Front lower control arm (rearward) bolt

[PickleRick]

It's common knowledge these control arm bushings can be problematic with cracking/tearing which cause an awesome clunk noise when shifting gears or going over bumps. It can also cause alignment and wondering steering going down the free way.

I run a shop, a lawn equipment shop so im essentially a lawn mower mechanic, i don't have a bill gates budget to throw into my daily driver beater car.

This leaves the 400 to 600+dollar (sometimes double these prices depending on source) oem or o.e. replacement front end contol arms out. I looked at the HD meyle kits but even their reviews left much to be desired with premature tears despite proper install. I have spare sets to drive on while exchanges are being made but if i pay top dollar i want to be 100% sure ill have a worry free install.

I found a set for 175, all 8 front arms. The manufacturer varies depending on current inventory. Seems to be the case for many of our vw suppliers.

This distributor offers 10 yr warranty against torn bushings and loose ball joints or any failure not caused by abuse. Bend them in half running off the road and you're on your own.


Even if i have to replaced them every 2 years it's a good deal in my opinion. My biggest issue is the bolt in the rear control arm by the rear subframe is a pain.

I don't like messing with the subframe as this is an issue to many to get a competent alignment. If oilhammer was closer id have him aligning it but I've yet to find a local shop willing to touch it.

So the pita bolt...what ive found is if you turn it around, put the nut on the outside you don't have to lower the subframe again to change the control arm. Less 45 min a side to do uppers and lowers. This includes beer sipping breaks or "coffee shop" breaks for you hippies in Colorado.


How i install control arms.

Measure center hub to your wheel well. Remember this or write it dowm. Then jack up car, remove wheel, replace all control arms. I torque all ball joints snug. I finger tighten the bushings.

I then lower the car with a jack and put the weight of the vehicle on the hub im working with on a large wood block. I then measure to see if the center hub to wheel well are the same distance as if it was still on the tire. A binding parking brake can cause it to be too high, be careful with this as you dont want it rolling off your block if you have to release it to ease the binding.

I then examine all control arm bushings to see that they are all netural and not binding. If they are good i then torque them all down using a dab or blue loctite as i don't believe in one time use bolts on 99% of suspension components. I antisieze all thru bolts and upper ball joints. Lower ball joints i clean the thru holes out with spray brake cleaner and air. I wipe the ball joint shafts with brake cleaner on rag to ensure no grease for maximum friction on install. Once jacked back up i double check all torque specs. If a torque wrench wont fit i just torque until if feels right based on bolt diameter.

I used to use factory specs for control arm distances however friends/family/ my personal vehicles are all usually lifted or lowered and that really throws this spec off. I suck at math thanks to my south Carolina public education so i like to leave the guess how low or high i am compared to stock plus spring settling calculations out of it. Adjustable coil springs are the very worst! Then add in adjustable control arms...its no wonder so many shops dont touch modded suspensions.

Not sure if anyone else uses this method, has worked great for me for a few decades and other than an energy suspension kit for a honda civic which was very ill fitting i have never had an issue with oddly worn tires/alignments or prematurely worn bushings/ball joints. Other than large lifted off road vehicles i have a tire shop do my alignments, 12 inch and wider mud tires that dont travel over 50 have more leeway where you can align them with straight edges and a tape measure. Our cars need more precision.

I cant remember who else it was on here that kept having clanking over bumps and or shifting but I'd gambell its his control arm bushings. I worked for weeks trying to find the source of mine. I had to remove rhe shock to release the load on my lower control arms before i could feel the play in it. I put some used ones in from a parts passat to make sure this was my only issue and the clunking went about 90% away unless down shifting aggressively in the cold. These were still worn so i didn't expect like new results, used will only bandaid rhe situation and with worn uppers i highly doubt they will live long as i need to do all of them at the same time.

Let me know how you guys (looking at you oil hammer) torque your control arms.

