Front Subframe Bushings (upper and lower) Install

[damonrlloyd]

So I cross threaded my front subframe bushing bolt and now can't get it fully torqued down. It's in tight enough to be drivable, but i'm completely avoiding boost/spirited driving. I have replacements coming and I understand the lower bushing gets removed by cutting out the urethane with a utility knife, then carefully cutting the plastic ring and prying down. But my question is do i have to drop the whole subframe to get the upper bushing in? I've googled every iteration of the question only to find all of the "dog bone mount insert" videos you could EVER want, and a couple lower bushing installations.

 

[tmw2442]

mostly likely.

 

[mto386]

What were you doing to begin with that you cross threaded a subframe bolt? The subframe, that I recall, doesnt have any bushings. Are you talking about the control arms? You dont need to drop the subframe for control arms but you’ll need some special tactics to get the driver side out.

 

[Hotfart]

What were you doing to begin with that you cross threaded a subframe bolt? The subframe, that I recall, doesnt have any bushings. Are you talking about the control arms? You dont need to drop the subframe for control arms but you’ll need some special tactics to get the driver side out.

He's talking about the upper & lower dogbone pucks.

OP: Yeah, unless someone knows of a workaround, unfortunately you'll need to drop the subframe to get to the upper bushing.

 

[damonrlloyd]

What were you doing to begin with that you cross threaded a subframe bolt? The subframe, that I recall, doesnt have any bushings. Are you talking about the control arms? You dont need to drop the subframe for control arms but you’ll need some special tactics to get the driver side out.

I was installing an IE downpipe. You have to detach the dog bone to rock the engine forward to disconnect the drive shaft to fit the catalyst out. When reassembling, i thought i had the engine back in place and had hand tightened the bolt before hitting it with the impact. It wasn't lined up or threaded in enough, so the impact just effed the threads ?‍.

 

[damonrlloyd]

He's talking about the upper & lower dogbone pucks.

OP: Yeah, unless someone knows of a workaround, unfortunately you'll need to drop the subframe to get to the upper bushing.

That's... ugh.

Any chance I won't "ruin the party" if I try using silicone grease and pushing it into place with a floor jack?

 

[Hotfart]

You're talking about using a floor jack to press in a new OEM lower puck, right? I've read of others having some success with that method, but just for the lower puck. For R&R on the upper puck, I'm almost certain the subframe needs to be pulled. Look at it this way...as the car sits right now, you'd likely need to take it in to a shop, so you probably can't cause much more problems than you already have by trying to replace it yourself.

 

[Ace92028]

I was wondering if anyone knows of a tool or a way to press both the top and bottom bushing back down. I went under my car and noticed that both mounts are pushed up and actually the top mount is touching the front sway bar. So it needs to come down about an entire cm. I’m in a gti so my subframe is not aluminum.

 

[scrllock]

There are some specialty VW tools you can use to replace the bushing without pulling the subframe (google volkswagen subframe bushing tool), but for the cost you might as well pay someone to put it on a lift.

 

[Ace92028]

There are some specialty VW tools you can use to replace the bushing without pulling the subframe (google volkswagen subframe bushing tool), but for the cost you might as well pay someone to put it on a lift.

I found a revo subframe tool which wasn’t too bad $80. I called around and most places gave me estimates of 600$ and higher. So I’ll give this a try and see if it works.

Part # is RV581M900200 if it does work if anyone else has this issue.

 

[scrllock]

I found a revo subframe tool which wasn’t too bad $80. I called around and most places gave me estimates of 600$ and higher. So I’ll give this a try and see if it works.

Part # is RV581M900200 if it does work if anyone else has this issue.

yeah that's fuck-you pricing unless it includes an alignment, parts, and they're making you pay for the tool.
thanks for the revo part, definitely ordering one myself.

 

[Ace92028]

yeah that's fuck-you pricing unless it includes an alignment, parts, and they're making you pay for the tool.
thanks for the revo part, definitely ordering one myself.

Unfortunately labor is around $150 or more an hour and most places are estimating 4-6 hours. Not including parts and alignment.

 

[Ace92028]

Unfortunately labor is around $150 or more an hour and most places are estimating 4-6 hours. Not including parts and alignment.

That is with them saying they will need to take the subframe out and have it pressed in. Apparently nobody had this tool for some reason.

 

[paNX2K&SE-R]

I was wondering if anyone knows of a tool or a way to press both the top and bottom bushing back down. I went under my car and noticed that both mounts are pushed up and actually the top mount is touching the front sway bar. So it needs to come down about an entire cm. I’m in a gti so my subframe is not aluminum.

Mine was pushed up on my car too but luckily I was able to get it almost completely back in place using assorted pry bars. I sprayed a little penetrant around the perimeter first and just worked from side to side to keep it even.

 

[Ace92028]

Mine was pushed up on my car too but luckily I was able to get it almost completely back in place using assorted pry bars. I sprayed a little penetrant around the perimeter first and just worked from side to side to keep it even.

I tried using a single pry bar but didn’t use any penetration oil. Mine is literally touching the front sway bar so it needs to be pushed down a whole cm. Did you just loosen the front sway bar and use the the pry bar against it to push it down ? Mine wouldn’t budge. I’m hoping this tool will help.