> Don't do the control arm bushings along with the suspension...do them when > you have the motor out. This job is technically quite simple (remove some > bolts, have bushings pressed in, replace control arms) but when *I* did > this (out in the street in october), I was unable to get the rear subframe > bolts back in. While I had things apart, something shifted, and those > f-ing bolts would NOT go in. I kept having nightmares about screwing up > the threads on the nut embedded in the sheetmetal above the subframe. I > tried jacking up the engine/subframe and all sorts of other things, and the > thing just wouldn't go back in. I literally spent an entire day trying to > get the bolts back in. Eventually, I had it flat-bedded to a mechanic, and > he finally got it back in by lifting the engine and tranny completely off > the mounts and fiddling with the subframe. It wasn't a real fun > experience. YMMV.
Ouch, Patrick, I wish this topic had come up a day earlier. I've just spent most of yesterday screwing around with that damn rear subframe bolt... It was the exact same experience: blood, sweat, tears, and nightmares about stripped threads. What finally worked for me was dropping the car back onto its wheels, and bouncing on the front suspension for a bit. Then when I jacked it back up, things had shifted into their assigned places, and the bolt went right in... Maybe I was just lucky. Guess I'll know for sure today, since I'm going back to do the other side -- wish me luck. Funnily enough, on an older A2, I was once replacing the complete subframe, along with one control arm (as a result of jumping over a concrete block that someone had forgotten in the middle of the road...), and I don't recollect ANY trouble at all with those bolts. Maybe because I'd had the engine lifted then. Cheers, Oleg _____________ List Sponsor: http://www.netsville.com To remove yourself from this list, send mail to [email protected] with 'unsubscribe a2_16v' in the body of your message See us on the web at http://www.a2-16v.com Visit the 16V Homepage at http://www.gti16v.org
