Front Control Arm Bushings

Bill K. · Post by **Bill K.** » Fri Apr 14, 2006 10:19 pm

Does the front control arm bushing have an outer sleeve? I burned out the rubber bushings and this is what I have:

What's the best way to remove the ends from the Rabbit bushings so they will fit? These are Energy Suspension graphite impregnated urethane bushings for a 80-92 Rabbit (15.3115). The middle section of the bushing is 1.230" diameter. The appearant outer sleeve is 1.060" ID and about 1.21" OD, so removal of the sleeve would require less urethane removal. Should i remove the outer sleeve?

Thanks,
Bill

ubercrap · Post by **ubercrap** » Sat Apr 15, 2006 8:21 am

I don't know if it is the best idea to do so, but I did. The bushings I have are somewhat different, and just had some squared off flanges that required trimming, with the main body of them being the exact diameter to fit in the control arms minus the sleeves.

vwbill · Post by **vwbill** » Sat Apr 15, 2006 11:13 pm

Is that the idler arm bushing??? I have one new one that looks like steel exterior with rubber filled with a steel sleeve center for the bolt and the other beetle type that is solid brass looking peice? Is it better to have it solid or do you need some damper material? There is a lot to be done up front! It looks like you still have the sleeve to press out or maybe will do that as you press in the new one and it pushes out? I'm not sure have to ask a Ray!

ubercrap · Post by **ubercrap** » Sun Apr 16, 2006 8:40 am

Nope, that is the bushing for the control arm to subframe mounting point.

Bill K. · Post by **Bill K.** » Sun Apr 16, 2006 1:11 pm

ubercrap wrote:I don't know if it is the best idea to do so, but I did. The bushings I have are somewhat different, and just had some squared off flanges that required trimming, with the main body of them being the exact diameter to fit in the control arms minus the sleeves.

I think the oem bonded rubber bushings need the grooves in the sleeve to keep the rubber from slipping, but the urethane does not because they are a "floating" design where the inner crush sleeve rotates in the bushing.

UberC - Questions for you: 1) how did you trim off the flange? 2) how did you remove the sleeve?

ubercrap · Post by **ubercrap** » Sun Apr 16, 2006 7:52 pm

I actually stuck the blade of a hacksaw through the hole in the control arm and sawed along the whole length of the sleeve until I cut through most of it and it was weak enough to press out. As for trimming your bushing, I'm not sure. They're graphite impregnated you say? I haven't seen anything like that before, so I can't comment on the consistency or safety of grinding or cutting them. Anyway, I used a dremel with a coarse drum sander and shaped mine by hand.

raygreenwood · Post by **raygreenwood** » Tue Apr 18, 2006 6:13 am

Thats the exact path I used to install standard early rabbit bushings Uber. Theproblem with rabbit standard bushings...as you may find...is that since they are not bonded under pressure like the type 4...they are a hair soft. Give energy suspension ystems a call and order urethane rabbit bushings (thats what those look like). Ray

Bill K. · Post by **Bill K.** » Wed Apr 19, 2006 12:30 am

For those intersted, http://www.suspension.com/volks.htm p/n 15.3115

Thanks for the hack saw tip for removing the bushing shells, it worked great.

Bill K. · Post by **Bill K.** » Mon Apr 24, 2006 11:11 pm

I decided to go with delrin bushings instead (using stock inner sleeves):

Click here for more info

For adjustable camber, how wide on either side of the original hole should the slot be? How much camber should I be shooting for?

Rear eccentric bolt test-fit:

Bill K. · Post by **Bill K.** » Wed Apr 26, 2006 2:04 am

Here's shots of a Super to copy...

Eccentric control arm bushing bolt images from www.vwtrendsweb.com

These pictures show that the width of the slot is defined by the amount of eccentricity of the bolt. But I'm still not sure where the slot should be located with respect to the original T4 hole....Should the slot in the bracket be centered on the existing Type 4 hole or offset? Should there be adjustability for positive and negative camber compared to the stock alignment or just more positive?

raygreenwood · Post by **raygreenwood** » Wed Apr 26, 2006 6:17 pm

Yes...the width of the slot is defined by the eccentricty of the bolt. The inner brackets on teh rear end are a nice model. Al you needto do is tack weld on a small driving blcok of metal and oval the hole carefully. I warn you...the metal on the front end is tough. A die grinder is not ideal. It is worth it to have them milled. Nice bushings! Ray

dphdo · Post by **dphdo** » Sun Apr 30, 2006 6:48 pm

Greetings all! I have a couple of questions which probably are STOOOOOOPID, but here goes. Bill, I went to your web page and in one of the photos you state (in regards to the idler arm bracket & bushing):

"Final assembly -- the bronze bushing is a little shorter than the type 4 bushing so the shoulder of the fitted bolt was turned back and the ID of the idler arm was chamfered to eliminate slop."

What do you mean by "Turned back?"

What does "Chamfered" mean?

I just replaced this bushing myself, and indeed it was just a hair short, so I guess I need to do these magical measures.

Actually I started this whole thing because I wanted to get my gas tank boiled out (which is done), then I decided to do some of these rebuilding things in the front end while it's all apart anyway - so I'm following your progress.

SMILES
Dale[/b]

Bill K. · Post by **Bill K.** » Mon May 01, 2006 2:14 am

dphdo wrote: What do you mean by "Turned back?"

What does "Chamfered" mean?

Hey Dale. it's shop talk for machining with a lathe and breaking the edge of a hole. The shoulder bolt was shorten ("turned basck") using a lathe. The idler arm hole was chamfered with a drill press.

... or shim the bushing with a lucky skinny washer.