Superpro control arm install?

[MSH]

Take the trans mount out, jack the motor up about an inch to get clearance for the driver's side bolt if it's a dsg

Which engine mounts you have would probably make a difference. OEM, maybe, but aftermarket no way since there's very little slop by comparison....

Thanks guys. I have BFI stage 1's. I should have freakin done the LCA's when I installed them

 

[RedDragonAus]

Here is my video on it. My tip is to just drop the subframe.

 

[Navi]

Are you dsg or manual? If manual, you don’t have to drop the subframe.

 

[jay745]

Here is my video on it. My tip is to just drop the subframe.

It's so much easier and cheaper to lift the trans out of the way by un bolting the mount. They're all stretch bolts and need to be replaced every time.

 

[MSH]

It's so much easier and cheaper to lift the trans out of the way by un bolting the mount. They're all stretch bolts and need to be replaced every time.

Thanks Jay. I'm definitely going this route if I decide against doing deadset kit and FSB at same time as LCAs

Here is my video on it. My tip is to just drop the subframe.

Nice! Thanks man. Always helpful to have another video. I think I'm going to follow Jay's advice above if I only do LCAs, but I'm toying with deadset and FSB since I'll already be in there.

One question...I've watched a couple of subframe drop vids and 2 people didn't do this step that Neil (carwerks101 on youtube) does which is disconnect steering column u-joint on interior of car. What has everyone else done?

Are you dsg or manual? If manual, you don’t have to drop the subframe.

DSG. and yup I did see manual is much easier when it comes to LCA swap

 

[2010GTI4me]

I did mine at the same time as the deadset kit, front sway bar and upper/lower 034 pendulum mount inserts... on jack stands in my driveway. Wasn't a fun job to do by myself, but I got it all done in about 4-5 hours going slow and taking breaks along the way. I dropped the subframe, but didn't have much other choice since I was doing all the other stuff too. If I ever uninstall them I will definitely unbolt the trans mount and jack it up to get the clearance needed.

 

[ckuhns]

Any of you guys installing them have an issue where the 3 studs on the bottom of the ball joint aren’t long enough?

 

[Beju]

Yes, I had the same issue on my 2019 MT Rabbit Edition with my Whiteline LCAs. VW made a part revision in October 2018 that apparently included shorter studs. My independent VW/Audi mechanic was able to find some of the older ball joints for me.

 

[acorazza]

Any of you guys installing them have an issue where the 3 studs on the bottom of the ball joint aren’t long enough?

View attachment 227968

my shop alerted me to the same issue and I’ve run them like that (you should still be able to get full thread engagement) use new nuts as they are stretch hardware and then paint mark the bolt and check them every once in a while. It’s pretty easy if you just turn the wheels and take a video with your phone. Only takes a few minutes. If your back joints are offer you could swap to the older ones but mine were pretty new

 

[GoatAutomotive]

I might get flamed for bumping an old thread, but I wanted to share a short synopsis for all that I've learned from researching this install over the last week:

1) manual trans owners, don't worry about dropping the subframe. Fortune favors you once you've installed a real clutch and flywheel on your car. Keep being awesome. Enjoy your weight savings and your better front end packaging.

2) DSG owners willing to drop the subframe: re-install it with some type of DeadSet kit, which properly centers the subframe every time. Dropping (even just the front of the subframe a few inches) makes for better geometry during reassembly to get the lower ball joint studs into the new arm, but also creates more to worry about during reassembly.

You can witness this played out with DAP's install video here (excellent coverage): DAP Mk7 GTI LCA install & subframe lowering


3) DSG owners NOT wishing to drop the subframe: if you're on a 2-post lift, many folks have reported success from unbolting the dog bone/pendulum mount and using a large pry bar to shift the motor out of the way in order to extract the left front LCA bolt. This is still likely a 2-person job. One person works the motor and trans, the other works the bolt out.

If you can do both by yourself with only two arms and two hands, then your woman is very well satisfied at night. Well done, faithful multitasker.


4) DSG owners working solo in a driveway or garage on jackstands: unbolt the upper trans mount (likely at the mount to body location on the inner fender), remove bolts from lower pendulum mount, and gently raise the trans side of the powertrain a couple inches with a small floor jack (and optionally, a small piece of 2x4 to disperse the load).

This will gain you the net clearance needed to remove the LCA bolt, without disturbing the location and TTY bolts of the front subframe.

Veterans and hot shoes - let me know if I missed anything with that rundown above.


Last thing: I'm interested to learn which front subframe centering kit is the best/preferred brand as of late:
-TyrolSport
-ECS (they catch a lot of heat around here for some of their lesser products)
-034 Motorsports
-Did I miss any?

Search results produced dozens of threads, but most concluded that the TyrolSport was a good mod if the subframe ever had to be removed.

I haven't researched the other kits yet.

 

[Pierreoj]

I might get flamed for bumping an old thread, but I wanted to share a short synopsis for all that I've learned from researching this install over the last week:

1) manual trans owners, don't worry about dropping the subframe. Fortune favors you once you've installed a real clutch and flywheel on your car. Keep being awesome. Enjoy your weight savings and your better front end packaging.

2) DSG owners willing to drop the subframe: re-install it with some type of DeadSet kit, which properly centers the subframe every time. Dropping (even just the front of the subframe a few inches) makes for better geometry during reassembly to get the lower ball joint studs into the new arm, but also creates more to worry about during reassembly.

You can witness this played out with DAP's install video here (excellent coverage): DAP Mk7 GTI LCA install & subframe lowering


3) DSG owners NOT wishing to drop the subframe: if you're on a 2-post lift, many folks have reported success from unbolting the dog bone/pendulum mount and using a large pry bar to shift the motor out of the way in order to extract the left front LCA bolt. This is still likely a 2-person job. One person works the motor and trans, the other works the bolt out.

If you can do both by yourself with only two arms and two hands, then your woman is very well satisfied at night. Well done, faithful multitasker.


4) DSG owners working solo in a driveway or garage on jackstands: unbolt the upper trans mount (likely at the mount to body location on the inner fender), remove bolts from lower pendulum mount, and gently raise the trans side of the powertrain a couple inches with a small floor jack (and optionally, a small piece of 2x4 to disperse the load).

This will gain you the net clearance needed to remove the LCA bolt, without disturbing the location and TTY bolts of the front subframe.

Veterans and hot shoes - let me know if I missed anything with that rundown above.


Last thing: I'm interested to learn which front subframe centering kit is the best/preferred brand as of late:
-TyrolSport
-ECS (they catch a lot of heat around here for some of their lesser products)
-034 Motorsports
-Did I miss any?

Search results produced dozens of threads, but most concluded that the TyrolSport was a good mod if the subframe ever had to be removed.

I haven't researched the other kits yet.

Thank you @GoatAutomotive for listing the options.

I am going with option #4 but being 4motion, I am wondering if there is a risk for the driveshaft or bevel box?

Anyone can confirm if in my case, I can only drop the subframe?

Thank you!

 

[jay745]

Thank you @GoatAutomotive for listing the options.

I am going with option #4 but being 4motion, I am wondering if there is a risk for the driveshaft or bevel box?

Anyone can confirm if in my case, I can only drop the subframe?

Thank you!

There's no risk in doing that, it's much easier than dropping the subframe.