Can anybody please advise me if there is any difference between control arm kits for steel suspension and air suspension., my 2009's air suspension needs new control arms but I cannot find a kit suitable for air. Going original will break the bank.
potsie
Don’t replace bushings only. OE bushings are more expensive than the whole arms plus all the hassle of doing it right. And buying the bushings and removing the arms to find out the ball joints are shot. TRW arms are not that expensive.
Shady noname aftermarket arms might need trimming to fit. Get the TRW or Lemforder (more expensive) arms.
And don’t forget all the bolts and nuts you need to replace because they are single use and must be renewed. And don’t forget tp pre-load the suspension when doing the job. And most don’t forget to put the suspension in jack mode if you have air. If you need more info just ask.
www.trwaftermarket.com
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Shady noname aftermarket arms might need trimming to fit. Get the TRW or Lemforder (more expensive) arms.
And don’t forget all the bolts and nuts you need to replace because they are single use and must be renewed. And don’t forget tp pre-load the suspension when doing the job. And most don’t forget to put the suspension in jack mode if you have air. If you need more info just ask.
TRW Automotive Aftermarket | Pièces auto
TRW Aftermarket - un leader mondial du marché des pièces auto pour l'aftermarket. Pièces auto haut de gamme pour une sécurité maximale.
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I don’t like TRW components. Some of them are of dubious quality and origin. Lemforder are of a higher quality.
I would put TRW in the Monroe and cheap EBay range!
I would put TRW in the Monroe and cheap EBay range!
I don’t like TRW components. Some of them are of dubious quality and origin. Lemforder are of a higher quality.
I would put TRW in the Monroe and cheap EBay range
I would put TRW in the Monroe and cheap EBay range
And trw and lemforder are part of the same company ZF group. Just buy the genuine trw stuff from a reliable store. I buy from amazon france and amazon germany. Both sold and shipped by amazon.
en.wikipedia.org
en.wikipedia.org
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ZF Friedrichshafen - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
TRW Automotive - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
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This is the ZF parts finder. Mark the brand names: trw sachs lemforder...
The webcat part finder page allows you to search all ZF brands. You will get trw and lemforder part number if you choose to.
webcat.zf.com
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The webcat part finder page allows you to search all ZF brands. You will get trw and lemforder part number if you choose to.
Find the Right Spare Part Quickly With the ZF Aftermarket Catalog
Which spare part fits which vehicle? Find out about all spare parts catalogs that are available free of chargeonline, as a print version or in PDF format.
webcat.zf.com
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Funny! I have not seen any TRW branding on any parts on Touareg that is original. TRW went defunct in 2015. ZF bought them because the share price and offered a lower price for consumer. Why do you think they are slightly cheaper!! Because they want to be good to their customers? I think not. It is slightly inferior parts where the customer has a cheaper option. Anyway... we digress, quibbling over which parts to use 😜
I’ve replaced bushings on the front control arms with no problems either than 1 mounting bolt I had to cut off. The original ones had a hydraulic cavity. The replacement ones were all rubber and were Lemforder and were from ZF made in Germany... so it can be done with minimal hassle
Yep. Funny mine were branded TRW at 128k k. At a certain mileage it’s just cheaper and less hassle to replace the whole arm. The ball joint will go and you will need a new arm this time. With all the effort and balancing it’s wiser to do the job once and be done. Replacing the bushings plus paying for the press if you don’t have the tools will be more expensive than the whole arm. And if you mess things up or end up with some weird noise or vibrations you wouldn’t know what to blame. But then again it’s your money and your time. I did both arms and links with all new bolts/nuts/washers all of them. I did the balancing and I’m good for another 100 years 
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I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that replacing the entire arm is cheaper than replacing just the bushings. Maybe the N and S pole have completed their flip and nothing makes sense anymore.
Yes. Easy enough. Just answer some questions and add some numbers together.
Can you make sure the ball joint can hold another 100k km? That’s about what the lifetime of the bushings on this car is. Both sides. There is a test procedure you can do to verify if the ball joints are ok but it won’t tell you how long they will last.
Do you want to use oe or aftermarket bushings? Compare both oe bushings from vw and aftermarket prices. The hydraulic bushing alone from vw is around 90 $ if I remember well. The Lemforder ones are not cheap. Gazaflash will give you his prices.
Next question: how do you remove replace the bushings? Can you do it yourself or are you going to pay for it? How much?
Can you make sure you or the guy doing it will be doing it right and not find out once you start driving that it was not done right? It’s not rocket science but Gazaflash will give you his feedback about how he did it and what the total cost was. When you’re done and assuming everything went smooth you have to balance the Treg. And you’re good to go. Almost all the bolts/nuts/washers have to be renewed. These you need to buy from vw. Not expensive. Mark the eccentric washers and their bolts and copy that to the new washers bolts to make the balancing job easier. And preload the suspension before tightening things to the correct torque specs. If you don’t know what preloading means just ask. If you don’t have the vw torque specs just ask.
Put the cost of this job down to paper.
Now 10.000 km down the ball joints go out .Or not. If they go you’re good for a new arm, new bolts and whistles and new balancing.
I paid 250€ for two new TRW arms from amazon. Got the bolts from vw. That’s 125€ for one arm. With bushings only from vw I was in for more than the price of the arm. One arm from vw costs an arm anyway I will give you vw prices later. With Lemforder I was not far away from the price of a whole TRW arm. I don’t want to go back there for the ball joint in 100.000 km if I can pay 20€ more and be done done with it unless I need to.
