2014 B7 Front and Rear wishbone bushes and rear upper arms

VW have now released there NEW passat range. Please add any technical know how or info into here. NO FOR SALE/PARTS/TALK here..

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o_ptic
still on the production line
Posts: 47
Joined: Sat Dec 23, 2017 8:17 am
Passat model: B7
Location: Warwickshire

2014 B7 Front and Rear wishbone bushes and rear upper arms

Post by o_ptic »

Hi All,

Not a post asking for advice but one where I can possibly give some wisdom (or not)

Having had rear inner tyre sawtoothing as long as I could remember, I recently got to the point where I had 5/6mm of tread on the outer edge of the tyre and had the braiding poke through on the inner edge.
Ive also developed creaking from the front suspension and noticing that I was starting to see inner front tyre wear I thought it was time to act :esm

Loads of research I went for the following;

Rear wishbone inners - Powerflex polybush
Rear wishbone outers - Powerflex Polybush
Rear upper arms - Lemforder

Front wishbone front - Powerflex polybush
Front wishbone rear - Lemforder

So first of all im not a mechanic but im a good practical engineer with a decent set of DIY tools, all the work except for the rear upper arms - more on this at the end) were replaced on my driveway using jacks and axle stands....don't be afraid as they were all pretty easy.
WD40 and wire brush as much as you can prior and I also copper greased every nut and bolt that went back in and it makes life so easy.

REAR WISHBONES
So rear wishbones before you start have a set of inner bolts, eccentric washers and nuts available as one of mine was rotted into the bush.
With the car on stands I removed the 18mm nut and bolt from the outer edge while supporting the wishbone/spring with a jack.
Once removed, I paint marked the 18mm eccentric bolt on the inner and removed. As mentioned mine were seized and I used a thin blade angle grinder to carefully cut both side of the bolt next to the bush.
With the wishbone out I used a hole saw and drilled out the inner bush...make sure the saw diameter is a couple of mm larger than the bush inner sleeve. With the main body out I simply used a hammer and flat blade screwdriver to break out the outer bush metal sleeve which was seized to the wishbone.
A good rotary brush cleanout and the polybush slips straight in with no effort.

Now for the outer bush.
I removed the inner 21mm nut from rear lower arm to give me access to the outer wishbone bush. I had a couple of M10 bolts of different lengths with washers and nuts and basically used a 22mm 1/2" socket on the inside and a 36mm socket on the outside and using my dewalt impact driver pulled the 22mm socket through with the bush into the 36mm socket....really simple - there is a cheap bolt/nut/washer kit on ebay if you struggle to find.
Again once out a good clean and then fit the polybushes with the grease provided and reassemble the wishbone back in with the spring. I bolted the inner first and then jacked up the out to give me some movement.
Be warned with the polybush I had zero flex in my wishbone and it was a fight to get it aligned but moving the propjack and a prybar it went in.
21mm nut/bolt for the lower arm re installed and the 18mm bush bolt in and tightened - job done.
I also have Xenon headlights and there is a ride height adjuster bolted to the LH side wishbone that will need the 3 torxs bolts removed.

FRONT WISHBONES
Same again, wheel off and lower inner wheel liner out.
I started by loosening the 3 x 16mm lower ball joint bolts, then the rear wishbone bolts (2 x 16mm and 1 x 18mm) and finally the 18mm (I think) front inner bolt. With all free remove all bolts and wiggle the whole wishbone free; when you take the lower ball joint out just hold the hub steady to prevent the driveshaft from pulling out.
With the wishbone out simply pull off (with some force) the aluminum rear bush, for the front bush I cut the inner and outer rubber flange off with a utility knife and used my M10 bolt method to simply pull the rubber bush out...no sleeve on the front so really easy.
This bush was replaced with a polybush and the rear aluminum bush with a Lemforder part (lots of reviews of cheaper parts where the casting breaks), my method was to get the front inner bush bolt and nut in (but leave loose) followed by the 3 lower ball joint studs which were tightened.
Then get the casting bush in the right orientation and slide onto the rear of the wishbone.
Lots of play but get the 2 x 16mm and 1x 18mm bolt started before tightening the front, its worth noting that the 16/18mm bolts were not super tight and think they bolt into aluminum so don't be too heavy handed....again reassemble the same way.

REAR UPPER ARMS
First of all....oh my god! - luckily I'm friendly with a tyre garage and they let me use their ramp.
On my Passat I have a plastic shield that I removed in the slim hope of getting better access to the eccentric bolt head...I was wrong!!!
So like the rear wishbone mark the nut against the bracket for location.
I removed the outer upper arm nut/bolt first to prevent stress when removing the upper bolt. You'll need to remove the plastic wheel sensor bracket which is simply prized off but just be careful when moving the arm around.
Now for the upper bolt!! Luckily my bolt was partially seized as this prevented it from spinning. The 18mm nut was removed using swivel headed ratchet wrench and lots of tiny turns.
To remove the bolt I used a couple of extension bars and managed to free it from the bush liner. However on my drivers (RH) side there is absolutely no access to this bolt!! on a ramp I managed to get my long fingers over the arm and frame and inch out the bolt....it is a nightmare - also be warned that your brake lines are all in this area.
Luckily for me for re fitting the bolts went straight through (after lots of sweating) and the bolts could be held in with the tips of my fingers while the nuts were inserted.
Also with the wishbones having polybush attaching the outer bolt for the upper arm was tough. Nothing bends or moves so needed to jack up the hub to help.

Luckily I had the whole car wheel aligned after this and we are done.
BTW my rear wishbone inner bushes and front wishbone rears were completely shot and would have failed the MOT, hopefully this will help someone to tackle them.
Good luck if you do!

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