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Today I went back under the truck to finalize the refresh of the suspension. Today's task was to swap the sway bar links and bushings.
I took my 18mm wrench and crows foot attachment for my breaker bar (You can't get a socket on the end of the top sway bar link). I got all the bolts loosened when I realized I could not remove the top sway bar link bolt without disconnecting the strut from the control arm again. On the top bolt the nut is on the outside facing the wheel, and the bolt (which is long) is on the inside facing the CV boot, there is not enough clearance to slide the bolt out because it is blocked by the CV joint. In retrospect I should have done this when I had the control arm apart, but I didn't have the right tool to take the link off at that time. Since I just finished putting that back together I did not have the appetite to disassemble that again, so I am skipping the link change (the existing ones don't seem to be in too bad a shape). NOTE if you are going to do the control arms and/or bushings (per the link below) that is the time to do the links.
I did on the other hand do the sway bar bushings. This can actually be done w/o jacking up the car, but I chose to jack the car. I loosened the lower sway bar link bolt (18mm nut and bolt). This one there is enough clearance to get a socket on one end but you will need a thin or open ended wrench on the inside nut. I removed the lower bolt on both sides, and then used a 16mm ratcheting wrench to remove the top two bolts on the brace that holds the sway bar bushings. Removing the sway bar from the vehicle will make installing the new bushings easier.
With the bar out, I popped off the old bushings (see the photo below where I have new next to the old). I cleaned off the sway bar, and also cleaned out the location where the bushings sit on the frame (A lot of dirt accumulated in there). Once done, I installed the new bushings onto the sway bar. Since the new bushings have no wear on them I had to use a C Clamp to press them together until the two halves locked together. Once that was done I slide the sway bar back into place and loosely installed the sway bar link bolts to hold the sway bar at the right angle while I reinstall the brackets. The brackets also were a challenge since the outside of the bushings don't have any compression on them. I used the breaker bar to press down the back of the bracket while I hand tightened the rear bolt. Once that was started I was able to start the front bolt.
Once that was done I tightened the sway bar links and voila, complete. It was a project but again, not impossible. Next step is the alignment.
Conclusions, my Touareg had 120k miles on it, which were mostly street and highway miles (not much off road). The rear bushings on both control arms were broken (these seem to be the weak link in the TREG suspension). The other two bushings (front and strut mount) seemed to be in good condition. the ball joint was in perfect condition and rock solid. To do over again, I would have lowered the control arms and pressed in a new front and back bushing, and called it a day.
If you have any interest in my OEM control ARMs and all the mounting hardware, PM me. It may save you some time and energy if you take these control arms and have new bushings pressed in, then swap them with your units.
http://www.clubtouareg.com/forums/f43/changing-front-suspension-wanna-help-183762.html
I took my 18mm wrench and crows foot attachment for my breaker bar (You can't get a socket on the end of the top sway bar link). I got all the bolts loosened when I realized I could not remove the top sway bar link bolt without disconnecting the strut from the control arm again. On the top bolt the nut is on the outside facing the wheel, and the bolt (which is long) is on the inside facing the CV boot, there is not enough clearance to slide the bolt out because it is blocked by the CV joint. In retrospect I should have done this when I had the control arm apart, but I didn't have the right tool to take the link off at that time. Since I just finished putting that back together I did not have the appetite to disassemble that again, so I am skipping the link change (the existing ones don't seem to be in too bad a shape). NOTE if you are going to do the control arms and/or bushings (per the link below) that is the time to do the links.
I did on the other hand do the sway bar bushings. This can actually be done w/o jacking up the car, but I chose to jack the car. I loosened the lower sway bar link bolt (18mm nut and bolt). This one there is enough clearance to get a socket on one end but you will need a thin or open ended wrench on the inside nut. I removed the lower bolt on both sides, and then used a 16mm ratcheting wrench to remove the top two bolts on the brace that holds the sway bar bushings. Removing the sway bar from the vehicle will make installing the new bushings easier.
With the bar out, I popped off the old bushings (see the photo below where I have new next to the old). I cleaned off the sway bar, and also cleaned out the location where the bushings sit on the frame (A lot of dirt accumulated in there). Once done, I installed the new bushings onto the sway bar. Since the new bushings have no wear on them I had to use a C Clamp to press them together until the two halves locked together. Once that was done I slide the sway bar back into place and loosely installed the sway bar link bolts to hold the sway bar at the right angle while I reinstall the brackets. The brackets also were a challenge since the outside of the bushings don't have any compression on them. I used the breaker bar to press down the back of the bracket while I hand tightened the rear bolt. Once that was started I was able to start the front bolt.
Once that was done I tightened the sway bar links and voila, complete. It was a project but again, not impossible. Next step is the alignment.
Conclusions, my Touareg had 120k miles on it, which were mostly street and highway miles (not much off road). The rear bushings on both control arms were broken (these seem to be the weak link in the TREG suspension). The other two bushings (front and strut mount) seemed to be in good condition. the ball joint was in perfect condition and rock solid. To do over again, I would have lowered the control arms and pressed in a new front and back bushing, and called it a day.
If you have any interest in my OEM control ARMs and all the mounting hardware, PM me. It may save you some time and energy if you take these control arms and have new bushings pressed in, then swap them with your units.
http://www.clubtouareg.com/forums/f43/changing-front-suspension-wanna-help-183762.html
