AE92 GTi-16 Progress Thread

[KPARRIS-JONES]

Ok I have no managed to crawl slightly closer the heavenly grail that is mechanical completion, due to the kind donation of a fan switch by another TOC member. (I won't mention names for the sake of their confidentiality unless you're ok with it - you know who you are. :P ).

So all that is left is to pay off what I owe others and to get a new radiator off eBay.

Things are looking up once again. :)

[Raistlin]

I have this spare in my garage, you are more than welcome to it.

[KPARRIS-JONES]

I have decided to take the plunge with the Poly-Bush Kit and begin fitting it up this week, either on Monday or Tuesday but I am definitely going to do it. I have had it sitting in my room for too long so it's time I got it sorted out.

Seeing as all suspension components are lathered in 20 years of dust and grim I'll be bringing my Lump hammer to lend me a hand.

It's a 7-piece kit and replaces every suspension bush on the car, so it should feel much much better after it has been fitted:

Wish me luck.

[dawesy]

oh yeah you'll need it.

the best way i've found to remove the pressed in ones is drill a series of holes through the rubber centre and then drift out.

setting fire to them helps but its smoky and very messy.

they are a PITA to remove but the end results are worth it.

just make sure you clean the inside of the bush mount with emery cloth and lube with the grease supplied

[KPARRIS-JONES]

You would not believe how hard it is to replace old suspension bushes with Polyurethane bushes.

I spent five hours to only manage to fit one bush to the rear of the N/S TA (Trailer Arm)! Admittedly, two of those hours were spent waiting for the rain to stop, it was sods law run a muck. As soon as the wheels were off and the TA was off the bloody rain started. I covered the car using plastic sheets but everything got a decent shower.

The TA is easy to remove by itself but removing the bushes is where it gets tough. The bush that links the TA to the chassis was the one that I replaced however I couldn't remove the bush from the Hub bracket due to lack of space for the application of brute force.

When I first got under the car I checked for the alignment cams and nut-alignments on all components to make sure that I refitted them correctly to to the control arms, but then got to removing the TA which in itself wasn't too hard.

Removing and Refitting the Trailer Arm with new Bushes:

You will need:

*21mm Socket

*17mm Socket

*17mm Spanner (Preferably quite long)

*Large and long Flat-Head Screwdriver (With a thick stem)

*Slightly smaller Flat-Head Screwdriver

*Tippex pen

*Wire Brush

*A Jacking Trolley

*Two Axle-Stands, minimum

*Bar-Wrench (Makes levering the bolts much easier)

*Mole-grips

*Hammer

1. Make sure that the car is on flat surface, safe for raising the car on axle stands. jack up the car using the jacking point in the centre of the rear sub-frame.

2. Slide two axle stands under the car at the rear.

3. Slowly lower the car onto the axle stands, making sure that they don't bend/lean at all and that the car is level.

4. Gently nudge the car to see if it's stable, don't be silly with it though. You need to be able to trust that you can use some brute force! ;)

5. First remove the TA-to-Hub link. Grab a wire brush and just scrub off some of the loose grime. Then mark out where the nut meets the washer/plate so you can line it up upon refitting.

6. Use the Bar Wrench and the 17mm socket to loosen off the bolt and nut, trapping the spanner against the TA so that you can use both hands for the wrench. Once it is loose enough, switch to a smaller wrench that can make easier rotations in such a small space.

[This photo shows the O/S, I had to pack up before I finished. I actually fitted the N/S TA-to-Chassis Bush.]

7. Knock the bolt through (if necessary) and keep it together with the nut in a safe place.

8. Now go to the rear of the TA and use the same technique on the TA-to-Chassis link, marking the position of the nut.

9. Remove the TA from under the vehicle.

10. Use some mole-grips to partially slide one end of the bush through by roughly 5-10mm.

11. Slide the chunky Screwdriver through the bolt hole of the TA-to-Chassis Bush and whack it against a wall, the handle end being the one that makes contact.

12. The bush should slide out after a few large thumps.

13. Grab your Poly-Bush (two halves of one) and slide the metal bolt-tunnel through one half of it so that it sits plush with the outer edge.

14. Slot the Poly-Bush into the TA, trying to slide it in as much as possible.

15. Grab the other half of the Poly-Bush and slide it through at the other end.

16. They will be too difficult to push in completely by hand, so put the TA on the floor with the Poly-Bush facing upwards and gently stand on it. It should clamp them both together and form a tight edge around the bracket.

17. Slide the TA back into position at the Poly-Bush end first, lining up the bolt holes. I used a hammer to knock it into place, they are very tough buggers.

18. Slide the bolt through, it will feel as if the bolt tunnel is too small but give it a push and twist it as if it were tightening so that you can get a hammer behind it and knock it through.

19. Position the nut to line back up with the mark you made earlier and reposition the spanner to stop the nut from spinning as you tighten the bolt.

20. Tighten up the bolt with a wrench again to 39Nm (Or you can just do it up until it's really tight. You'll be able to tell if you should turn it more, tighten it to a point where you struggle to do more and you should be ok. ;)

Do the same with the TA-to-Hub link.

21. Use the jack to raise the car so you can remove the Axle Stands, and slide them out.

22. Lower the car back down and there you have it.

That's what you should finish with. :D

Removing and replacing the TA-to-Hub Link Bush:

1. Repeat steps 1-4 for removing the TA, but use this bush removal tool to remove the bush: Fabricating the Removal Tool This link also shows you how to use the tool).

2. Repeat steps 13 through 15 but with the bush you are replacing.

3. Again you will find the new Bushes too hard to push through the bracket by hand, so you will need to use a large pair of mole grips to compress them. They will eventually slide together.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gotta love the way Poly-Bushes look under a car!

