Apologies in advance if this has been asked before.

I took my car (MkI 1.4 16v) to my local Skoda garage for another issue and I have just been informed that the ARB bushes and the sub-frame bushes are starting to deteriorate and I should have the replaced. Apparently the previous garage, where I bought the car, has put grease on them to make it sound as if they were fine but there should not be any.

The local Skoda garage have quoted me £257 (+VAT) to have the bushes replaced which consists of £57 for the bushes and £200 for labour. Apparently they can only replace the bushes with the newer Skoda ones, which according to them are modified and should last longer.

Based on this I have a few questions that I would be grateful if someone could help with.

Firstly, should I go with their recommendation or should I, instead, buy a set of Powerflex ones (*Powerflex Suspension Bushes Front kit for Skoda - larkspeed.com), which are meant to be better, and have them fitted?

Secondly, assuming that I go with the Powerflex ones, what would be the right ARB bushes for my car? 16mm, 17.5mm or 19mm?

Thirdly, is £200+VAT for having the bushes fitted excessive? It does sound a bit steep to me. If so, could anyone suggest a good garage in SE London which could do this?

Many thanks in advance.

I would go for better bushes. I had Superpro bushes fitted by Jabbasport and they are much better than the Skoda ones. The ones I had fitted were anti lift ones but they also do OE spec bushes. Most people go for the bushes out of the cupra, as they are cheap to buy and much better designed than the Skoda ones. Do a search for 'console bushes' on this forum and read the reports. I would not get the Skoda ones fitted, as you will get the same problem again.

I'd disagree with that. Other than swapping the rear (console) bushes for Cupra ones, I wouldn't bother with Powerflex bushes unless the car's driven hard, as there's no reason to doubt they won't last as long as the old ones did (I don't know the age of the car, but as it's a petrol and the bushes have gone, I'm guessing at least six years).

The only thing is, if it's one of the earliest Mk1 Fabias, the failing ARB bushes may have worn the ARB itself, however any replacement ordered will be modified to stop this happening (a collar where the bush goes IIRC...)

The car is about 9 years old but I do not know if they have been changed in the past.

The Skoda garage mentioned that they bushes have not gone yet but are starting to show signs of wearing and the ride over speed bumps will get uncomfortable so the ARB bushes and sub-frame bushes should be replaced. They did say that the ARb itself is fine though.

just had my n/s rear bush done £60 all in inc vag part.

I'd just get the Cupra console bushes, and keep the rest standard. It's what I did on my wife's Fabia, as they'd lasted seven or eight years before they'd gone so there was no reason to doubt the replacements wouldn't last as long. The ones on mine went after about three years, though, and under the circumstances, I did go for the Powerflex bushes...

Horses for courses, but while the Cupra bushes only cost a little more than the standard Fabia ones, the Powerfles bushes are really expensive for what they are, and only worth fitting if you'll get the use out of them (if you see what I mean...)

Hope your car's better soon - saw the post about the vents!

ap0gee,

Many thanks for the advice. So then the proposed modified VAG bushes should do the trick?

What about the price quoted for fitting? £200 does sound a bit too much.

cant poss take 4-5 hours to fit so 200 sounds way ova the top imo

I have done these on a couple of cars now (I'm a 'seasoned' mechanical engineer, but still basically a DIYer when it comes to these jobs)..

The big bushes at the back of the wishbone (console bushes) are around £15-18 the pair for the 'Cupra' type.

The smaller front bushes, at the front of the wishbone) are around £10 the pair. Note that these may well be OK, I changed them on all four cars, but none were deteriorated (they are as hard as iron!).

The ARB bushes were about £6 the pair and are dead easy to fit.

(NB Above prices from AVS VW spares and are plus VAT). Note that ideally you should replace the various bolts removed as part of the job (these cost me £12 from the dealer).

I could do the full job in two hours, so I think £150 labour would be a reasonable maximum for an independent in the pricey South East (although of course they should be able to do it a fair bit quicker than me!).

The quoted £200+VAT is for 2.5 hours of work as they charge £80+VAT per hour. The "benefits" of living in London...

Does anyone have any suggestions of independents in the SE that could do this for a more reasonable price?

Hi,

I supplied both sets of the Cupra & Powerflex bushes to my local small garage (non Skoda) near Macclesfield and was pleasantly surprised to be only charged £70.00 in total.

Furthermore they fitted them the way 'as described' in the Forum, which kept the tracking virtually spot on.

DB.

£70 sounds far more reasonable!

By the way does anyone know what should be the thickness for the ARB bushes? I have seen three different options of 16mm, 18mm and 19mm

Edited 24 October, 200916 yr by Errika1

The smaller front bushes, at the front of the wishbone) are around £10 the pair.

What is catalogue number for these bushes? I can't find it in ETKA, and my dealer says that I have to replace the whole control arm because of that.

£70 sounds far more reasonable!

By the way does anyone know what should be the thickness for the ARB bushes? I have seen three different options of 16mm, 18mm and 19mm

Right, two issues here, firstly "what is the ARB size" and secondly "is it the original style ARB". I'd guess that the ARB size or diameter is 16mm - but the ARB style will determine the bush size as the later (modified) ARBs with the steel end stops (and not the plastic end stops) will be "smaller" as the newer ARB is smaller in diameter - ie there is no extra plastic collar at the mounting bush points. In general this means that the bushes for the later or modified ARBs drop a size - and that means that the smallest ARBs gets a new bush part number - ie previously not used, and the largest original ARB mounting bushes are only ever used on the unmodified original ARBs. If you are getting a Skoda dealer or a VAG indie to do this work, they will supply the parts so will/should check up if the car still has the unmodified ARB before buying in bushes.

What is catalogue number for these bushes? I can't find it in ETKA, and my dealer says that I have to replace the whole control arm because of that.

I didn't buy from a dealer, I bought Lemforder parts from a VAG parts supplier. They are part no. Lemforder 29709 01

The same part fits the VW Polo 2002-on and the SEAT Ibiza 2002-on.

Thank you for the information, I will try to find it from VW dealer.