Bora Rear Axle Bushes 1.9 2000w 1j2

[paul r]

Hi Simon
I have a 2002 Bora 1.8T Sport and I have the same problem when going over potholes, you feel a thud as if something hits the bottom of the car. On last MOT they said the bushes will need replacing by next MOT so that's what is causing the problem and quoted £240 just for the labour!
Cheers, Paul

[jonty89]

Update....
I did the job yesterday.. saturday as planned and must report that there were NO unforsen difficulties.
Original intention was to just 'drop' the rear axle leaving the brake pipes and handbrake cable attached and replace the bushes in situ. I had a change of plan though when I realised I wasnt going to be able to get the old bushes out with the axle still so close to the car, also I was afraid of snapping the rubber brake pipes if my supports on the axles slipped.
To take the axle off without upsetting the brake system I removed the calipers both sides (2 bolts per side) unclipped the metal brake pipe from the axle and unclipped the handbrake.
The prolem here is that the bracket that clips the union of metal to rubber pipe to the axle has the pipe running thru it, so to get the pipe out I would have to disconnect the pipes. I didnt want to disconnect the brake pipes as I hate bleeding brakes. I got the angle grinder and put a small notch thru the bracket, which alowed the thin pipe to pass thru it, thus allowing removal of the axle without disturbing the braking system (apart from caliper removal).
Once the axle is off its a matter of knocking the main portion of the old bushes out. Mine came out relatively easy but I had a hammer happy mate help. Once the main bit is out there will be a sleeve still sitting in the bush. To get this out we hacksawed thru it to weaken it and score it then ran the chisel down it and folded it in on itself. After dressing the inner surface which was to take the new bushes we was ready to start rebuild.
I'd had my new bushes in the freezer for a few days prior to fitting to help the fit.
The new bushes went in a piece of p*ss with the tool, and althought the tool is very heavy duty the amount of force to pull the bushes in wasnt excessive and if I was doing another set i'd prob make my own tool out of threaded bar big washers and big sockets.
Rebuilding the axle was hassle free, you need a bit of fiddling to line up the holes on the bushes to pass the bolt thru, bit if your handy with a crow bar and accurate with a trolley jack thats just patience.
Job done.
It took me until about 4pm starting at 9.30, but I didnt rush and I had to nip out to pick the mrs up from work so it could be done a few hours quicker.
If your jubious about garages like me I'd recommend doing it yourself and cash is tight - or your mean!
The car feels so so much nicer to drive,like new. I like driving the old bora again!
Cheers for everyones advice on this anyway.
Ps both my old bushes were hydraulic, one was intact the other ws dry (knackered one)
so I assume they were original.

[philsmin]

Glad you got them sorted

did mine when I first got the bora, has the earlier type that you can't change (apparently )

Wasn't as hard as people would have you believe (having said that I do know how to weild a spanner which helps).

We removed the axle from the car completely, burnt the rubber bit out of the old ones then cut through the metal sleeve which was left using a hacksaw (and a good amount of care to only cut the sleeve and not the axle itself)

Then just cleaned up the holes that were left with some wet and dry (till they were nice and smooth) then with the aid of a little water to act as lubricant tapped the new ones in place (making sure they go in square).

Took us around 2 hours in all and cost less than £40

The car now rides far better and no nasty knocking noises

We did remove the brake pipe on mine in the end and had to bleed the system, was a pain in the ****, we bled all the brakes no problem but there was no feel on the pedal, after reading haynes book of lies it shed no light on the situation so I decided it must be the master cylinder at fault, sure enough there's another 2 bleed nipples, bled them and it was fine, tbh the brakes were better than before

[sferg55]

Great news Jonty89! I'm going to do my rear shocks and bushes at the same time when I get around to it - thanks for the detailed "how-to" especially the tips about not disturbing the breaking system - I hate bleeding brakes too! Thanks too, philsmin.

If I am going to do this job, are there just two bushes, one each side? Or are there more which could be done at the same time? I'm guessing the ones you replaced are where the axle pivots to the chassis?

[philpugh]

Had both rear bushes done earlier this year (Bora TDi 110 SE, Dec 99)

I used my local mechanic who has looked after my cars (Golf Mk3 before the Bora) for 6+ years. He has a VW trained mechanic who knows about these things. I took it in thinking it was the rear shocks but he said "No - it'll be the bushes - they are notorious for this"

Total cost (inc labour) <£100. No brainer as to whether to do it myself or not in this instance!

[Borab0y]

It would seem most people put standard bushes back in, has anyone put Poly bushes in instead?

Are they any good, are they too hard?

[cavalier740]

My tech who does everything on all my cars has quoted me £90 so I'll get it booked in. His brother-in law has a petrol Bora with 170k on the clock so he's already done evrything before.

[Crasher]

£90! The bushes are £30 alone pattern, £40 genuine, then bolts, nuts and brake fluid-how do these people live charging £30 an hour labour?

[cavalier740]

Like I said, he does all the work on all my families cars and I've known him a long time. He supplied & fitted a new sump and serviced the Bora for £120!

[philpugh]

Hi there Jonty

I have just bought a Bora 110tdi and it has a suspicious amount of noise from the rear when going over potholes, I was thinking the rear shocks are weak as it sounds like a "donk" noise, rather than a knocking or rattling. What noises were your bushes making?

Cheers

Simon

Sorry to bump an old topic but my 99 TDi 110 BORA had a knocking noise from the rear and this turned out to be the bushes. The mechanic that did it for me (an ex-VW mechanic) said it was a common problem on BORA / Mk IV Golfs and was 90% of the time responsible for rear suspension noises. The good news is that it's not an expensive repair job.

The noise they were making was a 'thunk' (dull knock).