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Fabia wishbone bush replacement DIY Guide


vrsfab

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fitted the rear powerflex bushes from C&R enterprises £48 delivered to my Fabia VRS

piece of **** to fit old bushes just poppped out(original skoda crap)

good clean of with sandpaper and prewipe, pushed the purple part of the bush in by hand, fitted the black part on the arm and it just slid in with abit of pressure

took 1hr to do both sides, laying on my back with axle stands

for the price of the powerflex i wouldn't even bother with the Cupra type and the struggle to fit them

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  • 2 months later...
  • 1 month later...

Here's my experience fitting Meyle HD (and four year guarantee) aftermarket bushes to a Fabia 1.

3. Both front and rear bushes should be unstressed (rather than twisted) when the car in sitting on the ground. So tighten the front wishbone bolt last and when the suspension is compressed. As for rear bush, apart from getting it the right way up (the hex wishbone socket is not central in the bush and should be nearest the centre of the car) achieving a non-twisted installation needs crafty marking and measurement of where the wishbone sits (with the car on the ground) in relation to the console. It's probably OK to install them with hexagon flats horizontal in the console (because the wishbone is roughly horizontal) for standard suspension setups. But with lowered suspensions I might be tempted to rotate the bushes by a few degrees.

4. Re-using the old bolts is a no-no but since we all do - put some threadlock on them!!

Good luck.

Thanks for that as just been looking at my new ones and noticed they are not centrel.

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Here's a slightly different take on this job, buy a pair of new wishbones (£50.30 delivered for a pair including ball joints, front bushes and drop links) and a set of rear Powerfelx rear bushes £48. No pressing, no messing, no special tool and no straps required.

From what I read the front bushes are less likely to go (at 11 years old while probably past it the ones I have are OK) but you get a new set anyway with the wishbones already pressed and a new set of ball joints. On a car that could be anything up to 12 years old it makes more sense to renew inexpensive items like this when you're doing related jobs than to put yourself through extra ball ache when they're that inexpensive and it actually makes the job a lot easier to do at the same time. My Y reg Fabia lived it's whole life in a garage, bodywork underneath is pristine but the wishbones are pretty well rusted, I certainly wouldn't re-use the bolts on my wishbone or ball joint, they're 70p for the smaller ones to £1 odd for the larger ones at retail.

As ever just a thought and thanks to the OP for the guide :)

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Hey guys, Thanks for the amazing tutorial... Made a fiddly job so much easier!

I actually ended up taking the entire console off and working on it in a vice as i didnt have the tool to hand, or the inclination to build said tool! (I'm a lazy engineer :p ).

I did however end up taking a dremel with a light sanding bit to the inside of the console where the bushes interface as the alloy had started corroding slightly and the surface was anything but clean / smooth! (I will add to this point I did NEED a re-alignment which was free from my local ATS :) )

Anyway... Only thing I did massively different was the lube...

Fairy liquid worked OK on the first one, but still stuck and was a little **** to get in properly, so for the second on I used an animal birthing agent...

Yes... That's right... an animal birthing agent...

This stuff is SUPER slick, completely harmless to rubber, non toxic, water soluble and cheap! It comes in a powder and you mix it to the gooeyness you require. (just search 'J-Lube' around the net)

When it came to sliding the wishbone back into the bush, it literally just slid in... the first one i had to clamp into place! But this just slid straight in...

So yeah! If you need any super duper slick lube for assembling rubber bits... J-Lube!

Thanks again guys!

Edited by scrappy
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  • 3 weeks later...

Hi anyone got some of the fitting tools they would let me borrow. Happy to pay all postage and a deposit

I just going to replace with stock bushes and dont really need Cupra or powerflex.

I assume i will still need the tool or are stock bushes easy peasey?

Phil

Edited by Slimwonder
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Quick update that may help others considering doing this:<br /><br />After careful consideration (including the offer of the proper Sealey tool for the weekend) I decided I would rather spend a few quid more and replace the other items that are likely to fail, I also didn't want to have to do the bushes more than once as others have when using oem bushes. I opted for new wishbones inc. front bushes, ball joints and drop links for £50.30 delivered (irish motor factor via ebay) and Powerflex console bushes (£46ish) and £2 for new bolts, however if you're re-using any of the above this is also applicable, the whole job came in at under £100 but you could easily have done it for just the cost of the bushes. The only reason I chose to renew the lot was my car's circa 12 years old and i'd rather spend £50 and know I don't need to do the job again for as long as i'll own it. Plusgas was applied and left to do it's work on the ball joint nut and the drop links.<br /><br />Undo the front 18

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  • 4 weeks later...

