Cabriolet Front Suspension
 

Help & Advice please. I have a 1995 "old type" Cabriolet - 2.6 V6. The
rubber bushes on the lower front suspension "wishbone" have completely
gone and must be replaced. Is this a DIY job ? On the face of it, it
looks fairly straightforward as the lower ball-joint can be unbolted
from the "wishbone" and the two inner bolts are reasonably accessible.
However, I can't tell how easy it is to get the bushes out and install
new - is it a job for a hydraulic press and specialist tools, or can
it be done with 50% common sense and 50% large hammer? Would it be
possible and/or easier to buy a new "wishbone" and bushes and just
replace the whole lot ? All advice gratefully recieved.
Cheers.

"DavidV" > wrote in message
om...
> Help & Advice please. I have a 1995 "old type" Cabriolet - 2.6 V6. The
> rubber bushes on the lower front suspension "wishbone" have completely
> gone and must be replaced. Is this a DIY job ? On the face of it, it
> looks fairly straightforward as the lower ball-joint can be unbolted
> from the "wishbone" and the two inner bolts are reasonably accessible.
> However, I can't tell how easy it is to get the bushes out and install
> new - is it a job for a hydraulic press and specialist tools, or can
> it be done with 50% common sense and 50% large hammer? Would it be
> possible and/or easier to buy a new "wishbone" and bushes and just
> replace the whole lot ? All advice gratefully recieved.
> Cheers.

The latter is the easiest way to go.
What I did was go a freindly garage and ask them to presso the old ones out.
\The new ones can be hammered in.

Good luck!

Ronald

On 6 Mar 2005 09:56:28 -0800, DavidV > wrote:

> Help & Advice please. I have a 1995 "old type" Cabriolet - 2.6 V6. The
> rubber bushes on the lower front suspension "wishbone" have completely
> gone and must be replaced. Is this a DIY job ? On the face of it, it
> looks fairly straightforward as the lower ball-joint can be unbolted
> from the "wishbone" and the two inner bolts are reasonably accessible.
> However, I can't tell how easy it is to get the bushes out and install
> new - is it a job for a hydraulic press and specialist tools, or can
> it be done with 50% common sense and 50% large hammer? Would it be
> possible and/or easier to buy a new "wishbone" and bushes and just
> replace the whole lot ? All advice gratefully recieved.
> Cheers.

Its possible to change the bushes, but will take some effort and a wice to
hold the wishbone when removing bushings and forcing the new ones in
place...
Dismantle the wishbone from the car first.


Remember to wait with torqing the two bolts till the car is standing on
the floor with wishbone in normal angle.
Otherwise your new bushings will need early replacemeent as the rubber/
metal will be under strain at standstill and not only when driving on
bumpy roads..

cheers

ottar t

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"R@L" > wrote in message
...
> "DavidV" > wrote in message
> om...
>> Help & Advice please. I have a 1995 "old type" Cabriolet - 2.6 V6. The
>> rubber bushes on the lower front suspension "wishbone" have completely
>> gone and must be replaced. Is this a DIY job ? On the face of it, it
>> looks fairly straightforward as the lower ball-joint can be unbolted
>> from the "wishbone" and the two inner bolts are reasonably accessible.
>> However, I can't tell how easy it is to get the bushes out and install
>> new - is it a job for a hydraulic press and specialist tools, or can
>> it be done with 50% common sense and 50% large hammer? Would it be
>> possible and/or easier to buy a new "wishbone" and bushes and just
>> replace the whole lot ? All advice gratefully recieved.
>> Cheers.
>
> The latter is the easiest way to go.
> What I did was go a freindly garage and ask them to presso the old ones
> out.
> \The new ones can be hammered in.
>
> Good luck!
>
> Ronald

Some things I forgot to mention:
-If you buy wishbones at a scrapyard, try the S2 ones made of solid
aluminium.
-If u use new/used ones you have to align your car with special tool for
camber,
otherwise alignment is not needed.

Ronald



>
>

Thanks for the help and advice. Managed to do the job this morning.
For what it's worth for anyone else contemplating the same :
I got a new wishbone from "German French & Swedish" complete with
fitted bushes for just over £40.00. That's probably not much more than
the Audi dealer price for just the bushes, and saved a great deal of
time and effort. Big problem was removing the rear retaining bolt -
there seems to be a bit of front subframe in the way. Finally got it
out with the help of a hammer, and replaced it the other way round -
with the bolt on the inside and the nut on the outside. Added
advantage is that it's then possible to tighten with a proper ring
spanner. It's a bit of a fiddly job, but took about three hours
overall.
Cheers.