Rear axle bushes

Jayw13702

A2OC Donor
Doing the brakes on project snot box and spotted this

b2a559669c0314c7b8d56952c8975662.jpg

Not the greatest picture I grant you, the rubber looks likes it’s breaking down, or is this normal?


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And a bitch to replace. I wonder how many A2’s have had these bushes, not many I bet.
Ian
 
So do I get OE ones or poly bushes?

Poly bushes do appear to be slightly easier to fit


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I replaced with Febi's last year and I suspect they will do the car for the rest of its life. Poly bushes do seem to be narrower and could well be easier to fit but not sure. Removing the old ones is a task in itself - I used drill and hacksaw but I'm sure if you've got the right removal tool it will come out with some persuasion.
 
Did mine, used Febi items. It seem that poly bushes are not recommended.
If you have the right tools it is much easier. However you have to drop the rear axle. Refitting it is a PITA without a pit or high ramp.
Noticed a huge improvement!, but then I did replace everything, shocks, springs, bump stops, top and bottom spring beds, Flexis, brake pipes, bearings .......
 
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We used Febi as well. With the axle removed (a job in itself) we used a holesaw to remove the rubber, just leaving the nylon sleeve to hacksaw out carefully. We then used a hydraulic puller to fit the new Febi bushes.
Take to opportunity to strip and paint the axle and fit new brake lines.

Ian
 
This is my thread on the subject:
Ian
 
Some interesting comments, especially about removal and refitting.

I’m about half way through removal, only have the rear shock bolts and bush bolts to do and it should then drop out.
I’ve done a few classic mini rear subframes in the past and this looks to be no harder than that, am I missing something glaringly obvious?

I’m replacing:
Rear brakes completely
Rear shocks, bump stops and covers
Rear bushes
Rear brake hoses

The bearings, brake pipes, springs and handbrake cables are all good so they will be reused and it will have a fresh coat of paint


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Just be aware there are two possible diameters, 72mm (which seems to be the one supplied by default), and 69mm. Well worth checking you have the right ones before stripping the car down. My 2005 TDi 75bhp has 69mm's and they are hard to source.

In the end I got poly's but as it turned out, there was no play in the bush at all when levering, so I trimmed off the flaky bit on the thin outer edge and sealed it. Pointed it out to MOT man and he was happy. I should say yours looks much worse than mine.
 
Just be aware there are two possible diameters, 72mm (which seems to be the one supplied by default), and 69mm. Well worth checking you have the right ones before stripping the car down. My 2005 TDi 75bhp has 69mm's and they are hard to source.

In the end I got poly's but as it turned out, there was no play in the bush at all when levering, so I trimmed off the flaky bit on the thin outer edge and sealed it. Pointed it out to MOT man and he was happy. I should say yours looks much worse than mine.

I did a quick measurement and was convinced i had 72mm bushes but it has 69mm fitted


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I did a quick measurement and was convinced i had 72mm bushes but it has 69mm fitted


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Oh no: you can get 'Problem Solving Bushes' (PSB) on eBay at 69mm if you're prepared to go to poly (which wouldn't be my first choice but it's a lot better than nothing and many regard them as an upgrade anyway.
 
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