Dogbone mount bushings MOD- hybrid dogbone mount

I was speaking to Justin (oldpoopie) about the stiffer dogbone bushings, and he said that his tranny mount was messed up a bit because the stiffer dogbone bushing pushes back harder which transmits to the other 2 mounts.

I also didn't like the vibration, so I decided to test something out while I had my skidplate off. I took apart the dogbone bushing. I saw how the stock smaller one (which is pushed upon when reversing or under deceleration) is pretty stiff anyhow. The stock bigger one (which is under load under accel) is quite soft, especially because it has that cut in it. So I put the smaller stock in and the stiffer bigger mount (I also drilled some holes in it, but I don't think that softened it that much anyhow). Tighten the bolt all the way as the smaller stock one will compress anyhow, and hold it nice and tight (but still flexible).

Anyhow, it works great now, a hint of vibration at idle, and almost none when accelerating, even at low rpms! It doesn't have the horrible slop that the stock one has. In fact I can't really tell if this has more slop than when both were stiff!

Picture below:
The left one, smaller one leave it there, and change the bigger one (which is very sloppy stock) to the stiffer poly one.

I drilled my dogbones like swiss cheese and still HATED them. Worst mod ever on a TDI.

Put the OEM bushing back in and love it.

Yeah the drilling doesn't do much! It was annoying before anyhow.

This actually worked, amazingly! I think because the hard ones don't give at all, so one soft one (the smaller/harder of the two) can absorb the vibrations and the stiff one absorbs the acceleration force, so it doesnt twist like a mofo like the stock one does.

I was also thinking to cut the shaft a half inch, so that I can tighten the mount a bit more on the stock bushings. I think that would do the same trick of having little slop, but at the same time, soak up the vibrations.

My thought was to cut the dogbones in half and use half of each one. But I just put the OEM bushing back in.

The drilling did help and I even drilled the holes bigger the second try, it helped more as well.

Here is how i modifyed my dogbone mount...Jeff gave the idea...

Basicly i cut 1/2 inch of the post where the bolt goes through , we put it on the vise and in order to close it we had to stand on it we used the piece that i cut of on the outside like a washer/spacer to compress the OEM bushings more...

If had to do it again...i cut a tiny bit more than 1/2 inch cause i thought to compensate for the lost matterrial in the cutting....don't cut more than 1/2 in....infact don't even cut that much off try 1/4 inch or a bit over 1/4 it'll be enough...

with 1/2 mine is now very stiff and with the same OEM degradable rubber and for zero $$$$
here is a pic of what i'm talking about...

DOG_MOD

Nice idea! How does it feel at idle, and when accelerating?
I bet its less shaky than the stiffer mount, which is a pita since its more plastic like than rubber like (which would absorb shocks better).

Like i said ...i think we choped off too much...
It's shaky when cold ...all noise goes away after warm up...
and it shakes abit right at the clutch engagement moment...if revs are low...if revs are high and at take off is fine..
What i mean is the car (and cabin)its self doesn't shake but i can hear is interior vibratioin and the steering wheel. When it warms up all is well

try it out ...all oem bushings and chop of just a 1/4 or a tid bit above a 1/4 and then put it on the outside..
if you chop of too much iges you could stack a washer or something o the other side..under the cover..

i don't know how long my rubber will last compressed that much plus its a 108k old but only time will tell

I had that kind of vibration with both poly mounts on. With my hybrid setup, I have almost no vibration, even when I let the clutch out. I expected some slop, like the stock mount, but amazingly it doesnt slop! I should do a hard launch to see if I get wheel hop, but so far no hop.

I think your rubber will last quite a bit, it probably is better off compressed than being loose and having a lot of flex like the stupid design of the stock mount having almost an inch of play!

Hi,

I recommend cutting off 1/8" of the pipe to stiffen it up. 1/4" was a mofo to get assembled - a little too tight.

Jeff

What I did was cut an extra 1/2 inch piece of rubber from a scrap mount and added it to my good mount. Was a ***** to sqeeze in with the vise but its been working great for the last 2 years.

All very interesting information...maybe something for me to try out at the next GTG...AFTER Impex how much time do you guys think it would take doing the 1/4 cutoff method?
And what exactly did you use for cutting off?

