Hi all,

Need to replace my bushes as stated in my service "BOTH FRONT LOWER REAR ARM BUSHES SEPARATED FROM BONDING" I have purchased new bushes off eurocarparts.com and asked my local garage to fit them but they said 'we don't do that, we replace the whole arm at £80 a side'.

Is he having me on?

I have been on RobClubley's fantastic site and have seen his changing rear axle bushes guide which has no mention of replacing the arms.

Any clarification on this topic would be very helpful.

Thanks,

Ben

They said that because its alot easier just to replace the whole arm than it is to mess about pressing bushs in and out,

Alot of people fit superpro bushs as they tend to last longer and are stiffer,

I replaced my bushs on my old arms and they lasted about 6 months and were shot so when i fitted my cast arms i fitted superpro bushs to them

I just had the same problem and it worked out cheaper and easier for the garage to replace the whole wishbones than try and fit new bushes.

They should only be about £50 a side tho not £80, well thats for Febi parts anyway.

do the TT/R32 solid bushes not fit the arms? OEM uprated parts win.

thanks for this Volvomeg, would be pretty annoyed if the same happened to me after the hassle of fitting the buggers :(

prices ranging from £34.75 (OCAP) to £57 (lemforder) per arm on eurocarparts. Is there a wide spectrum in regards to quality or are they all the same thing? Ideally I like long lasting components.

The Lemforder ones will be better and TBH id say you'd pay the same in labour to have the bushes alone changed

do the TT/R32 solid bushes not fit the arms? OEM uprated parts win.

It was the solid tt rear rubber bushs i fitted first as i didn't fancy superpro bushs, they were even the expensive ones off ebay and they just fell to bits, so when i fitted the cast arms i pressed the rubber ones out and put superpro ones in and they arn't as harsh as i thought they would be actually

<3 the 25% discount on eurocarparts for being a member of the forum

ordering the Lemforder ones tonight.

Is this a relativity straight forward process now that im not fiddling around with bushes?

a rought time scale per arm would be helpful too (factor in that im a novice DIY mechanic :p)

Edited 4 April, 201313 yr by Stormspire_1991

Its 3 bolts each side really if you're getting them with balljoints included. Half an hour each side would be ages

Was just going to do the arms unless this is a bad idea.

You can get them with or without the ball joints. if it was me I'd get them with the balljoints but there is no real need to if yours are ok.

It doesn't make it any more difficult really, the balljoint itself is only held on with 3 bolts and you can leave it attached to the hub when removing the wishbone but that is a bit more awkward

Id replace the balljoints while you are there too.

I just pressed mine out. Left the ball joints attached to the hub.

Howd you press them out?

I fitted superpro and it made the car much better to drive, you just need a garage willing to put the time in abd a few extra quid, can't remember how much it cost me to have them fitted but unless your fitting up rated bushes I would stick to replacement arms

do the ball joints tend to wear out at a similar time to the wishbones? car has done 112,000. 05 plate

dont have one of those ball joint removal tools either :(

just have http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_862463_langId_-1_categoryId_255215

is there any more tools I need to acquire to complete this job?

Edited 4 April, 201313 yr by Stormspire_1991

You don't really need the tool for that ball joint. Just loosen the nut and hit the outside (just under the nut) with a hammer to pop it.

If they are original I'd replace them

ok thanks (: ty to everyone that contributed, have been a massive help <3

just tried this weekend to do it. couldnt get the top nut off the wishbone, only thing I could get on it was a 18mm spanner because theres no room above for a ratchet but couldnt get it to budge :/

also stupidly unscrewed the bolt on the track rod end (the one you cant re tighten because its on a rotating ball joint) to get the wishbone out and now cant retighten so cars now rendered useless.

going to get one of those tie rod pullers if anywere has them in stock tomorrow.

Edited 13 April, 201313 yr by Stormspire_1991

There's like a allan key or multi spline recess on top of the ball joint to hold it while tightening lol

Sent from my dad's old HTC Incredible S, not a dodgy s3!

Put a jack under the balljoint on the tre. This will allow you to tighten the nut