Mark I front control arm rear bushing update...>>>
02-25-2004, 07:30 AM
#1
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Mark I front control arm rear bushing update...>>>
With the help here I managed to get the VW part number (1J0 407 180, I think) of the Mark I front control arm rear bushing.
Over the weekend we replace both the front and rear bushing in the Mark I arms. The original Mark I rear bushing has a orientation dependent mounting position. (Arrows and two kidney shapes).
My 2000 TTQC still had factory bushings, these have never been touched or updated. What we noticed, however, was that the rear bushing in the driver's side Mark I arm pressed in wrongly (I am assuming here this was done at the factory).
Putting in the new mounting in the CORRECT orientation makes a noticeable difference in (extreme) cornering.
Point here is: if you have Mark I arms (and have never installed (new/polyuretane) bushings, you may want to check if the busings are in correctly.
As far as I know, Mark II arms have different rear bushings, which do NOT have an orientation dependent mounting.
Over the weekend we replace both the front and rear bushing in the Mark I arms. The original Mark I rear bushing has a orientation dependent mounting position. (Arrows and two kidney shapes).
My 2000 TTQC still had factory bushings, these have never been touched or updated. What we noticed, however, was that the rear bushing in the driver's side Mark I arm pressed in wrongly (I am assuming here this was done at the factory).
Putting in the new mounting in the CORRECT orientation makes a noticeable difference in (extreme) cornering.
Point here is: if you have Mark I arms (and have never installed (new/polyuretane) bushings, you may want to check if the busings are in correctly.
As far as I know, Mark II arms have different rear bushings, which do NOT have an orientation dependent mounting.
02-25-2004, 08:08 AM
#3
Eighth Member of AudiWorld. God-like, glorious and all-knowing.
I had just posted this on the UK TT forum...
<center><img src="http://images5.fotki.com/v61/photos/3/36284/246329/arms1-vi.jpg"></center><p>I am probably one of the few, if not the only, TT owner worldwide to own a 3.2 TT with MkI control arms. For those unfamiliar, when Audi first offered the TT, the front, lower control arms (pictured above) had a very small bushing and a very small opening for said bushing. So when you turned the steering wheel, the response was extremely direct.
After the recall, which dulled the response of the car, Audi switched to an entirely different front lower control arm. This arm features a much larger bushing and a correspondingly larger opening for said bushing.
So when you turn the steering wheel, you hit a fat bushing, whereas with the MkI that is not the case.
Presumably the Forge Motorsport bushings will improve the MkII steering response. While the steering probably won't be as sharp as with a MKi control arm, the 25%-30% increase in firmness should be welcome.
I know that there are a few of you with older TTs who may still have MkI control arms. If you do, you may run into a problem that I encountered recently.
When I removed these MkI arms from my older TTR in order to install them on my 2004 3.2 TTR, I was shown that, after 5 years of driving, the MkI arms' bushings were indeed shot. Audi tried to order replacement bushings, but they no longer made bushings for the MkI arms, since they had been phased out. I could still get bushings for the MkII, but that didn't help much.
Just when I was convinced that I would have to let these rare arms go, I found out that there are VW bushings from other VW models that are the identical bushings for these MkI arms. It's just that "officially" they are for a different application.
This information does most of you no good whatsoever. However, for those with MkI arms, you may need to replace those bushings some day, perhaps even now? If you do want to keep your MkI arms, you'll probably need these VW part numbers, which are hard to find. If you're going to replace one, replace them both, as the parts are inexpensive (in the U.S. any way). Here are the numbers:
MkI rear bushing: 1J0 407 181
MkI front bushing: 357 407 182
As an addendum, I just visited the ForgeMotorsports website and saw that indeed, they are manufacturing bushings for the MkI arms as well. Thus, my VW equivalent part numbers become somewhat less important.
Nonetheless, the VW parts are rather inexpensive and it gives one an option with respect to the front, smaller bushing, where I'm guessing that the added stiffness is less critical for MkI arms due to the smaller physical dimensions of the bushing.
