Suspension bushes...

[muddyboots]

An interesting nugget of information for you...

The rear bushes of the front lower suspension arm are known to have large voids in, and give a little too much play - especially after a good mileage.

I'd been toying with the idea of getting some Powerflex inserts (aka udders), but when devonmikeyboy rolled his Cupra and scrapped it I nabbed the wishbone mounting brackets which contain the rear bushes. My intention was to replace the bushes with new OE ones (which are vulcanised in apparently) in my own time, then swap the brackets over.

Anyway, when the brackets arrived from Mr mikeyboy, I notice that they have different bushes - IE no voids in them, but solid rubber instead.

I wonder if this was just an upgrade for the Cupra - or whether they were changed on all models after a certain year ?

They certainly look more up to the job - and it means the Powerflex udders won't fit Cupra models. Might save someone buying them and finding they won't fit, especially as they cost around £40-50.

 

[EdButler]

Udders costing £40 - £50? Who do they think they are!? Im starting to think i need them as i saw they were starting to have too much play when on the ramps. I thought it was only about £50 to £60 just for the entire bushes, front and back (plus the 60+ fitting charge though)

Anyone know about them?

 

[Ant FR]

muddy,

I think there is a bulletin for these bushes. When i took mine back and complaoined about the noise. they changed them to seat uprated bushes. By uprated i assume without the void. Mine was a 2004 car and that was back in 2004 i had em changed. THe dealer said it was not a full recall but could be done if thecustomer came in complaining of noise.

Seems they may have changed the production run early 2005 once the old ones had run out. Maybe

 

[muddyboots]

Ant - are you mixing these up with the ARB bushes ? They commonly fail and lead to knocking noises. I can't imagine the rear wishbone bushes causing noise, just excessive suspension movement.

 

[Ant FR]

nope both the front and rear were done. i had th enormal noise of the ARB done on the front and the rear made a knocking noise over speed ramps etc. I know it took ages to get them to admit the noise ever existed.

wheres the estate then, you changed your mind?

 

[muddyboots]

I think you're still getting mixed up - I don't mean the ARB bushes at the front, nor the bushes at the rear of the car...these are the rear bushes of the front lower wishbones

Still actively hunting for the Passat, there's one I've got my eye on at the moment on Ebay...

 

[Niall]

Bought udders before christmas and still need new bushes and now fin out the no longer needed

 

[djrichard]

What exactly would I need to sort out my suspension? My front wheels are moving back and forth quite a lot now. Had my KWs for about 10k now and whenever I turn a corner fast or go into a dip in the road my front wheels move back to such an extent that the tyres are rubbing in the arches. Its not because Ive lowered it too much as it never used to do it before. If I brake sharply even from about 3mph I can hear and feel the wheels clunking backwards. I was in my local dealer today and explained the problem and i told them i had heard on here about uprated bushes. They said they had never heard of them and ppl must be talking about aftermarket ones.

What would you guys reckon I would need to make sure its all firm and going to remain that way for a good while yet? What cost? Its rather urgent that I get it done straight away!

 

[muddyboots]

If the wheels are moving back and forth under braking and acceleration, then you need to sort the bushes in the bottom wishbone.

There are two bushes on each wishbone, on the inner end where it pivots - one at the back, one at the front.
The rear one is where most of the play occurs, as (unless you have a Cupra or maybe a later year car ??) the rear bush has got large voids in it, allowing a fair bit of movement.
The easiest upgrade, presuming the original bushes haven't broken up, is to buy the Powerflex bushes (aka "udders"). These slot into the voids of the existing bush to eliminate the movement.
Neo posted useful info about these in this Briskoda thread: http://www.briskoda.net/forums/general-car-chat/37258-can-you-guess-what-yet.html
If you search for "udders" on here you might also find a post with the part numbers in. Last time I looked, they weren't listed on the Powerflex website, I think Col got his from Motorsportworld, just have to know the part numbers.

Other option is to replace the bush with another OE one.
Now, as mentioned at the top of this thread, the bushes fitted to devonmikeyboy's 05 Cupra didn't have the voids in, but were solid.
This might have just been an upgrade for the Cupra models, or Seat might have just started fitting them to all models after a certain time, I'm not sure. Some ETKA research would probably reveal all.
But it's not a simple job. The bush is part of the metal bracket that's bolted to the subframe of the car. The bracket would need to be removed from the car, the old bush cut out and the new one fitted in. As the bracket also takes the ARB mounts, it would also be a good opportunity to replace the ARB bushes as these are known to be crap too...

The front bushes on the wishbone are solid, and I doubt they'll permit anywhere near as much movement as the rears. Even so, Powerflex do an uprated version for these, but they are pressed into the wishbone (not the bracket) and would need a press to remove/refit them.

Hope this helps !

 

[muddyboots]

Here are the voidless bushes off devonmikeyboy's Cupra:

 

[djrichard]

Thanks very much for that Muddy, my bro is a mechanic so I will try and find the part numbers and get uprated ones from Powerflex.

 

[Neo_VR]

Now that IS a turnout for the books

Let us know partnumbers when ya get chance

 

[cheshire cat]

muddy do you need new bolts to fit them ? ie stretch bolts

 

[DEAN0]

Powerflex are doing the full set of bushes for the 2002> Ibiza.

http://www.powerflex.co.uk/products.asp?cat=0029&catalog=0729&submit1.x=22&submit1.y=10

Problems solved

 

[muddyboots]

Powerflex are doing the full set of bushes for the 2002> Ibiza.

http://www.powerflex.co.uk/products.asp?cat=0029&catalog=0729&submit1.x=22&submit1.y=10

Problems solved

Well problems solved if you have the voided bushes in the rear of the wishbone.
If you have solid bushes like devonmikeyboy's Cupra did (see my pics above) then the Powerflex rear wishbone bushes won't be able to slot in.

 

[muddyboots]

muddy do you need new bolts to fit them ? ie stretch bolts

Sorry Nic, haven't got a clue !
Which bolts are you referring to - the ones that hold the silver brackets to the chassis ?

 

[cheshire cat]

yes that's the ones, Vag seem very keen on single use bolts, worth checking anyroadup

 

[Derek]

bet that the clunck I get from the back of mine (and have had for ages) when going over certain bumps is due to the ARB bushes then???? what do you reckon???? if it is are they difficult to replace???

 

[Ibiza Evo 2]

You don't have an ARB on the back

 

[Neo_VR]

You don't have an ARB on the back

i do