (large side to inside) using plenty of copper grease, tap in stainless centres past flush from the inside - leave sitting proud (See next bit) on the outside by about 2mm so the inner polybush can be compressed and forced past the inside of the mountinng brackets . Offer up axle and then wonder how the **** to get it back in as it's now about 1/2" too wide with the new polybushes.

Beg steal or borrow a 2nd trolleyjack and use both trolley jacks to raise the front of the axle into position. You might find that the axle tries to 'slide back' and out of the brackets so you need to find a way of keeping it in position as it's forced into the brackets. We used a chisel sticking out the ARB mounting and used a giant adjustable compressable stilson type thingy hooked around the chisel and the front part of the mounting bracket which we wound in as we jacked the pivot point into position; this worked quite well..

[jason2875 0]

thats pretty much how we did mine maybe not the perfect way but it worked for me gives you an idear at least

[eastwood john 1]

jay your a star ,

thanks very much

[jason2875 0]

no probs mate any probs let me know

[thegoth 5]

One point to mention if you are doing it on an early model. There is a brake balance control valve attached to the rear beam which makes the job alot harder.

[kazama76 1]

sounds simple, i thinking of doin the whole lot. Engine, gear box and suspension bushes. think ill let the garage do the engine and gear box tho lol

[paceo 22]

nice info!