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Sandman GTI MK7 PP DCC Lighting Pkg - The Journey begins!

Sandman GTI

Drag Race Newbie
Location
Tennessee USA
Yup, the 034 mounts did the trick!

Sorry to hijack your thread Squirrelma... Err... Sandman

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No problem.
Glad to share 034 mount news.
Hope everyone sees it.
So far 034 is 3 for 3 with me.
Spring mounts
Front end links
Rear end links

If I did not buy a set then the rear sway bar looks great. Grease fittings.

From the spring mount design if I was changing**engine mounts I would use 034. Not fancy looking, but bet they work. Just wish they would complete the work on their spring bearing design.


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Sandman GTI

Drag Race Newbie
Location
Tennessee USA
Pit Stop.









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Sandman GTI

Drag Race Newbie
Location
Tennessee USA
Never did post extra info on the LCA, Lower Control Arm replacements.
Below are pics of the OE arms. They are 14lbs total for the set. The Supaloy arms are listed as 44% lighter. So they are just over 6lbs lighter. Three pound each side. The OE arms were hitting other parts in the suspension is why I replaced. The OE bushings are soft and with slots molded in they flex easily by hand. The rubber had some tearing in the corners on each. I though they would look worse given the sound.

My Aftermarket OZ and RE-11 wheel/tires are 5lbs lighter each corner.
Add the new LCA each front corner is 8lbs lighter than stock.












New LCA. Pics from internet.





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Sandman GTI

Drag Race Newbie
Location
Tennessee USA
Forum Member Penrose,

The LCA's I replaced are the two front ones.
Each arm has two bushings. Below are pics.
The rear does have some but I think they are likely ok. The rear does not work as much. Less damage. Can be changed but I think not critical now.
Let me know if pics help. From ECS Tuning. You can see the two bushings in each arm.







The arms I used.




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Sandman GTI

Drag Race Newbie
Location
Tennessee USA
Have you checked your nuts?

About 5 months ago I had 034 Motorsports Spring Mounts and SKF Spring Bearings installed to improve the developing noise from the suspension. For 4 month it had been going ok then I developed a bed spring sound on the driver side. Not real loud but noticeable at low speeds. Over time it increased some and this past weekend going over a speed bump I could hear a second sound as the springs rebounded which came from the location the spring mounts bolt up. A while back I had purchased a special tool from Deutsche Auto Parts that is used to install and tighten the spring and shock assembly nut. I also purchased a lower load range Craftman torque wrench as the one I use for wheels is not as precise at low values.
From the Forum and Internet I tried to find 3 sources to verify the Torque settings for the main top shock nut and the 3 spring mount bolts each side.

Shock top bolt - 60nm
Spring mount bolts - 15nm +90deg.

I first put the torque wrench on and turned each nut clockwise to see what torque value I would get before the bolt moved. The highest was 25nm. I then loosened each bolt. Set to 15nm, checking twice. Marked bolt and then marked car body at the 90 deg location bolt needed to be turned toward. Then turned the bolt to line the marks. From the 90 deg turns I feel all the bolts were loose as I think the final torque would be a good bit above 25nm.


Then I checked the drive side shock nut. With tool in place at torque wrench set to 60nm I turned nut clockwise to see when bolt would move. Right away I could tell this nut had no torque on it as it moved easily. Not that loose to move by hand but not close to 60nm. After a 360 deg roation the nut clicked at 60nm. The passenger side rotated just over 90 deg before it clicked.

Took a test drive last night and checked again on way to work this AM. The noise was gone and over bridge expansion joints the car felt much better. Even over the speed bumps at work the car was not as upset.

I have read on the forum about others doing the same thing and seeing the benefits, so wanted to share for others. Not sure if this means torque settings not checked at install or it these locations loosen over time. Those of you who have more experience with this please share thoughts.

Sandman much happier today!:)

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Dr. Kenneth Noisewater

Ready to race!
Location
Rhode Island
Did you tighten the shock bolt while using a spring compressor with no resistance?

Edit: also, this might be a stupid question, but I'm assuming you installed with fresh stretch bolts?

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Sandman GTI

Drag Race Newbie
Location
Tennessee USA
Did you tighten the shock bolt while using a spring compressor with no resistance?

Edit: also, this might be a stupid question, but I'm assuming you installed with fresh stretch bolts?

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Good questions.
I did not compress springs. Car still on ground.
Have been busy with work and an out of state funeral so after work this week got some stuff out thinking I would not find much to adjust.
Tightening the nut was not hard. Not a lot of resistance until I reached the torque setting. Even then fairly smooth.
Concerns?

