Steve:
I would definitely replace the control arm bushings or have someone do it for
you. The rear bushings in my car went in three years. They flexed so much
that they caused vibrations in my steering wheel under acceleration and changes
in toe and caster under acceleration and braking. You can also buy new control
arms with the bushings already installed if you have doubts about your ability
to pull the old ones/press-in the new. About six weeks ago, I
pulled/pressed-in the bushings with little more than a big vise, a dremel with
a cutting wheel, and some "special tools" (a hole saw (to help pull the front
bushing) and an OE VR6 upper spring cap (to help press-in the rear bushing).
If you do one control arm at a time you should have no problems with the
subframe shifting. About three years ago, when I first contemplated replacing
my control arm bushings, I emailed Todd at AWE to ask him if it could be done
safely. He gave me a qualified "yes". Since then, I've done the control arm
bushings twice. One should always have concerns about stripping the longer
subframe bolts at the rear, but the subframe has three other bolts to hold it
so it should remain secure.
The only way that I could imagine you'd have a problem dropping/misaligning the
subframe is if the bolts were loose to begin with. If you have any doubts, why
not torque them to spec before you begin the job?
HTH,
Chris
-----Original Message-----
From: Oleg M. Smirnov [SMTP:[email protected]]
Sent: Thursday, May 17, 2001 3:14 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: New suspension time. What to get?
> 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
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