 

[afarfalla]

with the fender liner out and the wheels on the ground you can tighten all the suspension bolts

There is no way you will get the lower right rear bolt out without loosening the sub-frame, unless you don't mind putting a hole in the fuel cooler

 

[PickleRick]

Good to know an alternative to tighten the upper control arms. Much easier for those that dont have access to a wooden block or good place to lift/work on the vehicle. Or those that cant read a tape measure!




And yes, the bolt is a pita but if flipped and installed from inside the subframe in the future you will not have to losen the subframe to remove it. You still have to remove it the first time.

 

[oilhammer]

The B5.5 already has much better stuff than the B5s did... well technically the improvements came in early 2001, so still a B5. So I do not have to do much on the TDIs. Neither of my 2004s (205k miles, 233k miles) have ever had any of their arms messed with.

But they have had their struts replaced (upgraded) which does not require any messing with the arms.

However, on the ones I have had to service, I have the strut out, the upper arm carrier on the bench, and I mark their positions at rest (as best I can) and tighten the new ones back in that same clocked position.

The lowers are easy, I just snug them down while the car is on its own weight while sitting on the drive on rack before the arduous task of doing the alignment.

 

[PickleRick]

The heat here in the south gets to rubber and plastic parts. Mine has 225k now.

Id do the mark procedure if i had 1 owner cars but all mine are pre owned so i dont put a lot of faith in vehicles that have been into before from unknown wrench tuners.

In order to remove the top control arms the shock must be removed or the retainer bolt will not come out. My parts passat retainer ring was missing so i know someone has been into it before.


I really wish i had held onto the front end of my 99 v6 5 speed donor car. It had all new oem front end on it at 130k, was qll replaced due to premature bushing failures. Mine was good back then and i figured i didnt want more crap to store in my garage

 

[oilhammer]

I doubt your 100F days are any different than our 100F days, LOL.

If anything, the extreme COLD would cause more bushing issues, not to mention the epic crap roads people in the salt belt suffer through.

 

[DeliveryValve]

I’ve stated this before in past posts, if your ball joints are good, you can save a bit of money by just pressing out and pressing in new bushings. That is if you have access to a press and dies...

I did this with lowers by spending $45 on bushings at the time.

Part numbers for you if you are interested.

4D0407182G – Lower Front inner bushing
4D0407181H – Lower Front out bushing (shock mount)
4D0407183AC – Lower Rear inner bushing

Where and what I used.

https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/audi-vw-suspension-control-arm-bushing-4d0407182g

https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/au...rm-bushing-front-lower-front-outer-4d0407181h

https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/audi-volkswagen-vw-control-arm-bushing-front-uro-parts-4d0407183ab

I also replaced the ball joint boots with Energy Suspension 9.13101R (G version is cheaper) boots.

When I replace the control arms I check the on the ground measurement/placement between the arms the subframe first.
But if you look on the front arms they have a flat spot on the metal privot portion of the bushing that you just align with the little block on the sub frame mount.

The rear arms you just center the arrow looking part of the bushing with the aligning hole on the subframe mount.

I’ve done mine and a couple of other friends B5’s and using this method the measurement pretty much matches the old original arms.

Regarding the rear control arm, my issue is really getting my ½ drive torque wrenches (both click type and beam) in properly if the subframe is in place. So I just resort to dropping the subframe. I just might have to see if a 3/8 drive torque wrench would fit to achieve the 59 ft lb it requires.

But you really don’t need to drop the sub frame at all to remove that rear bolt. Just loosen the bolt, get your cut off wheel, and cut the bolt head off and slide it out. Then replace it with a new bolt.

 

[PickleRick]

I dont think its a single 100 deg day...it's how many there are back to back to back in the 90s for weeks. Boats with black gelcoat literally blister in the sun! Night's where it wont get less than 80 for as many as 2 months at a time dont help much. Our lake water can literally get so warm it can kill off schools of fish too dumb to seek cooler water, can drop in temps fast enough to do the same. Didnt happen this summer but last summer the water was literally so warm you'd sweat just floating!

Now take that heat for weeks on end and add direct sunlight to black asphalt with no rain from june to August...welcome to upstate south Carolina! Some of the worst pollen for allergy sufferers and asthma patients in the USA!