Wrong? Not at all. Let's not forget another PITA: actually getting the rear
of the control arm into that restricted space between the unibody and the
subframe. As anyone who has done it knows, the problem is that you need to
tilt the arm to get it to slide into that area, but that the metal part of the
bushing needs to be perfectly perpendicular to the horizontal surfaces of the
area to get it to slide in. I know it took me something like 45 minutes to get
the driver's side control arm installed because of these issues.
This is only a problem if the hub carrier/strut has already been installed, as
you only have to tilt the control arm to maneuver it around the carrier.. If
you do the control arm before installing this stuff, it's a breeze.
Chris
-----Original Message-----
From: Mark Stanton [SMTP:[email protected]]
Sent: Thursday, May 17, 2001 3:20 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: New suspension time. What to get?
Would I be wrong to suggest that the actual PITA here is not lining up
the subframe with the frame but getting the metal sleeve in the bushing
itself lined up with the subframe and frame?
m
--- "Oleg M. Smirnov" <[email protected]> wrote:
> > 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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