Rabbit Balljoints - General - VWDiesel.net The IDI, TDI, and mTDI source.

• Rabbit Balljoints by Clankin-Rabbit on 13 Feb, 2008 21:10
• Just recieved my new Febi front control arms/bushings for the front of my rabbit.  I didn't order ball joints and my Haynes manual is a bit unclear in the pictures of the front end assembly.  My question...there's three holes in the control arm where the balljoint goes in.  My experience with other vehicles is the balljoints had to be pressed into the control arm.  It may be a stupid question, but is this the case with these arms or is there a chance they could bolt in???  i understand this is highly unlikely but I'm hoping those of you who have disassembled the front ends of their rabbit may know the answer for me because I havent stuck my head down there long enough to get the answer myself.  Too busy driving it...
  
  BTW...anyone else having a problem keeping their alternator bracket tightened?  My battery keeps dying because the alternator loosens and the car runs off the batt till it dies.  It died on the way back from taking my girlfriend home.  All in all I've put 30 miles in my car and I love it.
• #1 by rabbitman on 13 Feb, 2008 23:01
• yep, they bolt in with three bolts, and they're slotted holes so it can screw up the camber.
• #2 by Vincent Waldon on 13 Feb, 2008 23:07
• On some early Rabbits the ball joints are riveted on to the control arm... but the rivets have a depression in the centre that makes them easy to drill out.
  
  So, you may need ball joint bolts when you swap in your new control arms.
  
  
  You might actually want to consider new ball joints while you are at it... they are inexpensive and you're gonna have it all apart to change the control arms anyway ??
• #3 by lord_verminaard on 14 Feb, 2008 07:05
• Yup, all A1 VW's had the original ball joints riveted in place, IIRC a 5/8 drill is the right size to remove them.  Also, no replacement control arms I have ever seen have had slotted holes, so ball joints can be replaced with out a need for an alignment afterwards.  Also, some companies sell a bolt and washer kit for installing new ball joints.  Dont use any bolt that is less than grade 12 for suspension parts!
  
  Brendan
• #4 by burn_your_money on 14 Feb, 2008 08:42
• in regards to your loosening belt, are any of your pulleys warped?
• #5 by Clankin-Rabbit on 14 Feb, 2008 10:56
• Tyler...upon further investigation last night...the belts looked fine and the pulleys as well too.  It wasn't loose for too long...so I dont think it caused any major issues.  I plan to install the new Arms and tighten up the alternator bracket tomarrow night so I'll make sure to check everything over and make sure its snug and in good shape.
  
  Lord_verminaard....so you're saying I wont need an alignment w/ the Febi's because they are already pre-drilled?
  
  Thanks for the quick replies.  I may replace the balljoints if I feel they need replaced when I pull it all apart.
• #6 by VWralley on 14 Feb, 2008 13:13
• i literally just did this last night  :lol:
  
  no alignment needed, replace rivets with 8mm bolts, i used 8.8's and they are more than strong enough for this particular application (almost three season's road racing on one set to prove so haha), you have to drill the holes slightly larger to fit the 8mm bolts, but its not tough and a highly recomended upgrade.
• #7 by Clankin-Rabbit on 14 Feb, 2008 13:48
• VWralley...so you used grade 8.8 8mm bolts w/ nylon lock nuts?  Guessing the hardware store has these...or I may have some lying around from my box.
  
  
  I'll loctite them while I'm at it...glad to hear it's easy...hope to do it this weekend....
• #8 by FineFrank on 15 Feb, 2008 06:57
• Quote

  no alignment needed, replace rivets with 8mm bolts, i used 8.8's and they are more than strong enough for this particular application (almost three season's road racing on one set to prove so haha), you have to drill the holes slightly larger to fit the 8mm bolts, but its not tough and a highly recomended upgrade.

  
  
  Grade 8.8 metric bolts are equivalent to Grade 5 in sae or uss. If I were you, I'd replace them with a minimum of grade 10.9, which is the same as grade 8 in sae or uss. I won't use anything less thn 12.9 in any suspension assembly myself.
• #9 by VWralley on 15 Feb, 2008 08:59
• yes i used metric 8mm bolts. the guy at the counter said he grabed the heavier duty bolts and would be more than up for the job. i did not use nyloc bolts, but its not a bad idea by any means. iirc they said 8.8 on the top, but i really didnt look to closely.
  
  we have a store that specializes in bolts/fasteners etc, so the guys are very knowledgable, if you go in an say i need some 8mm bolts that are about 20mm long in metric for my ball joint, they will get you what you need.
• #10 by lord_verminaard on 18 Feb, 2008 08:35
• Or if you have access to ETKA (VW electronic parts catalog) it will give you the size of every bolt on the car, so you can get the sizes you need at the hardware store.  I also have a great store locally that has all sorts of fasteners, saved my butt a number of times.  
  
  Brendan
• #11 by Vincent Waldon on 18 Feb, 2008 09:45
• If all else fails there's a free version (after you register) of ETKA online:
  
  http://www.vagcat.com/
  
  It's slanted towards cars available in Europe... but with a little head-scratching can usually show what you are looking for.