Poly Bushes

[rmn 0]

Anyone got any advice on fitting these?

I have some powerflex ones on their way, should arrive tomorrow

What is the best way to tackle the rear beam one too

Thanks

[Andy Brookes 0]

Get a garage to do the rears! Unless you want to sweat blood and tears!

[rmn 0]

i have done front ones before, but its all part of the challenge, plus you kn ow whats been done if you do it yourself

[andycowuk 0]

the rears are a lot of fun!

 

U need a drill, a blow tourch, a big hammer and a big screwdriver/chissel and a hacksaw.

 

Drill round the sleeve in the middle of the bush a good few times, then burn the bush for 5 mins.......make various jokes your mate about the religious connections to the burning bush.

 

Beat f**k out of the bush with the hammel and chissel....till the sleeve and rubber come out. You probably will have to repeat the burning and the drilling, so there is ample opertunity for the burning bush jokes.

 

Once the rubber is out, you are left with the outer bit that got pressed in when adam was a lad, so its going nowhere fast.

 

Take the blade off the hack saw, thread it throught the beam and re-attatch it. saw the sleave as much as you dare without damaging the beam..... u can go right through at the top and bottom, but u will probably struggle to do it all the way through. Once u have done as much sawing as you can, on the edge of the sleave that was pressed in first, and would come out last, hit one side of the cut in towards the center, this should then give you a little gap to get ur screwdriver/chissel into, and start beating again, with the aim to split/tear the sleave right up the saw line. It will probably pop out before you split it all the way up.

 

Use a bit of sand paper to smooth it off. Lager the new bush and the inside of the beam with copper slip, and the new bush (assuming its a powerflex one) will go in no bother just by hand, once its in an inch or so it gets tight, so u tap it home with the hammer, then insert the new metal sleeve.

 

Two things to watch......

 

the brake bias spring mount gets in the way of the left one, and can be a bugger to take off if it the nuts and bolts are corroded badly. Have spare nuts and bolts.

 

The copper brake lines have a habbit of twisting, u can fail MOT for that. Have ur blow tourch and some wd40 ready for undoing the union nuts. Be prepared to have to replace the copper. Have new flexi hoses if they havent already been done recently.

 

before u put the beam back on......(and i cant remember which side is best here) it is best to attach one side of the flexi hose while access is easy(er)

 

hope this is helpful for u, and doesnt put u off!!!!!

 

If it all goes well, and hour and a half should see it all done....... if it goes bad, be prepared to be the best part of a whole day at it!

[dinkus 10]

Sounds like so much fun, and if you are putting the VAG bushes back in, they need pressing in properly to exactly the right position. If you get them in wrong, then you bugger the passive rear steering.

 

It's also worth noting that the VAG rear bushes are the only ones that allow the passive rear steering to work, the Powerflex et al ones are too stiff and don't allow any movement.

[dan 0]

I have 'Powerflex' rear bushes in at the moment... One of my next moves is to take them out & fit a full set of (new) original bushes.

 

I find the rear suspension is less forgiving with the poly bushes, other words I'd use to describe them would be rough, harsh, coarse, ignorant & a useless waste of money... hope this doesn't put you off m8, as its just my opinion on them.

[andycowuk 0]

i have put them in all my golfs and my c, infact I have plastic bushes in the c. I dont like "passive rear steering" (read "slop") in a car. I and everyone who has been in my car would agree it is far from intolerable - What suspension kit do u run?

 

Edit - Actually lets not tun rmn's 'how to' thread into a 'what do u like' thread.

[rmn 0]

Thanks for the input lads

I will throw them in and have a go, if i dont like them they will come back out

And they are powerflex

[Kevin Bacon 5]

The Poweflex bushes have a user friendly Shure rating. I have a number of them on my car. Purple is Shure 80, and Yellow is Shure 60. Standard VW rubber is roughly Shure 40-50 when brand new. So you can see, the softer the Shure rating (stiffness) the more vibration absorbent they are. The Bugpack ones (red) are the ones to avoid, they are Shure 100+ and you would absolutely hate them.

 

I refrained from using P flex on the axle as I like the passive rear steering, which you lose with the Powerflex bushes but I have them on the steering rack and front cross member and I'm pleased with them.

 

Andy's guide for replacing them is good, you shouldn't encounter too many difficulties but you know where we are if you do :lol:

[rmn 0]

cheers Kev, i will be at it this evening for the front anyway

wish me luck