Less than 1/2 hour. 15 minites if you have air tools like me! Use a hacksaw to cut it I would think?

Hi,

I recommend cutting off 1/4" of the pipe to stiffen it up. 1/2" was a mofo to get assembled - a little too tight.

Jeff

Click to expand...

True, and the way he says his vibrations go, it sounds like it is as stiff as the fully poly mount! That was also a ***** to get on!

A bit looser, and it should be perfect, like mine is awesome! If I didn't have the poly mounts I'd def do 1/4 tho!

TTT this piece of usefull info!!!

It is an exelent mod for the $$$ = 0 LOL

So you're saying to cut some of the rubber off the bushing?

Hi,

No, don't cut rubber, see the link above for the mod. You cut the aluminum rod that the rubber stack mounts in to shorten the "crushed" rubber stack. Take it apart and you'll understand what is needed to do.

You can also fabricate aluminum shims to go under the rubber biscuits if you don't want to cut-up your dogbone.

Jeff

Jeff performed this on mine during his last tuning of my car. Wow, what a great mod!

I wonder if cutting the shaft has a negative affect on the angle position of the motor as you are pulling it further towards the rear? Granted not by much however. My technique is to squeeze in an additional 1/2'' or so of rubber into the mount. (piece cut from spare mount) thus stiffening it up. The shim idea is a good choice as well.

jsrmonster said:

You can also fabricate aluminum shims to go under the rubber biscuits if you don't want to cut-up your dogbone.

Jeff

Click to expand...

This is what I did. Tho not aluminum, I had some stiff rubber like stock that I used. I put about 3/8" in there, and then the fun began.

Fabbing things to work in the vice so I could get the "sandwich" back together.

Best zero dollar mod ever. It cured several rattles I had which was well worth the price of admission.

Where's a list of the other "zero dollar" mods?

I just re-did my clutch, and removed the poly on the subframe end of the dogbone, AND cut 1/4" from the shaft. It works like a charm. Much nicer than all poly, and its quiet as all getout now. Say goodbye to crazy vibrations at idle!

I'm very content with my EIP mount. The vibration at idle once the engine has warmed up is barely noticible compared to stock. I keep tearing up transmission mounts though, so I'm gonna get a poly one of those.

--Matt

I've got a VF-engineering tranny mount I'll sell you. Its in perfect shape, but you'd need new bolts.
It sells new for $179.95 at ecstuning
http://www.ecstuning.com/stage/edpd/pagebuild_v2.cgi/?html=learnmore.html&productID=3818
I'll sell it for $125.00 shipped. IT will take me a while though. Its back in NJ and I'm in process of moving to Portland Oregon. I wont be back to pack it up and ship it till mid May.
-J

Ugh, the poly inserts were the worst mod ever. The vibration was horrible. Im so glad I saw this thread. It gave me the idea to use the stiffer stock mount in the front and I cut about 1/4 off the bigger poly mount for the back. NO vibration, wheel hop or movement now. I couldnt be happier.

Another Happy customer here, I cut about 1/4 of an inch off, then filed the bolt down so it would actually compress the rubber a bit more. Much less of a clunk into 2nd gear, no more audible "pop" or massive clunk when going from Park to Drive or Reverse. 80% of the shudder I was experienceing under load is gone.

I am getting some shuddering while under braking. Would this take care of the problem ??

PS, yes the pads/rotors are fine ...

No idea...but it won't hurt anything else if it doesn't help.

Good point and I do have 1/4" aluminum laying around ...

robnitro said:

True, and the way he says his vibrations go, it sounds like it is as stiff as the fully poly mount! That was also a ***** to get on!

A bit looser, and it should be perfect, like mine is awesome! If I didn't have the poly mounts I'd def do 1/4 tho!

Click to expand...

It doesn't look like it will be, but 1/4" is plenty. I took off 8mm, and the vibrations at idle are pretty noticeable - a bit disappointing.

Hitting the accelerator suddenly in 1 or 2 still lurches the engine back kinda hard though.

Is the larger "poly" portion of the dogbone a factory piece or are you all replacing it with an aftermarket poly mount? If it's aftermarket can someone tell me where I can purchase one?

Thanks!

three letters, not words.

E.I.P.