After the recall, which dulled the response of the car, Audi switched to an entirely different front lower control arm. This arm features a much larger bushing and a correspondingly larger opening for said bushing.
So when you turn the steering wheel, you hit a fat bushing, whereas with the MkI that is not the case.
Presumably the Forge Motorsport bushings will improve the MkII steering response. While the steering probably won't be as sharp as with a MKi control arm, the 25%-30% increase in firmness should be welcome.
I know that there are a few of you with older TTs who may still have MkI control arms. If you do, you may run into a problem that I encountered recently.
When I removed these MkI arms from my older TTR in order to install them on my 2004 3.2 TTR, I was shown that, after 5 years of driving, the MkI arms' bushings were indeed shot. Audi tried to order replacement bushings, but they no longer made bushings for the MkI arms, since they had been phased out. I could still get bushings for the MkII, but that didn't help much.
Just when I was convinced that I would have to let these rare arms go, I found out that there are VW bushings from other VW models that are the identical bushings for these MkI arms. It's just that "officially" they are for a different application.
This information does most of you no good whatsoever. However, for those with MkI arms, you may need to replace those bushings some day, perhaps even now? If you do want to keep your MkI arms, you'll probably need these VW part numbers, which are hard to find. If you're going to replace one, replace them both, as the parts are inexpensive (in the U.S. any way). Here are the numbers:
MkI rear bushing: 1J0 407 181
MkI front bushing: 357 407 182
As an addendum, I just visited the ForgeMotorsports website and saw that indeed, they are manufacturing bushings for the MkI arms as well. Thus, my VW equivalent part numbers become somewhat less important.
Nonetheless, the VW parts are rather inexpensive and it gives one an option with respect to the front, smaller bushing, where I'm guessing that the added stiffness is less critical for MkI arms due to the smaller physical dimensions of the bushing.
02-25-2004, 08:18 AM
#4
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Yes, thanks again for the part numbers.. That's how I got them in the first place..
We installed the VW front+rear parts ($7 and $15 each at VWPARTS.COM). We just noticed that one of the rear bushings was rotated/presssed in wrongly.
02-25-2004, 08:24 AM
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The arrows (which are only on the VW rubber bushings)..
are supposed to point toward the center of the front busing (basically the axis of the front bushing and arrow have to be on one line).
The the larger of the two kidney shaped openings needs to be to the outside of the arm (the side with the three bolt holes)
Pressing the rear (vw rubber/metal combo) busing in is a MAJOR pain in the butt without a good press. We used a clamp and two pieces of wood with 1 inch holes drilled in the middle.
First lightly hammer the busing in, so that it stays in by itself (this takes a while to get in properly). The put it, whit the, in our case, wooden 'pressing plates' into the clamp and start tightening the clamp just a bit, then untighten and rotate the arm 90 degrees and repeat. This will take quite a while but works in the end.
The front bushing is a piece of cake, just get the proper lubricant from audi, do NOT use normal grease to press the front bushing in, because that messes up the rubber itself, it needs to be this acid free special lubricant ($15 at the dealer).
The the larger of the two kidney shaped openings needs to be to the outside of the arm (the side with the three bolt holes)
Pressing the rear (vw rubber/metal combo) busing in is a MAJOR pain in the butt without a good press. We used a clamp and two pieces of wood with 1 inch holes drilled in the middle.
First lightly hammer the busing in, so that it stays in by itself (this takes a while to get in properly). The put it, whit the, in our case, wooden 'pressing plates' into the clamp and start tightening the clamp just a bit, then untighten and rotate the arm 90 degrees and repeat. This will take quite a while but works in the end.
The front bushing is a piece of cake, just get the proper lubricant from audi, do NOT use normal grease to press the front bushing in, because that messes up the rubber itself, it needs to be this acid free special lubricant ($15 at the dealer).
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