How to pick a good salvage rear beam axle?

My rear alignment is off and causing abnormal tire wear on my 2003 Jetta wagon. This is probably because the rear beam axle was tweaked somewhere along the way (I'm the third owner).

Once solution is to install alignment shims. However, since the rear axle is bent, the optimal solution would be to replace it with a good salvage unit. I'm weighing both options.

How do I check a salvage axle beam to make sure it's good?

I've read where Oilhammer says that it's rare to get a bad used one. It's possible. It's even possible to get a bad brand new part.

Shims are a bad idea.

Here's a good read on all of this:

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=356047

I'd think that if one can find an axle that shows no signs of paint cracking (stressed metal) then it's probably good.

Thanks, UhOh. I read through that thread, and it's helpful.

Sounds like Oilhammer deals with salvage yards that pull the parts and sell them pre-pulled. I can see what prices are like for one of those, but when I've checked in the past, they've been way over the local pull&pay. So I' guess I'll find a car that doesn't look too beat up in the back and take my chances.

Are there no specs in the Bentley for the rear beam? I found this online, about 1/4 of the way down the page
http://forums.fourtitude.com/showth...-DIY-rear-axle-bushing-replacement-MKIV/page4

burn_your_money said:

Are there no specs in the Bentley for the rear beam? I found this online, about 1/4 of the way down the page
http://forums.fourtitude.com/showth...-DIY-rear-axle-bushing-replacement-MKIV/page4

Click to expand...

Hey, really nice find -- a photo with dimensions marked. I will look at the Bentley tomorrow; it's late, I'm tired, and I still need to go out and fuel up before the work week.

The better yards know about the need for a replacement beam being straight, and will typically tag them as most likely being good when the car is salvaged. And if they do happen to send us a bad one, they'll send another one (but they will not pay for labor to swap it again).

I would love it if you could post a printout of your car's current alignment, as it may reveal you just need new bushings and the beam centered in its adjustment mounts.

Hi Brian, thanks for your input. You're right, I should eliminate worn bushings before installing shims or an axle. The car has 265K miles on it. I'm the third owner, so there's no telling if the bushings have been changed before, but I think likely not.

The shop didn't give me an alignment printout, probably because they ran out of time Friday and consider it still to be a job in progress. I'm supposed to bring the car back in at my next opportunity so they can shim it and finish the job. However, they did give me the NAPA part numbers of the shims they want to install.

• NCP 2643069 +1/2° camber
• NCP 2643065 ±1/8° toe

I don't know which shim is right or left.

I will call them tomorrow and see if they can e-mail or text a photo of the printout to me. If they can, I'll post it here.

Yeah, as a general rule I dislike those types of shims. They are a band aid solution, in my opinion, and if your car has 265k miles on its original rear beam bushings, they are no longer providing the proper geometry to the rear end, I can almost guarantee that. Going through all the hassle to put shims behind the spindles of an axle beam that is not set square to the body is dumb.

However, I am just giving an opinion based on experience in general with the platform, not necessarily your particular car, since I have no real numbers to work with.

More times than not, the right side bushing is worse than the left side (I have no idea why), and the axle will have shifted in a way that there will be too much positive toe on the left, and too much negative toe on the right, with the total toe (combination of the left and right) still in the green. Meaning in short, the car is dog tracking. This will not cause unusual tire wear.

If the bushings are just a little deformed, but are not "broken" or split apart, I can usually adjust the beam to equalize the toe... again, the total toe remains the same, we are just straightening up the axle in its mounts. The holes in the brackets are slotted to allow for this.

Camber is a different story. There is no adjustment for camber, and no amount of beam shifting is going to fix that. However, if the bushings are really sagged out and deformed, it can cause the camber to change a little, and usually to the negative. Since these cars already spec negative camber, and they tend to skew even further negative as they wear and the springs relax, they can get out of spec. However, unless the rear end of the car is really loaded down a lot, usually a little out of spec camber in the rear is not going to cause a massive tire wear acceleration so long as they are the correct tire and they are kept rotated properly. If the camber is THAT far out, especially on one side only, that beam is bent. Period.

And it is super easy to swap in a good used beam, especially if you get one "complete" with the hubs and bearings still on it (which is how they generally are). I would want to put the newer style bushings in it though regardless.

Here's the alignment printout. Let me know what you think. Also, I have a Jetta Wagon. If I replace the axle, can I use a sedan axle, or are they different?

Well first they picked the wrong car, LOL.

They picked a sedan, the wagon is different (slightly different beam and springs).

I'd find another shop.

Pretty sure your suspension should be 1JC, but check the built tag in the trunk to verify.

That picture is a bit misleading (I have only ever used a Hunter machine, so that may be part of the issue). Because it shows what looks like positive camber but shows a negative number. Is the top the front and the bottom the rear?

The top is the front and the bottom is the rear. I bet the pictures are static and just show examples of camber and toe-in to make it clear what the numbers represent. So go by the numbers.

"...the wagon is different (slightly different beam and springs)" -- so that means I have to find a wagon as a salvage axle beam donor, and I can't use a sedan, right? Looks like the Jetta sedan & Golf parts are

• 1J0500051J w/21.7mm stabilizer
• 1J0500051L w/18mm stabilizer

Would you happen to have the part#(s) for the wagon? I haven't been able to find it online.

The build tag should be a white paper sticker somewhere in the back near the spare tire well, or on the underside one of the spare tire covers (a hinged compartmented storage area and a carpeted top cover), right? If so, it's missing on my car. The VIN is WVWSP61J63W485860, if that helps determine a suspension code. I wonder if a dealer can print me another build tag from the VIN?

Finding another shop may not be easy; good alignment requires a skilled tech, an alignment rack that's calibrated right, and -- to get it perfect -- a bit of artistry and knowledge of the car. I've found several shops that do it wrong, and this shop has done good alignments on my Toyota Previa and Ford F-350. However, this is the first time I've had them work on one of my VW's, and I don't recall seeing many (or any) German cars there.

My daughter is in college in Michigan, and when I drive out there, I go through St. Louis. Next time I go, I'll see if you're available to give my car a once-over (and buy you & family dinner, if you want). I sure appreciate your expert advice.

I found this chart of alignment specifications that has both sedan and wagon. Looks like the only difference is that the wagon should have slightly less toe-in (positive toe).

Converting minutes from the chart to degrees, it looks like the Jetta wagon rear toe should be +0.1° to +0.43°.

The wagon part number I come up with, which is the only one listed in ETKA for me, is 1J0-500-051-K which supercedes to the L which it says is an 18mm sway bar.

Which ETKA also shows is used in A4 Golfs. The Jetta sedan uses a different one. What exactly these differences are, I couldn't tell you.

There are also newer style bushings that carry a different part number and look a little different. I think they are better, and I only say that because it sure seems like I have never had to replace any of THOSE that have been installed, and many of those same cars have now piled on more miles with them as they did with the originals.

However, I also think that people driving around with wiped out shocks and perhaps broken springs will also tax those rear bushings more than normal too.

The new bushings are 6R0-501-541-A (formerly 1J0-501-541-C).