This thread was useful but ive just done this at work on the ramp so whoever does this on their drive fair play to you !! Long winded job well i wish i used a ratchet strap on the lower arms !

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Nice article I'm looking to do my ibiza 1.9 tdi with cupra upgrade, but I'm a little confused as to why you have 2 of each spacer. Do you not just need 1 of each size on either edge of the bush to draw it in the console. maybe Ive overlooked somthing easy. :think:

Edited by JZ IBIZA
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  • 2 weeks later...

PLEASE help - I've just tried to do this on my 9n polo but have come unstuck when it came to removing the front 18mm wishbone bolt on the off-side. The problem is that the sump is preventing complete removal of this bolt - please can someone urgently advise how to remove this bolt as I am really stuck.

Thanks

Chris

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Well I bought the bushes and made a tool from a bearing puller bolt and a large flat washer. Seemed to be going ok until the last 5mm or so then the plastic around the bush snaped.Had to remove it and start again Doh. Used 2 bushes on 1 side, ohh well still cheaper than the stealers. Going to buy 2 more bushes today then try again on monday. wish me luck.

Jon

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  • 1 month later...

Just done the console bushes, using the Powerflex replacement bushes due to ease of fitment. As I do not have a ratchet strap. I used a "C" type deep jaw Mole grip, of the type found in cheap sets for welding. This allowed me to seat - push - the rear pivot into the bush by spanning the front bush centre spacer and the alloy upright behind the damper and gradually adjusting the setting screw in the molegrip. Total time was about 3 hours, on the drive.

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  • 1 month later...

Excelent guide. I found it looking for a price for the bushes and registered to add 2 little points to the process if i may:

To remove the old bush from the carrier i heated it up just enough to soften the plastic that surrounds the rubber then with a flat headed screwdriver, i just popped it out. It took me no more than 2 minutes to do this.

To fit the wishbone back into the bush, i used chain grease from my motorbike on both the bush and the wishbone. It did take quite a bit of a push, but it did go in without the use of any pressing aids.

Edited by vaguel
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  • 2 months later...

THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!! I have just changed both wishbones entirely on my wife's Fabia along with new ball joints and console bushes. What a job! I am not sure I would have persevered if it weren't for this thread!

Having done the nearside (3 days ago) I spent near on 2 hours trying to remove the old console bush, luckily I made up a pressing tool so putting back wasn't that bad. I used washing up liquid and WD 40. Refitting the wishbone into the console bush using my foot which was quite easy, i couldn't believe my luck!

I had planned to do both sides however the delay in removing the console bush meant I had to put the other side off until today.

After removing the wheel and liner the first bolt at the front of the wishbone (offside) was trapped by the sump! Luckily I went back to this thread, I ended up loosening the subframe and jacking up the engine to create just enough room to remove the said bolt. After that delay I decided to remove the aluminium subframe bracket altogether and to be honest removing the console bush is a dream if done in the workshop. I had it removed and replaced in under 20 minutes. Putting the front bolt back in was far easier than removing as hitting it back past the sump is easier than trying to pull it out.

I am feeling very pleased with myself having done the job in advance of the MOT as I am sure they would have picked up all of the knocking that has now been cured!!!

Thanks again,

Daniel

Edited by djcentrino
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I'm about to attempt this using the Avalon method ie. new wishbones, ball joints and powerflex bushes.

Has anyone needed a ratchett strap needed for this method?

Where is the best place to get replacement bolts from - online or vw?

Also, on youtube there are some great videos by a chap called Murray Hay - just search for Skoda Fabia bush!

Thanks in advance.

Edited by liftfan
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I'm halfway through doing this so I'll just add a few notes so far, I've taken off the hole console, with the wishbones in still. Easy peasy.

3B737524-0A40-43F3-A942-DF915A3F343F-3274-0000018FBFCDF5CE.jpg

Pushed the old consoles out by breaking the plastic outer. then hammering it out.

Cut the lip off the front wishbone bush then using a punch and a vice pushed the bush out

Like so 000C8862-646F-47B0-BE0B-C1B566434DC8-3274-0000018FCCA4DC72.jpg

Then for the console bush I've opted for the Cupra item, just made sure there were no burs in the console, bit of copper slip then one big whack with a hammer covered with a bit of 2x4 to start it off then press the rest in using the vice, also piece of ****, I will note though I pressed in the bush from the rear, just easy as there's less to go in than going in from the front. Also toward the end the vice handle became almost unturnable so I had to link a large handled ring spanner to gain extra leverage.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Any one got any tips on removing the lower ball joint?

I've removed the wishbone and console mount but can't get the ball joint out. I've removed the nut but the ball joint is stuck fast!

Do you just wack the threaded bolt down some how?

Ta.

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  • 8 months later...

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