VWDiesel.net The IDI, TDI, and mTDI source.
General Information => General => Topic started by: rabbitman on April 22, 2010, 09:26:55 pm
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Has anybody tried this stuff? http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/80-84-VW-Jetta-Prothane-Suspension-Bushings-Kit-MK1-1-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem1c11856513QQitemZ120553039123QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/80-84-VW-Jetta-Prothane-Suspension-Bushings-Kit-MK1-1-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem1c11856513QQitemZ120553039123QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories)
The motor mounts don't temped me very bad but the suspension stuff does :D.
What's your experiance with urethane stuff?
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I have had good experience with it, most who say to stay away say they squeak, but if you lube them properly(with the included lube) they will do you nothing but good.
all my VW's have prothane suspension bushings and motor mounts/inserts.
the only one I would stay away from is the mk1 rear motor mount, it has a tendency to tear out.
-Owen
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The motor mounts are fun but not for the faint of heart, as for the suspension stuff it's in the garage awaiting installation during a full front suspension rebuild, it appears to be of good quality and the fitment of the stuff I've installed-control arm bushings is very good.
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Oh wow, those seem almost too cheap, I am tempted to try them out though... that suspension kit has a lot that I need to replace
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So where the ad says control arm front and control arm rear, does that mean the front or rear of the control arm or are they trying to say rear axle beam instead of rear control arm?
I notice the kit doesn't come with a passenger side mount haha, that'd probly rattle a guys brains around ;D.
The more I look at it the more I want it 8)
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that kit includes front control arm bushings(front and rear of the control arm) and the rear beam bushings.
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I did the same thing you're contemplating except minus the motor mounts. I'm pretty happy with the results so far. They definitely seemed to tighten things up. I did use the provided lube, they still squeaked at first but that stopped after a month or so of driving.
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I did the same thing you're contemplating except minus the motor mounts. I'm pretty happy with the results so far. They definitely seemed to tighten things up. I did use the provided lube, they still squeaked at first but that stopped after a month or so of driving.
how hard is it to throw new bushings at a mk2 vw?
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Well as long as you have a good arm and don't throw from too far away you should be able to hit it.
Honestly I'm not much of a mk 2 guy so I don't know for sure. Generally though the newer a car is the more stuff you have to work around. On the Rabbit about the only ones that showed much difficulty to get to were the bushings for the steering rack. The rest of it was pretty easy.
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I don't own a mk2 but did some poking around in the junkyard last week looking at sway bar bushings and IIRC the CAB's should be pretty simple, for the sways I think you have to drop or at least loosen the front subframe. Keep in mind this info is just what I remember by looking around and may not be fully accurate.
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Is the prothane adjustable strut bump stops any good? Seems like rubber would be softer.
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So I got my prothanes yesterday and installed only the steering rack and control arm bushings.
All I can say is..........WOW......... I never thought it would be that noticable of a difference, now I can really feel how loose the back is since it doesn't follow the front very good at all. So hopefully soon I'll put the rest, on at a time though so I can feel each difference. BTW the stock control arm bushings I took out were less than 3 years old and weren't wore at all.
So if you think your stock ride is a little mushy, it is, these make a BIG difference.
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I can't recommend the motor mounts, the denser material transferred the engine noise into the inside of the car big-time! They came off in less than 50 miles.
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I can't recommend the motor mounts, the denser material transferred the engine noise into the inside of the car big-time! They came off in less than 50 miles.
Yeah I don't really think I'll be trying thoughs, probably the front torque mount and maybe the tranny mount since they're easy but I'm not gonna bother with the insert.
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It is usually said that I think the side mounts are what people sway away from when doing poly motor mounts, on a diesel anyway.. However the difference from No rear motor mount on the 81 (completely broken in half) and a new HD unit.. it transmitted a lot more vibes.. lol
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Well, I swapped the rear axle beam bushings today and
I can't really feel the difference.
EDIT: I can feel a difference but it wasn't as noticable as changing the front ones.
While swapping axle bushing I decided to put on the poly rear tranny mount.
The vibrations were so bad idling was out of the question, I couldn't even hear the engine unless I revved it above about 1100rpm and while driving my feet tingled and all of the mirrors vibrated real bad.
I returned to the hangar after about 6 miles and put the stock one back on.........and then installed the front torque mount, idling with it is now slightly worse than stock but I'll see how it feels going down the road.
When I swapped the motor mounts around I also put in the upper rear shock mounts, I'll report back on it.
