HOW TO change the lower control arm bushing

puntmeister

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 3, 2013
Location
Arizona
TDI
2004 Jetta BEW
Oh, why not just replace the driver-side ball joint, as a fix to my difficulties installing with ball-joint intact, you ask?

Here's my dillemma:

Start with the fact I need the car on Monday (its Friday).

I ordered the passenger side ball joint from NAPA, due in tomorrow (Lemforder). Like a dweeb, I did NOT order the driver side, as I expected to keep the old one, using the "remove 3 13mm bolt" method.

Too late to get a Lemforder before Monday.

Sooooo, I either install some shoddy CHISCAM part - or, I fight like mad to get the LCA on with the old ball joint.

Neither method is ideal, as I'll either end up with:

1) A new Lemforder, and an old orginal ball joint (admittedly in great shape).

or

2) A new Lemforder, and a CHISCAM part.

or

3) Two CHISCAM parts.

Don't make the same mistake I made - get yourself two shiny, new, OEM (VW from dealer, TRW, or Lemforder) ball joints BEFORE starting this operation.
 
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gmenounos

Vendor
Joined
Jun 26, 2003
Location
Watertown, MA, USA
TDI
'99.5 Golf GLS, '01 Jetta GLX Wagon (TDI conversion)
3) Since my ball joints are actually in great shape, I decided to try the other method of removal on the driver-side "Remove the 3 13mm bolts holdling the LCA to the ball joint". The difficulty with this method is final removal of the LCA is a PITA, as it is difficult to clear the LCA from the ball joint. I did manage to get it out, with a fight - but I am now having major difficulties getting it back in.
Review step 6 of the previous post and keep trying. It WILL go in when you find the right positions of the arm, wheel and plate. At least it did for me on both of my cars. It wasn't easy but everything did eventually line up.

Greg
 

puntmeister

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 3, 2013
Location
Arizona
TDI
2004 Jetta BEW
gmen - thanks for the confirmation - you were correct.

A couple comments, as I just finished this job, in tandem with replacing the struts:

1) Good lord! Make no mistake about it, this job involves a good deal of clanging, banging, and muscling around of parts. Be sure to have plenty of hammers, and every type of wrench and socket under the sun.

2) Yes, it is true - you CAN get the LCA back on with the "remove 3 screws from the balljoint" method. The reason I couldn't, at first, is cuz I was replacing the strut, and hadn't fully seated the new strut in the strut-cup yet. (it is STILL very difficult to do!).

3) Definitely worth just removing & replacing the balljoints at the same time. They seemed ok, but who knows. Why not knock them off the list of potential problems - especially on a very high mileage car.
 
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puntmeister

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 3, 2013
Location
Arizona
TDI
2004 Jetta BEW
Oh - if you are replacing the struts (many do this job in tandem with strut replacement), I strongly suggest getting the metalnerd strut spreader too. I cheaped out, and regretted it something awful. Its doable without the tool, but its a royal pain.

I ended up using a 3/8" to 1/4" adapter socket (got the idea from another post on the forum). It worked, but destroyed the adapter, and was trickier than it would likely be with the correct tool.

I was gonna get it - only around $10 - but the shipping cost killed it. $9 shipping. Why can't they just put small stuff like this in a small padded envelope, and ship for $1.50? My wife sells stuff on Ebay on the side - I KNOW its possible.
 
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flyingbrick

Active member
Joined
Aug 11, 2002
Location
Austin, Texas USA
TDI
2003 Jetta Wagon TDI
I just did this job and thought I'd contribute my improvised bearing press methods.

The front LCA bushing is easily pushed out with a Lisle 41900 ball joint / tie rod press:



Others have mentioned using a piece of all-thread to install the new front LCA bushing. Similarly, I used a threaded rod from the HF 93980 bearing separator kit and a cupped washer from an old Toyota shock bushing:



A larger socket (on the right side) would have better received the new bushing, but sometimes you go with what you have. Silicone grease (mine is Dow Corning High Vacuum grease) is compatible with rubber and makes the installation easier.

