Re: A arm bushes

[Huw Powell <audi@mediaone.net>]

> I was hoping you might be able shed a little more light on your excellent page on installing wishbone or A arm bushes. I am about to do this on my Coupe Q (non turbo) so I have got 4 arms to do. I don't quite get the significance of putting the shorter piece of plastic tube into arm.

That piece is for two reasons as I recall - 1. mostly, to give you a
true surface to push against, since the arm has curves and such in that
area it is hard to put it on the press/vise neatly - and 2. I think it
also was needed to give the bushing somewhere to "pop out" into as it
came through - if the flange of the control arm was flat against the
press/vise you'd get stuck with the bushing 3/4 of the way in - and then
it might pop back out.

> I only have a large bench vice do you think this will work instead of the press? Any other advice you can offer would be appreciated.

I see no reson why a vise couldn't be used.  You're just using the
press/vise to apply a firmyl increasing pressure where necessary.

As my site notes, the stopping and photographing part took longer than
the putting in the bushing part once I had figured out how I was going
to do it.

remember if you have the metal outer sleeves on your bushings (mine
don't) some adaptation may be required and also to torque the bolts
holding the arms to the subframe with the car resting on the ground so
the bushings don't get twisted.

have fun!

-- 
Huw Powell

http://www.humanspeakers.com/audi/

82 Audi Coupe; 84 4kq; 85 Coupe GT