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Thanks for all the reports. They are appreciated.
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Thanks for all the reports. They are appreciated.
Thanks Burn :)
The front mount is pretty good, below 830rpm the vibrations are a little rough, above that it easily worth it.
The upper shock mounts made a difference, it's steadier when swerving back and forth. I thought they would make small bumps harsher since the rubber cushion is gone but I haven't noticed anything bad about it.
The kit also comes with an adjustable strut bump stop, I can't figure out how it's adjustable ::), it's 3 pieces per side and like there's some you can use or not use, kinda weird and a pain to install so I haven't done it yet.
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Well the front mount is coming off as soon as I get the chance. Something mustuv shifted since it didn't vibrate very bad until today. :-\
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I figure I will get the kit, split the price and give the motor mounts to my bro for his 2.0 swap for half the price of the kit ;) Nothing like being a good opportunist, is there? lol
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Well the front mount is coming off as soon as I get the chance. Something mustuv shifted since it didn't vibrate very bad until today. :-\
Well I took it off and discovered that the mount bracket was bent making the poly mount sit crooked in the cup. The design of the poly mount is such that it must sit straight in the cup or it binds pretty bad.
I straightened the bracket and put it back together and it's not tooooooo awful bad, with a cold engine it's pretty noisy but for some reason it gets lots better as the engine warms up.
Driving is almost as good as before, the mirrors are blurry but I think shifting is smoother.
I'd prefer a slightly harder than stock rubber mount like TT sells but this will do for now.
Overall this kit is a must have.
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Do you have a spacer on the front mount?
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Thanks for the post and info rabbitman. I just ordered the kit for my 82 caddy. Should be here next week sometime. I will let you know how it works after install on my caddy.
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Do you have a spacer on the front mount?
Nope, all that would do is push the mount farther into the cup and I don't know if that would change the feel at all though.
Thanks for the post and info rabbitman. I just ordered the kit for my 82 caddy. Should be here next week sometime. I will let you know how it works after install on my caddy.
Sweet, do they make bushings for the rear axle on a caddy? If you figure out the "adjustable bump stops" let me know.
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Wow! This made a big difference in the drive on my caddy. I would recommend it to anyone. I put the control arm bushing in, the steering rack bushings, the strut bushings, the strut bump stops and 3 of the engine mounts. The front engine mount will be coming out today though it is a little to harsh for me.
Rabbitman the strut bump stops are nice for large dips in the road and railroad crossings. You can use them as 3 pieces or 2 or 1. There is the piece with the shaft and a thick washer (donut) shaped piece and a mushroom head shaped piece. They go on in that order. You can remove the washer if you want more travel then the shaft piece if more travel is needed. I put in all 3 in and seems to be working great for my caddy. There is a big dip in the road on my way home. It was one you had to slow down for or you were not sure where you might end up. Last night took at speed and the bump stops worked perfect. It was not harsh at all just nice and smooth.
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... the strut bushings,
BlastIt, what year model is your Truck - and what kind of strut bushing did you put in ?
Was it Prothane strut bushing ?
I've seen they offer a strut bushing for the early Mk1 - but it doesn't look like anything that would go into my 81 struts. Curious is all.
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Glad to hear it worked for you :D, I still have fun swerving around feeling the difference 8).
I might have to try the bump stops sometime.
... the strut bushings,
BlastIt, what year model is your Truck - and what kind of strut bushing did you put in ?
Was it Prothane strut bushing ?
I've seen they offer a strut bushing for the early Mk1 - but it doesn't look like anything that would go into my 81 struts. Curious is all.
X2
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My caddy is an 82. The bushing went between the strut bearing and the strut. You have to remove the 2 bolts in the engine compartment, compress the spring, when you remove the bearings on top of the strut there is a cupped area the bushing goes in.
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BlastIt, were they like these in this link ?
#22-1201
http://store.blackforestindustries.com/preamk1upstm.html (http://store.blackforestindustries.com/preamk1upstm.html)
Where did you get your prothane kit/parts ?
Thanks
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Yes they were like that. I got them from the same place as rabbitman. You Can go to that guys ebay store and he has tons of stuff. I think the store name is Never Enough auto accessories.
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Its neverenoughauto.com
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Today I pulled the poly front mount off and put a new Lemforder one on. HUUUUUGE difference, totally better than the poly one, idle is nice and smooth instead of shaking the dash and me apart. Much better.
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Just putting a HD rubber one in the rear of my 1.6 made the idle that much more shaky, I can't imagine solid prothane :P