2001 Golf Mk4 1.8T GTi Lower Wishbone arm and Ball joint replacement

Replacing the lower arms ( wishbones ) and ball joints on a 2001 VW Golf GTi Mk4 and probably the same for all Volkswagen Mk 4 Golfs and Passats

[@jackcolwell3948]

What I did was to remove the ball joint. I removed:
Driveshaft nut
Track rod end
Drop link bolt
The 3 balljoint bolts
This will give you enough space for an impact wrench to remove the top ball joint nut.
Then I used an impact wrench and a universal joint to get the top ball joint nut off. Saved so much swearing and stress 😅

[@TonysGarage_UK]

Good advice and I nearly did it that way too. Cheers

[@suj1945]

The bolt that that goes through the horizontal bushing and screws into the captive nut is meant to be tightened with the suspension loaded and the car at ride height. If you tighten it before that then the bushing will twist when the car sits back on the ground and will fail early. Otherwise good video, shows what a fidgety job it is.

[@TonysGarage_UK]

Yes.. it was Torqued under load

[@chickbells]

Your torque settings should also state additional quarter turns on main bush bolts. Thats why they’re so tight getting them off. You also need new bolts because they’re stretch bolts and could shear if reused.

[@TonysGarage_UK]

Yes. You're absolutely right. Thank you.

[@kfx731]

Nice video but I think the torque settings at the end the bottom 2 are the wrong way round 😊.

[@TonysGarage_UK]

Oh.. I'll recheck those figures. Thank you.

[@diggingindurham]

Bolts should be replaced as per the manual, not cleaned up.

[@TonysGarage_UK]

Thanks for that info... do you know what the reason behind that is?

[@diggingindurham]

@@TonysGarage_UK yes, the original bolts are 'stretch' bolts , once used they are considerably weaker if used again

[@TonysGarage_UK]

ah, of course. Thank you