That’s how I calculated the real costs. No guessing or living in ‘fear’ that I might need to redo it again because I spared 20/30$ and will probably pay for a whole arm later. Maybe the ball joints are eternal but on mine they were tired. I even looked for custom arms with removable ball joints.
And it can be a tough job. You don’t want to do it again soon. A friend burnt the cv joint when he used his torch to remove a stuck rusted bolt.
Let me know if you need instructions. While you’re there do the end links too. They’re not that expensive. I used TRW end links. Next on the list: TRW upper arms bought from amazon germany.
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Can you make sure the ball joint can hold another 100k km? That’s about what the lifetime of the bushings on this car is. Both sides. There is a test procedure you can do to verify if the ball joints are ok but it won’t tell you how long they will last.
Do you want to use oe or aftermarket bushings? Compare both oe bushings from vw and aftermarket prices. The hydraulic bushing alone from vw is around 90 $ if I remember well. The Lemforder ones are not cheap. Gazaflash will give you his prices.
Next question: how do you remove replace the bushings? Can you do it yourself or are you going to pay for it? How much?
Can you make sure you or the guy doing it will be doing it right and not find out once you start driving that it was not done right? It’s not rocket science but Gazaflash will give you his feedback about how he did it and what the total cost was. When you’re done and assuming everything went smooth you have to balance the Treg. And you’re good to go. Almost all the bolts/nuts/washers have to be renewed. These you need to buy from vw. Not expensive. Mark the eccentric washers and their bolts and copy that to the new washers bolts to make the balancing job easier. And preload the suspension before tightening things to the correct torque specs. If you don’t know what preloading means just ask. If you don’t have the vw torque specs just ask.
Put the cost of this job down to paper.
Now 10.000 km down the ball joints go out .Or not. If they go you’re good for a new arm, new bolts and whistles and new balancing.
I paid 250€ for two new TRW arms from amazon. Got the bolts from vw. That’s 125€ for one arm. With bushings only from vw I was in for more than the price of the arm. One arm from vw costs an arm anyway
I will give you vw prices later. With Lemforder I was not far away from the price of a whole TRW arm. I don’t want to go back there for the ball joint in 100.000 km if I can pay 20€ more and be done done with it unless I need to. That’s how I calculated the real costs. No guessing or living in ‘fear’ that I might need to redo it again because I spared 20/30$ and will probably pay for a whole arm later. Maybe the ball joints are eternal but on mine they were tired. I even looked for custom arms with removable ball joints.
And it can be a tough job. You don’t want to do it again soon. A friend burnt the cv joint when he used his torch to remove a stuck rusted bolt.
Let me know if you need instructions. While you’re there do the end links too. They’re not that expensive. I used TRW end links. Next on the list: TRW upper arms bought from amazon germany.
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VW Prices:
Left Control Arm 7L0407151H = 399€
Right Control Arm 7L0407152H = 399€
Bushings:
7L0407182E = 52€ (Hydro-mounting)
7L0412333A = 104€ (Bonded rubber mounting)
7L0407183A = 24€ (Bonded rubber mounting)
Total = 180 + bushing remove/replace job.
Lemforder: (online prices in my area)
7L0407182E = 18€
7L0412333A = 50€
7L0407183A = 12€
Add 10€ delivery => 90€ for the pack of bushings
I don't have the tools to press out/in the bushings. I need a friend for that. If you don't have the tools or the friend add some money here.
TRW arm => 134€
Lemforder => 157€
These prices were different when I bought mine. Lemforder was over 200€. TRW cost me 219€ in fact for both arms.
One from Amazon at 92 and one from another reliable seller in my area for 127€. I had to return the second amazon TRW arm because the package was damaged. There were no units available at the time on amazon so I ordered on another site I use for genuine parts.
Why would you go into the trouble of pressing out and pressing in knowing you have a major part that could fail sooner or later and that would require replacing the whole arm? I researched the thing myself but ended up going for the arm. I completely understand if you have the tools and want to go DIY all the way. I do that sometimes and end up paying 3 times
Left Control Arm 7L0407151H = 399€
Right Control Arm 7L0407152H = 399€
Bushings:
7L0407182E = 52€ (Hydro-mounting)
7L0412333A = 104€ (Bonded rubber mounting)
7L0407183A = 24€ (Bonded rubber mounting)
Total = 180 + bushing remove/replace job.
Lemforder: (online prices in my area)
7L0407182E = 18€
7L0412333A = 50€
7L0407183A = 12€
Add 10€ delivery => 90€ for the pack of bushings
I don't have the tools to press out/in the bushings. I need a friend for that. If you don't have the tools or the friend add some money here.
TRW arm => 134€
Lemforder => 157€
These prices were different when I bought mine. Lemforder was over 200€. TRW cost me 219€ in fact for both arms.
One from Amazon at 92 and one from another reliable seller in my area for 127€. I had to return the second amazon TRW arm because the package was damaged. There were no units available at the time on amazon so I ordered on another site I use for genuine parts.
Why would you go into the trouble of pressing out and pressing in knowing you have a major part that could fail sooner or later and that would require replacing the whole arm? I researched the thing myself but ended up going for the arm. I completely understand if you have the tools and want to go DIY all the way. I do that sometimes and end up paying 3 times
Although I haven't done this in my T1 I've replaced control arms/bushing etc on half dozen e30 bmws and without exception a bad ball joint was due to a torn rubber boot. It's 15yo rubber and once that goes the joint won't last long from road grit grinding it down.
Add in the labor to do all this, whether diy or hired out and it makes no sense to not replace the entire unit.
Add in the labor to do all this, whether diy or hired out and it makes no sense to not replace the entire unit.
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