I cut out the rear bushing using a jigsaw for the rubber donut and an air-powered sheet metal saw for the aluminum ring. Pressing in the rear LCA without a press wasn't as bad as I'd feared. My press began with the back side of the HF 93980 bearing separator kit:



A piece of wood (1x4 or 2x4 is a good fit) with a 1.75" hole bored into it:



The new bushing, frozen and lightly greased:



A cup from the Harbor Freight wheel bearing press kit:



The assembled kludge:



Tighten it slowly it with an impact wrench, flip over and/or replace the wood as needed, and eventually:





Just one more strut change and it's back on the road. Thanks to everyone in this thread for their contributions.
 
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guillaumeber

Vendor
Joined
Aug 26, 2012
Location
Canada
TDI
Jetta 2000 TDI
Just used a vice and a hammer for the 4 LCA bushings... with grease to help them slide in... worked great...
Also this method worked for rear axle bushings... A little redneck but worked...

g.b.
 

vflflyer

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 23, 2004
Location
San Diego
TDI
2003 Jetta TDI 1.9L w/Manual Trans.
Maybe a little off topic, but since we are talking about bushings I was wondering if there is any benefit in spraying all new LCA bushing, Sway Bar bushings, Upper Strut Mounts, basically anything rubber on the suspension with a silicone spray lubricant be fore installing? Will it increase longevity by preventing cracking an drying out?

Getting ready to refresh my suspension!
 

RoundHouse

Veteran Member
Joined
May 23, 2001
Location
Ga USA
I was gonna get it - only around $10 - but the shipping cost killed it. $9 shipping. Why can't they just put small stuff like this in a small padded envelope, and ship for $1.50? My wife sells stuff on Ebay on the side - I KNOW its possible.

oh its possible because thats exactly what the sellers do,

cost them $1.50, they charge you $9

they make more profit on the shipping then they do on the part.

and half the time they dont even have the part, they just use your money, order it and have it drop shipped to you.
 

RamMan4x4

Veteran Member
Joined
May 6, 2007
Location
Raleigh, NC
TDI
'03 Jetta TDI
Excellent write up! Thanks to everyone that contributed! As others have mentioned, all you need to press in the front bushing is a vice, some grease and a couple pieces of wood. It can be pressed in the same way the rear bushing was pressed in.
 

RoundHouse

Veteran Member
Joined
May 23, 2001
Location
Ga USA
Just did this last week,
thanks for the instructions and video

took me about 4 hours total to do both sides.

had no problem pressing the new audi bushing in with a vice

the audi bushings add a LOT of road noise though.
 

rock

Member
Joined
May 2, 2008
Location
Southern colorado
TDI
03 golf tdi
I am doing my bushing now. No problem getting the front one in but the back one was a SOB. Think its ok if the edge of the bushing is bent in a little? Pushed in with a vise but it just didn't want to seat all the way and needed to finish with hammer.
 

TornadoRed

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 3, 2003
Location
West Des Moines (formerly St Paul)
TDI
2003 Jetta TDI wagon, silver; 2003 Jetta TDI wagon, indigo blue; 2003 Golf GL 5-spd, red (PARTED); 2003 Golf GLS 5-spd, indigo blue (SOLD); 2003 Jetta TDI wagon, Candy White (SOLD)
Yeah. Good point on the OEM front bushing. But to be honest, that one usually doesn't need replacing. Its not a prone to need replacing as the rear ones. But with lots of lube, you can slide an OEM front bushing into the hole with just a vice & 2 blocks of wood.
That front one is often ignored -- in my case, two independent VW shops and two tire/alignment shops inspected my suspension and nobody saw that the front bushing in the LCA was shot. Even the alignment expert I eventually went to did not see that problem until the second visit!
 