Comments are welcome. The guide will include the TA-to-Hub link bush removal and refitting when I find a solution. Suggestions are welcome.

Hope this helps,

KP

[AE_92]

Nice work

[KPARRIS-JONES]

Thanks mate. :)

[KPARRIS-JONES]

I've found a video which show you how to make the perfect tool for removing suspension bushes. I'm definitely going to use this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJ5FkOoT5QE&feature=related

[Raistlin]

An excellent find, as soon as I want to start bushing I shall refer back

[KPARRIS-JONES]

Yeh it's a great video. I'm off out tonight hopefully, to get all the parts I need.

The Fan-Switch was delivered today aswell, the RM guy just dropped the note through the door which I wasn't having so I got up, chased him down and got him to give me the switch personally. Bloody idiot, drives me nuts when they are so unwilling to take 20 seconds to make a delivery, which wastes my time ultimately when I have to go to the bloody depot! :censor:

But I have it now. All I need is a radiator and I'm sorted.

Thanks for sending it to me. ;)

KP

[KPARRIS-JONES]

Yeh it's a great video. I'm off out tonight hopefully, to get all the parts I need.

The Fan-Switch was delivered today aswell, the RM guy just dropped the note through the door which I wasn't having so I got up, chased him down and got him to give me the switch personally. Bloody idiot, drives me nuts when they are so unwilling to take 20 seconds to make a delivery, which wastes my time ultimately when I have to go to the bloody depot! :censor:

But I have it now. All I need is a radiator and I'm sorted.

Thanks for sending it to me. ;)

KP

[KPARRIS-JONES]

Just had a major kick in the balls with this project.

The garage that was going to do the welding for me has now folded and I have to put her into storage until we can find someone else who will do it for us. This is a bloody huge spanner in the works and will dramatically decrease the rate at which it's finished. Not good at all.

I am however still going to sort out the suspension bushes and I will also be getting a radiator for my birthday to see if I can't get the engine running without blowing itself up.

So things aren't at a complete standstill but this slows all bodywork progress to a halt for now.

[dawesy]

if you need some fabrication and welding training KP ill give you a hand

[KPARRIS-JONES]

Sounds good to me, I am up for trying new things. However, coupla issues: 1. Car doesn't move 2. I have no metal 3. I am not sure about welding suspension turrets

But I would love to be taught how to do it.

Thank you, because of this mess with the garage I am now free for the rest of my summer so can do it whenever you can. Name a date and I'll see what I can do about coming down to you for some lessons if you have some spare metal or whatever. :)

[dawesy]

lots of spare metal and a car that needs welding lol

if you can make the week after next any time, W/C 9th aug should be able to give you a days training.

as long as you can produce a good bead and use the correct gauge steel you'll have no worries

[KPARRIS-JONES]

Awesome, thank you mate.

I'll take a look at my schedule. ;)

I shouldn't be too bad at it.

[KPARRIS-JONES]

The car has been towed to a lockup still a long way away from me. Hopefully there will still be some space for me to fit up most of the remaining bushes, not that it will be difficult with my new tool. :D (No euphemisms please)

Also looking to get an engine crane off eBay for £40 or something ridiculously cheap like that, so things should be fairly easy next weekend.

Tuesday is when I get the new radiator I think, a good birthday present.

Energies will be focussed on the Blue Top for the remainder of this summer once the bushes are done. Although I do have another place lined up who are specialist welders and they are based right next to my house. Should take me on so that I can pay off the welding that needs doing immediately, but hopefully I can take care of less important things such as the rear corner myself.

Keep your eyes peeled for this thread and the Blue Top Project.

[KPARRIS-JONES]

Had a busy day on the GTi again, as soon as I got back from my holiday in Gozo. B)

I fitted the TA-to-Hub Bush which was even worse than the TA-to-Chassis bush, despite using the tool. :o I managed to succeed after three hours, but I will be using another tool, same design but with much more substantial materials. I will say however, that it does work, and brilliantly so. ;)

I am also looking at getting a new set of tools for my birthday including an Engine Crane, Engine Stand to make crank work much simpler and also a Valve Spring Compressor.

The made its trip to its new location in Turvey safely and I have to say I really enjoy working there, very quiet and a good flat area outside of the unit I am renting for £24 a month.

Here are some pictures;

Crane should be delivered in time to get the Blue Top motor. :D

[AE_92]

Looking great Kp that's a nice size garage for the price

[KPARRIS-JONES]

Ain't it just! Biggest garage I have had this in, hard to believe that I removed and refitted the engine in an even smaller garage! :o

[AE_92]

Ain't it just! Biggest garage I have had this in, hard to believe that I removed and refitted the engine in an even smaller garage! :o

well I guess its better doing it inside a small garage than outside in the pouring rain like I had to do :(

[KPARRIS-JONES]

Been there and done that too! :P

It definitely is.

I will be removing the N/S Wish-Bone to replace all the suspension bushes if the weather is good tomorrow, is there anything that I need to look out for? It looks like a fairly simple task to remove the wish bone itself.....

[AE_92]

Been there and done that too! :P

It definitely is.

I will be removing the N/S Wish-Bone to replace all the suspension bushes if the weather is good tomorrow, is there anything that I need to look out for? It looks like a fairly simple task to remove the wish bone itself.....

shouldn't be to difficult just the lower ball joint which are a pain depends on how rusty it is

[KPARRIS-JONES]

So must I remove that ball joint to remove the Wish-Bone? Because that is something I desperately wanted to avoid! :(

[AE_92]

So must I remove that ball joint to remove the Wish-Bone? Because that is something I desperately wanted to avoid! :(

hmmmm thinking about it you might not have to take the ball joint off lol (sorry been a long time since if done it on my gti) I think there's two nuts or bolts (cant remember)

take them off and it should come off the wish bone