I finally managed to find time on a weekend to fit my rear beam bushes.

I was going to take it to a garage but thanks to the guide by Bowders1 I decided to give it a go.

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/169666-changing-mk1-rear-axle-bushes/

It wasn't so bad!

I was glad I bought replacement nuts and bolts because the only way to get the drivers side bolt out was to cut it off because the petrol tank was in the way!

I was also slowed down a bit by this on the rear beam, which I assume is the rear xenon levelling sensor:

It was nicely rusted but some WD40 and a tea break loosened it up nicely.

The old bush

After a bit of work with a drill:

Then I used a wood chisel to break the bits of rubber between the holes until the bush loosened enough to be knocked out.

SuperPro bushes. I bought them from a UK supplier for 25% less than it would cost to buy in NZ. And they're made in Queensland.

So my bushes have already done 25,000 miles around the world!

They just push in by hand:

Then you slide in the centre bit - also by hand. Dead easy.

All fastened up.

Old bits:

And a gratuitous photo

A job well done. Liking the daytime running lights too

Hoping to do mine tomorrow, going down the Superpro route, don't fancy fiddling about with OEM bushes

Hoping to do mine tomorrow, going down the Superpro route, don't fancy fiddling about with OEM bushes

I have some Fabia ones on order, was going to do mine this weekend

Nice work Rob, you've made that look easy!

Did you cut open the bracket for the brake line? And did you disconnect the shocks and remove the springs?

Not heard about the bolt problem before. How did you get the new one in, if you didn't have the clearance to get the old one out? I'm guessing it was just a case of wangling things about!

I have this job to do too, but I'm going with VAG bushes (haven't decided which ones yet). I've got the Sealey mk4 rear bush installation tool now ( http://www.sealey.co.uk/PLPageBuilder.asp?gotonode=ViewProduct&method=mViewProduct&productid=11726&productdescription=vw bush&productcode=&category=0&catgroup=&catmicrogroup=&analysiscode=&requiredresults=16 ), mainly because I love having tools! You can never have enough tools in my opinion. So that should make the bush install nice and easy.

I'll probably leave it till spring now though, because I hate working on cars when it's wet, cold and dark! Slacker....

Good mod ,

what are the Superpro part numbers for those bushes Rob?

Cheers

Peter

http://www.priracing.com/product.php/1647/304/vag---rear---beam-mounting-bushes

There you go

Nice work Rob, you've made that look easy!

Did you cut open the bracket for the brake line? And did you disconnect the shocks and remove the springs?

Not heard about the bolt problem before. How did you get the new one in, if you didn't have the clearance to get the old one out? I'm guessing it was just a case of wangling things about!

I have this job to do too, but I'm going with VAG bushes (haven't decided which ones yet). I've got the Sealey mk4 rear bush installation tool now ( http://www.sealey.co...tdescription=vw bush&productcode=&category=0&catgroup=&catmicrogroup=&analysiscode=&requiredresults=16 ), mainly because I love having tools! You can never have enough tools in my opinion. So that should make the bush install nice and easy.

I'll probably leave it till spring now though, because I hate working on cars when it's wet, cold and dark! Slacker....

I did disconnected the shocks, yes, just let the springs sit there

I put the bolt back in the other way - there was no way it was going in the way it was originally.

The one at the other side was that way and didn't hit anything

I did cut the brake line bracket, yes.

http://www.priracing...mounting-bushes

There you go

That's the ones. I bought mine from there and got a great response and service.

How do you know if these need replacing?

Is it through the handling characteristics signalling failure of the old bush? Or something else?

I had weird wear on my rear tyres which was most likely shocks or bushes so I changed both.

Plus, the car is 6 and a half years old and 100,000km so they're probably worn

I had weird wear on my rear tyres which was most likely shocks or bushes so I changed both.

Plus, the car is 6 and a half years old and 100,000km so they're probably worn

I have weird tyre wear too. Changing the shocks did not fix it, and mine is due for some new tyres, so I am changing these before trashing any more rubber (175k miles)

I did disconnected the shocks, yes, just let the springs sit there

I put the bolt back in the other way - there was no way it was going in the way it was originally.

The one at the other side was that way and didn't hit anything

I did cut the brake line bracket, yes.

That's the ones. I bought mine from there and got a great response and service.

Glad my guide helped you Rob. Sounds like you did it just as i did,. Not to bad a job is it. Only issues are things like seized bolts and unplanned issues that could suprise you. I planned for those with replacement nuts/bolts including the lower shock bolts.

I have weird tyre wear too. Changing the shocks did not fix it, and mine is due for some new tyres, so I am changing these before trashing any more rubber (175k miles)

That symptom can be a sign of worn bushes, another sign is clunking or knocking from the rear end, and a kind of uneven / unbalanced feel to the rear when cornering as the worn bushes would allow for more body roll.

http://www.priracing...mounting-bushes

There you go

job for next year i think too cold now

cheers Andy

Would worn rear bushes cause there to be more camber than there should be?