skyking1

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 10, 2013
Location
Washington
TDI
2003 beetle 2002 beetle
I did all bushings and the ball joints on wife's beetle yesterday. Thanks for all the write ups.
I left the driveshafts in the trans, got the ball joint nuts almost off till they got close the the driveshaft, then removed the three bolts.
Removed the driveshaft nuts and slid the shaft and ball joint out at the same time.
Removed ball joints and installed the new ones into the spindle assembly.
Cut out lower bushing center with razor knife, and cut ring and knocked out with hammer and punch.
Hammered out the upper bushing.
viced in both bushings.
I could not get enough vice action to just push in the lower, so I walked it in. Took some time but got it done.
I had t overdrive the OEM uppers to get that rubber to pop on through. The first one I did dry, and lubed it out from that side. The second I oiled a bit going in.
It was not too hard to slide both the axle and the ball joint in going back together, but I did have it on a lift.
One of my axle nuts was very tight, probably lightly corroded. We had to stand on the brakes to get it broken loose, the electric impact did not touch it. I forgot to put in wheel bolts and sheared off that little screw, DOH!
Too used to American and Japanese rigs with studs on them.
Thanks again for all of this.
 

Drewmeister

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 30, 2012
Location
Texas
TDI
2004 Jetta TDI
Can someone with OEM rear control arm bushings on hand check something for me? I ordered the "Audi TT" bushings; they're made by Lemforder (in Slovakia, not China!), 2713201/8N0 407 181B; these are the ones sold by Kerma, idParts, BoraParts, and others. I noticed that the 12mm bolts fit very loosely inside them, so I checked a 1/2" bolt, and that fits perfectly! This has me wondering if these are the right bushings or not!

By comparison, a 12mm bolt fits properly inside the front bushings, and a 1/2" bolt will not go in. Can someone tell me how a 12mm and 1/2" bolt fit (or don't) into the OEM bushings? That's a fairly big difference (12.0 vs. 12.7mm) and seems like it could cause clunking. Apparently on some Jeeps they came new with 9/16" (14.3mm) bushings and 14mm bolts, and this causes problems; replacing those bolts with 9/16" grade 8 bolts is a very common fix. This is more than twice that difference!

(And in case it wasn't clear, I'm talking about bolt diameters, not head sizes. The stock control arm bolts are 12mm diameter, 18mm hex head.)
 
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newbug

Member
Joined
May 27, 2009
Location
Jersey City, NJ
TDI
1984 Jetta, 1999 Beetle, 2002 Jetta, 2005 Passat Wagon
Control arm bushing replacement

I found a much easier way to remove the bushings.
I will be posting the video on you tube soon.
Takes about 5 minutes to remove both bushings with no sweating or cursing involved.
 

newbug

Member
Joined
May 27, 2009
Location
Jersey City, NJ
TDI
1984 Jetta, 1999 Beetle, 2002 Jetta, 2005 Passat Wagon
Videos to remove bushings on control arm in about 5 mins

I found a much easier way to remove the bushings.
I have posted the videos on you tube.
Takes about 5 minutes to remove both bushings with no sweating or cursing involved.
Simple tool from harbor freight.
See all 4 videos on you tube.
1st Video
http://youtu.be/8oK8_-sEhXM
2nd video
http://youtu.be/qjuaZIa6yKU
3rd video
http://youtu.be/NmLewm-pf4U
4th video
http://youtu.be/ilbjCm0MNgY
For everyone who wanted to know what camera I used it is a canon powershot D10 waterproof camera. No longer available replaced with the D20 and now the D30.
 

ScottySK

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 18, 2012
Location
Beaumont, AB (CA)
TDI
03 Jetta GLS
Just finished putting new bushings in a spare set of arms I picked up in preparation for an arm swap in a couple weeks.

Having previously done a lot of suspension work on Neons, a MK4 is a walk in the park. Arms removed in 15 minutes total from a wreck, no rust on anything. Removal of the old bushings & pressed in new ones in about 90 minutes. Would have taken way less time if I had used a two-piece front bushing instead of a stock replacement.

