Time for some front end work...

Spring has finally arrived in full force and my yard is no longer a muddy mess...yayyy!

Time to re-fresh the front end of the Jetta.

Plan is to replace everything at once that requres a front end alignment. I think I've got the parts figured out, but may be missing some small thing that I'll need to get the job finished...please let me know if I'm leaving something out. TIA

Lower control arms (left/right). These come with bushings and ball joints. Mevotech "supreme" w/limited lifetime.

Front strut assemblies. Come with upper mounts/bearings and springs. Monroe "quick strut" w/Limited lifetime.

Tie rod assemblies. Inner, outer and center section. Sounds like they come with boots for the rack, but will double check when I order. Mevotech "supreme" w/limited lifetime.

"Looks" like it should be a pretty straight forward job...."Looks"...lol.

Al

The fun comes with the control arm bolts!

I never buy assemblies - they tend to be sub-par parts. I'll rebuild OE control arms before installing aftermarket (I even bought a used set of VW LCAs to keep around in case I needed to do a quick swap). They are really quite easy (use TT bushings). Same goes for struts - those quick strut springs are too generic and aren't designed for your car specifically - expect the ride height to be off when you are done. I agree it's much less labor, but I'll gladly do it to make sure it's right.

I just did my 03 wagon - struts/shocks/mounts/LCA bushings/ball joints/tierods/sway bar bushings.

^wha he said^

^ x3

And be careful when removing those lower control arm bolts form the sub frame (read: don't use the impact on these), the nut inside has an annoying tendency to brake loose from it's tack weld inside the sub-frame... and then you will most likely have to use a circle saw or some other means to get access to that area.

DuddyGuy said:

^ x3
And be careful when removing those lower control arm bolts form the sub frame (read: don't use the impact on these), the nut inside has an annoying tendency to brake loose from it's tack weld inside the sub-frame... and then you will most likely have to use a circle saw or some other means to get access to that area.

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Somehow, I have been lucky with that! I've done 8 or more MKIV cars (all northeastern winter cars) and I always bang them out with an impact. I shoot some pb blaster into the crevice that the "nut" portion resides and they have all come out easily. I always cringe a little when I hit the trigger

If you're not keen on pressing the bushings in and out of the LCA's, there are vendors who sell a LCA with the TT bushings as a kit.

But yea like others have mentioned, if you're replacing LCA stuff use the TT bushings. I originally did mine with poly. I haven't had an issue with them in 40k, but once they're ready I'll be doing the TT swap.

i agree on not buying assemblies. in the shop we have tons of issues warranting them. plus the brand is an unknown...

I just redid the steering portion of the front end on my Jetta last weekend and I was in the same boat as you when ordering!

I looked at the Mevotech fully-assembled LCAs along with other parts, but after reading here I decided to just go with Metalmanparts A4 Steering Refresh kit w/ the TT bushing option which had everything including: LCAs w/ TT bushings pressed in, sway bar end links, sway bar bushings/brackets (he sends both 21mm and 23mm), ball joints and complete tie rods w/ boots along with all relevant nuts/bolts. I asked him what brands he used, and it was Lemforder for LCA and Febi Bilstein for Ball Joints. I didn't ask about tie rods or sway bar end links, but tie rods looked OEM w/ VW/Audi symbols on it, same weight/size as the ones I pulled off and sway bar links looked like the new Rein metal design ones.

I did this on jack stands in my parking lot and everything was pretty straightforward except removing the top nut for the ball joints from the knuckle (one was easy, the other required removing the rubber around the ball joint, two locking pliers torqued to the max to stop it from spinning and good amount of PB and patience)... Putting the new tie rod boots back on was annoying too. I reused the old sway bar brackets because it was getting late and the new ones required a vice grip or King Kong Strength to even get the bolt close to the hole. I took it off the stands, put wheels on, drove it on ramps and torqued everything down. I took it for an alignment the next morning, and it's nice to have a solid front end again!

Btw, I didn't use any impact tools... Just sockets and wrenches

In the next few weeks/months I'll be refreshing all suspension components and hitting those rear axle bushings... This Jetta is a never ending project!

I just refreshed (most of) the suspension on my Jetta and wow, what a difference. I too disagree with the "pre assembled" strut assemblies; you never really know what you are going to get, and they are cheap for a reason. I spent slightly less than $600.00 for both the front and rear springs, dampers, all new bolts, and all new assembly parts. The Koni's have a lifetime warranty and the slight amount of lift I wanted/got has kept the front air dam from scraping every time I leave the driveway. My LCA's are still tight and quiet, but when they are no longer, TT LCA's here I come.

jekl843 said:

I did this on jack stands in my parking lot and everything was pretty straightforward except removing the top nut for the ball joints from the knuckle (one was easy, the other required removing the rubber around the ball joint, two locking pliers torqued to the max to stop it from spinning and good amount of PB and patience)...