I thought about new bolts and might have some left from the install kit used 5 months ago. Finding them all under 25nm I question they have ever been stretched. As stated above they are not the original set, 5 months new.

Not only has the noise stopped but the car handles bump better than ever. I have several changes that help this but did not show I think due to non torqued bolts. Summer wheels with stiffer side walls. Much lighter wheels.
Supaloy LCA. New Eibach sway bars with 034 sway bar connectors.

It is like all of a sudden it all works.

Give the above should I proceed with replacing the bolts?
Cost not an issue.

The shock nut can not be undone so I think leave as is.
I am due 40,000 service soon so plan to have Dealer check the front suspension bolts for torque setting. For the mount and bearing replacement I used an aftermarket German car shop in Chattanooga. Still will use if needed but I will do homework next time and quiz them on install work and verification. I can not prove they did not tighten the bolts right but odd so many found this way.

After the above work dealer installed front sway bar a couple months after so that work should be ok. I did the rear sway bar so I know it is ok.

Also forgot to add that with the last front spring work I switched to 034 Motorsports Spring Mounts which I could feel right away but now the benefit is even more. On the way home tonight I have two man hole covers (20ft apart) that I normally avoid. Wife's talking interfered with my driving focus and I hit the first man hole cover dead center but avoided the second. These are not bad items but
In past worth avoiding. Tonight, I almost did not feel the impact.
Amazing what torqued nuts and bolts can do.

Thanks for feedback.


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Dr. Kenneth Noisewater

Ready to race!
Location
Rhode Island
As far as the strut mount nut that goes into the piston: I know from experience that tension in the spring against the mount while tightening will cause the nut to reach torque sooner than it should. This causes two problems, the first that it's not as tight as it should be, and the second is that the nut threads never stretch, greatly decreasing their ability to stay put. If you reused a nut that was already stretched, this goes out the window entirely. The plastic locking ring is a one time gig. There are some instances where reusing a stretch bolt/nut is ok, but the mount to shock interface is definitely not one of them. You may trust your shop, but if it were me I would rebuild the entire suspension with fresh hardware. Fresh hardware is pretty cheap from the dealer.

As for the 6 strut tower bolts... If they were reused then I would replace them immediately. Low torque bolts like these 15Nm ones are especially susceptible to loosening if reused after initial installation.

The rule I use is to imagine the force acting on that particular component while driving. If it's being acted on by more than one axis (x,y,z), a new stretch bolt/nut is mandatory.

Something like a sway bar end link bolt/nut is an example where I probably wouldn't bother.

Just my two cents, I've done a few mk6/mk7 suspensions and have made every mistake I mention above ?

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Sandman GTI

Drag Race Newbie
Location
Tennessee USA
As far as the strut mount nut that goes into the piston: I know from experience that tension in the spring against the mount while tightening will cause the nut to reach torque sooner than it should. This causes two problems, the first that it's not as tight as it should be, and the second is that the nut threads never stretch, greatly decreasing their ability to stay put. If you reused a nut that was already stretched, this goes out the window entirely. The plastic locking ring is a one time gig. There are some instances where reusing a stretch bolt/nut is ok, but the mount to shock interface is definitely not one of them. You may trust your shop, but if it were me I would rebuild the entire suspension with fresh hardware. Fresh hardware is pretty cheap from the dealer.

As for the 6 strut tower bolts... If they were reused then I would replace them immediately. Low torque bolts like these 15Nm ones are especially susceptible to loosening if reused after initial installation.

The rule I use is to imagine the force acting on that particular component while driving. If it's being acted on by more than one axis (x,y,z), a new stretch bolt/nut is mandatory.

Something like a sway bar end link bolt/nut is an example where I probably wouldn't bother.

Just my two cents, I've done a few mk6/mk7 suspensions and have made every mistake I mention above ��

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Thanks for the info.
I will look up bolts today and order.
I need to look thru my box of parts at home and see if I have any new ones left from prior work. Will work on the other items.

Car is driving best ever.
For the first 15,000 miles I was on OE set up and the OE spring mounts were weak in my opinion. Then with the lowering spring install I switched to the ECS Tuning Heavy Duty Mount, which over time developed a good bit of noise. The Lowering springs installed by dealer. Now with bolts torqued closer to correct, the 034 Motorsports Mount shows how well it does over bridge expansion joints.
 
Location
St. Olaf
If they wouldn't be that prohibitively outrageously expensive. :D

Thanks for sharing your findings, Sandman!
I'm wondering how many people are suffering from the same issue
while they're not knowing about the reason.
Sadly without doing some research I can't say if these bolts and/
or the nut need to be replaced each time, but I wouldn't lose sleep
over it in your case.
 
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