So simple, similar work on my old Neons would take me a week with all of the rusty hardware I had to contend with.
 

3turboz

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 29, 2011
Location
Tempe AZ USA
TDI
2000 Golf GL Wolfsberg
Did LCA bushings and ball joints last week. Although my LCA bushings were not as shot as some shown here, I was getting some shaking under light braking and thought they might be the culprit. Sure enough, steady as a rock now.

Here are my best tips:

A 2" hole saw works pretty well at cutting the old rubber out of the rear bushings. Just go slow and work from both sides and in a couple minutes you are down to the aluminum ring.

I put stock fronts in and it was not too bad with a little silicone grease. I lubed the outer lip of the hole in the LCA and the nose of the bushing lightly. Then found a socket that would allow the bushing to protrude on the other side (inside of LCA). Then just pushed in with a bench vise. The key is to not stop until the bushing is seated. If it has not gone all the way though it will squirt back out as you open the vice, even if it is 90% in. Then I just had to smack it with a hammer once to get the lip to pop out all the way around on the inside. I think the socket I was using was a little tight and it was keeping it from poking all the way through.

Anyway, thanks for the great how-to!
 
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Pilot4him

Active member
Joined
Mar 13, 2013
Location
NorCal
TDI
98 jetta
I just finished the LCA bushings as well...
I didn't have a vise, and most of the shops on Sunday were closed.
I borrowed the ball joint press from Oreilly's.

It is doable, but a pain.
For what it's worth, it can be difficult to press in the rear bushings straight with the ball joint press.

I just used a hammer to "readjust" them. Thanks for the tips everyone!
 

canbluegolf

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 18, 2003
Location
Canada
Just did my LCA bushings this weekend, bushings definitely needed replacement, especially the rear which now has the Audi TT version.

You may have had the nut inside the subframe break away from the weld. It would feel like the bolt is free-spinning, but won't release out. This just happened to me two weeks ago. The easiest way (for me) to fix it was to use a hole saw and cut out the subframe behind the attachment point. This allows access to weld the nut back in place with a flux core welder. Then you can weld the cut out back into place. If you can't do it, most garages should be able to do it. It took about 10 minutes to fix for me.
I had my pass. side front bushing nut fall off and you can put it back on without cutting open the subframe. Here are the quick steps ...

- Bend a coat hanger to reach around from the back bushing opening till you can reach the hole for the front bushing where the nut fell off from.
- Tack weld the nut to a coat hanger and feed it through but keep the wire out of the way of where the rear bushing goes.
- Once you have the LCA back in you should be able to torque up the front bolt without the tack weld breaking ... hopefully. :)
- Then there is a small hole underneath close to the back of the front nut. You can insert a small punch to break the tack weld and pull the coat hanger out.
 

bradinho

Member
Joined
Oct 22, 2006
Location
Salt Lake City, Utah
TDI
2000 Golf 1.9 TDI
Attempted this tonight, and failed. Got the control arm off no problem. Elected to install a new control arm with poly bushings pre-installed, thinking that would make life easier. I just cannot seem to get the rear bushing to line up, no matter how much I hammer, push, pull or curse. I did not replace the ball joint and but have reconnected the 3 bolts connecting the LCA to the ball joint.

Should I unbolt those 3 bolts next to the control arm to line up the rear bushing? I hate to do that cause that was kind of pain to get that back in as well.
 

Mountain TDI

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 12, 2007
Location
Oakhurst, CA
TDI
2002 and 2003 Jettas and 2015 Passat 6M
I had the same problem recently, could not get the rear LCA bolt in, I disconnected the strut bottom from the spindle and left it hanging, that flex allowed me to get the bolt in. Good luck.
 

KrashDH

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Dec 22, 2013
Location
Washington
TDI
2002 Golf
Attempted this tonight, and failed. Got the control arm off no problem. Elected to install a new control arm with poly bushings pre-installed, thinking that would make life easier. I just cannot seem to get the rear bushing to line up, no matter how much I hammer, push, pull or curse. I did not replace the ball joint and but have reconnected the 3 bolts connecting the LCA to the ball joint.

