MOT advisorie advice (mk4 golf)

I did one last week !! You have to get the bushes and new brackets from VW as they have had aggro with excess wear and noise. the bits cost me 30 quid. The new ones had a hole about three quarters the size of the dead ones. I found that getting the old ones off is easy, take both off at the same time or it is really hard to fit one new one at a time. Getting the new ones done up is hard, I got a couple of longer bolts as there is no easy way to get the standard ones started. with the car up on axle stands it should take you less than an hour. Be prepared to swear a bit :)

Blimey you have literally just done it so fresh in your mind.

I picked up the parts from euro a little cheaper £7 odd for the pet bracket per-side.

Excellent point on getting a longer bolt, looks impossible without one. What size/length do you reccomend?

It looks a pain to get the new on all back on lol ... much swearing ahead :)

I asked a friend who had done it and he said he used a small c-clamp in a stupid angle to push the bracet/bush as close to the whole as possible and then the the bolt started. Took him 2 hours a side like this :(

I'll try your way :)

Thanks kindly MrC

I dunno the Golf, but on my SD1 one of those luggage ratchet straps is useful to pull the anti-roll bar into place, against its 'springiness'.

The bar is not the problem, it is squashing the bush with the clamp, on the golf the bracket hooks in at one side and then folds around the rubber bush and is held with just one bolt for each bush. There is little room on the bolt side and loads of bits outboard, so getting a clamp on anything is really hard, you can get a bit of leverage with a bar, but it is then impossible to get in and start the bolt !! I used a longer bolt and an air ratchet so I could push against the bolt/bracket and spin the socket at the same time, but with a long enough bolt and a small ratchet or ratchet spanner or even a normal spanner it should not be too hard to wind it in. As to the bolt length I just cut down something a bit longer so it just reached the start of the thread nut in the crossmember, there is plenty of room for the unnecessary thread to project on the other side. You could just put the standard bolt in and guesstimate how much longer it needs to be and buy or find one suitable, at a rough remembered guess you want one about

40 to 45 mm long (8mm thread) Once it has been done up for a while you could even replace the original bolt.

Hi MrC

I've have the wheel off to have a bit of a look. I reckon a 25-40mm would work as once done it in that limited subframe box it goes in to not touch anything. Planning on giving it a go next weekend.

I just wanted to ask do you need any specific type of bolt as it going to be weathered under there or will any m8 bolt do ?

thanks

It is not super exposed, just give it a coat of copper slip. Best type of bolt is one with a flange head (like the originals), that makes it easier to push down on it to get it started. Motorbike shops usually stock this type and they will be zinc plated.

Thanks Mrc, as usual your a wealth of information :) .. I'll copperslip it :)