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If you run into a problem like that again - put a jack under the control arm near the ball joint and lift. The weight of the car presses on that tapered fit and should prevent it from spinning. Same for tie rods - you can't jack on them, but clamping them with large vise grips, etc., increases the friction and usually lets you turn the nut off.

As others have mentioned, stay away from the Quick Struts - I used those once...and will never use them again. Ride isn't great and strut mounts were completely shot after less than 20,000 miles.

gforce1108 said:

If you run into a problem like that again - put a jack under the control arm near the ball joint and lift. The weight of the car presses on that tapered fit and should prevent it from spinning. Same for tie rods - you can't jack on them, but clamping them with large vise grips, etc., increases the friction and usually lets you turn the nut off.

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Good advice for next time gforce! The two locking pliers idea was my literal last straw before using a hacksaw. The explosion of happiness when the ball joint didn't spin was better than sex. Hopefully won't need to be doing that again anytime soon tho

Thanks guys.

Looked into the Mevotech parts...reviews that is. Seems folks that have used them don't think they live up to the marketing wank...found exactly (0) good reviews.

Looking at other options....Moog quality seems to have gone to hell too.

Al

gforce1108 said:

Somehow, I have been lucky with that! I've done 8 or more MKIV cars (all northeastern winter cars) and I always bang them out with an impact. I shoot some pb blaster into the crevice that the "nut" portion resides and they have all come out easily. I always cringe a little when I hit the trigger

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Then you have been luckier than me I believe I'm 2 for 2, one with an impact and one with a wrench... both on the passenger side, I'm not sure if that's a pattern or not.

Thanks guys.

Looked into the Mevotech parts...reviews that is. Seems folks that have used them don't think they live up to the marketing wank...found exactly (0) good reviews.

Looking at other options....Moog quality seems to have gone to hell too.

Al

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I've had got experiences with all the bits that I've gotten from idparts, actually good experiences with pretty much everything I've ever bought from them. Might be worth checking out.

If your springs are still good, you can get new STR.t's for $295.00, but i would goo all in and buy the new hardware kits too. Bolts, strut bearings, everything is available for not too much more cost.

340000km on the car and springs look slightly soft...front seems a touch lower than it should be when comparing to the rear. Not by much, but if I'm in there might as well do it all and pay for the alignment once....actually have a couple vehicles I need to get aligned this spring, so might just buy/make the tools to do that at home if time allows.

Not up on the lingo yet....what are STR.t's ? Struts I assume, but a particular brand?

Al

Folks around here seem to like Bilstein and Koni.
Although there may be some stuff you check and adjust, I believe DIY 4 wheel alignment is a fail.

Gippeto said:

340000km on the car and springs look slightly soft...front seems a touch lower than it should be when comparing to the rear. Not by much, but if I'm in there might as well do it all and pay for the alignment once....actually have a couple vehicles I need to get aligned this spring, so might just buy/make the tools to do that at home if time allows.

Not up on the lingo yet....what are STR.t's ? Struts I assume, but a particular brand?

Al

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The str.t are the Koni orange. Yellows are adjustable (and more $$$), orange aren't. They are a decent mid-range strut that work with lowering springs. For stock height, the Bilstein TC sport work very well (slightly stiffer than the TC). On my 04, I've used both and the sports with 1.8T Jetta springs were a great combination sticking at stock height. They just couldn't take the lowering springs. I run the koni orange with eibach lowering springs now and am very happy with this setup.

EDIT - and it's never had an alignment... 3 different sets of springs, 4 sets of struts/shocks (new mounts each time), tie rod ends (1 at a time, manually resetting the toe myself), lower control arm bushings and wheel bearings. FYI - the ball joints have never been unbolted from the control arms so camber wasn't affected - I always separate from the spindles. Drives perfectly straight and doesn't wear tires.

Getting after this today, but ran into this...steel center has the same overall length and id but the rubber is shorter...is this normal....or am I correct in thinking I have the wrong part?



Figure it's best to find out before I destroy it getting it out.

TIA,

Al

Edit: Cross checked the part number on the bags and they checked out. Proceeded with the job whilst shaking my head, but the new one is in and looks "right", so "onward" we go....

ID parts recommends these mevotech LCAs. I haven’t heard any negatives against them. The lcas i have now are rusty CRAP, and being frantic for new lcas, I didn’t realize mevotech is also Chinese, although the quality looks better. I got them because TT bushings are already pressed in. I like metal man’s lemforder arms with TT bushing pressed in, that seems best, but since I have these mevotech already, it’s (hopefully) better than what I have in there now!

The drivers side mevotech ball joint in the assembled kit failed after 2 years. Definitely worth it to buy OE or build with genuine parts. Wished I wasn’t always in such a hurry. The control arms from mevotech got rusty nice and quick too.

Gippeto said:

Getting after this today, but ran into this...steel center has the same overall length and id but the rubber is shorter...is this normal....or am I correct in thinking I have the wrong part?

Click to expand...

Eyeballing that photo and trying to decide if the steel centers are the same length is like trying to decide which arrow is longer: https://www.illusionsindex.org/ir/mueller-lyer