Should I unbolt those 3 bolts next to the control arm to line up the rear bushing? I hate to do that cause that was kind of pain to get that back in as well.
Did this 2 weeks ago. You do not need to remove the spindle. I also have the poly bushings. You do not need to loosen the ball joint bolts either. keep the joint connected to the LCA.
When reinstalling, turn the wheel to the opposite of the side you are working on. It buys you a bit more room. Take a floor jack with a piece of wood centered under the rotor and jack there until its up and out of the way. Don't jack to the point the whole car lifts, but so the weight is still on jack stands. Slide in the rear LCA bushing first, then the bolt, and the hand tighten the top nut.

Now is the part that will take some tweaking to get around the rotor a bit. You're going to pry the control arm down, around the part of the rotor, and towards the front bushing mount. Once it's aligned up, push up and into the mount. it may take a couple whacks with a dead blow or something to tap it in. Align it up and thread the front bolt in hand tight.

Now at this point the LCA wants to spring up to level, but with one hand keep it down. Slowly let the jack holding the rotor down. Slowly. The arm will come back down towards the shaft of the ball joint stud. When it gets close, line them up and stuff it through.

The ball joint should already be torqued to the LCA.

Now, put the jack and piece of wood under the LCA and jack it up so its level with the body or a bit more. And now torque the front and rear control arm bolts. This simulates the weight of the car on the control arm and should keep the stress off of the bushing and sleeve in that position (to a point...it will always be loaded).

Hope this helps
 

bradinho

Member
Joined
Oct 22, 2006
Location
Salt Lake City, Utah
TDI
2000 Golf 1.9 TDI
Thanks. I had to disconnect the 3 bolts to the ball joint and was able to get the rear bushing bolt in. The other side should go smoother. I think removing the ball joint with the control arm will make it a lot easier.
 

eddie_1

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 27, 2004
Location
Hannover, Germany formerly Toronto & NY
TDI
Jetta Wagon 2003 TDI tuned to 170HP, A6 Wagon 2008 TDI 2.7L tuned to 340HP
I wanted to press out the bushing with the harborfreight wheel bearing adaptor kit I had but it does not have the right size disc. You need exactly a 59mm disc. I found a steel washer at Hornbach (Home Depot) exactly 59mm. M20 I believe. I had the 12.5mm thread diameter rod from before (pressing in a bicycle headset). It came out easily. No need for any drastic actions - cutting and hitting! :)

 

tongsli

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jan 31, 2000
Location
Baltimore, MD
TDI
2000 Jetta TDI, 2004, Jetta Wagon TDI PD
It took me a second try to press the rear bushing after destroying the first(attempt). But after that, I was good to go.
 

eddie_1

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 27, 2004
Location
Hannover, Germany formerly Toronto & NY
TDI
Jetta Wagon 2003 TDI tuned to 170HP, A6 Wagon 2008 TDI 2.7L tuned to 340HP
How did you destroy it? The LCA opening is curved on the topside making it easier to get the bushing started. I just pressed in as follows in less than a minute.

 

tongsli

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jan 31, 2000
Location
Baltimore, MD
TDI
2000 Jetta TDI, 2004, Jetta Wagon TDI PD
How did you destroy it? The LCA opening is curved on the topside making it easier to get the bushing started. I just pressed in as follows in less than a minute.

well, I managed to bend and the outer part of the bushing using a press that was a little too small. And since I'm so anal, I took it out and replaced it with another. I could still probably use it. Just not sure where it is :(
 

minis2003

Veteran Member
Joined
May 6, 2014
Location
hampton va
TDI
2006 beetle w/DSG, 2015 Jetta TDI w/DSG
Looking at doing both my control arms bushing and ball joints tomorrow, do I need to replace my lower control arm bushing bolts? The videos on YouTube all seem to just reuse the bolts, is this wise?
 
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