A pair of 16mm sockets made quick work of this pinch bolt. A stout screwdriver can be used to coax the bolt out of the upright, toward the rear of the car.
A pair of 16mm sockets made quick work of this pinch bolt.
A stout screwdriver can be used to coax the bolt out of the upright, toward the rear of the car.
A sharp whack to the underside of the control arm popped the ball joint out of the suspension upright. The same technique dislodged the rear arm as well.
Here the ball joints have been removed from the upright. Both joints were shot and needed to be replaced, which requires the replacement of the whole arm.
The upper mounting plate is secured to the chassis with three 16mm bolts, which are visible in a triangular configuration within the engine compartment at the top of the shock tower and indicated by red arrows.
Use a wrench and/or socket to remove the three bolts and the accompanying washers. The forward-most bolt is obscured slightly by the wiring emerging from the ECU enclosure as seen here.
The only remaining fastener holding the shock/spring/upper mount assembly in place is the long 19mm bolt and nut securing the bottom of the shock to the front lower control arm. The shock mounts to the forward lower control arm with a nut and bolt that must be removed to extract the strut assembly. Use two 19mm wrenches or sockets.
When the nut is off you can slide the bolt out to the rear, but the rear lower control arm is in the way and prevents its removal. I tried rotating the front lower control arm a bit counterclockwise along its axis, using the still-mounted strut assembly as a lever. This gave enough clearance to remove the bolt. During reassembly, you might try reversing the position of the bolt and nut to avoid this problem next time. You may need to disconnect the front sway bar from the link to do this.
Slip the bottom of the shock off of the control arm and remove the assembly from the wheel well.
As mentioned, I had already removed the two top nuts securing the spring/shock assembly to the upper mount before removing it from the car. This is what you’re left with once the upper mount is freed. I³e already removed one of the control arm bolts, as seen to the left.
The rubber boot on this ball joint is torn, and the joint itself is damaged and ready for replacement.
If you have separated the upper mount from the spring/shock assembly, here is a way to remove the bolts securing the control arms to the upper mount. Turn the assembly upside down and secure the mount with your foot. This allows you apply the torque necessary to loosen the 16mm bolt and nut.
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How to Change the Sway bar bushing and sway bar endlink on new beetle (1)
The sway bar (sometimes called anti roll bar) connects the left and right suspension to the front subframe. There are bushings on the middle and ends (end links). Your VW TDI only has a sway bar in the front, there is no sway bar in the rear because it's a torsion beam suspension.
How to Change the Sway Bar Bushing and Sway Bar Endlink on New Beetle (2)
Raise the front end of the car, chock the rear wheels, remove the front wheels, rest the car on jack stands, and make sure the car is safe and secure before getting underneath at all, see the TOS Agreement for the legal disclaimer.
The Working Principle of Independent Front Suspension (4)
Overall, with the vast plethora of Mustang II-style IFS kits ranging from basic budget setups to fully polished showpieces on the market today, there is very little reason to go with a used Camaro front clip.
