8P S3 console bushes and B6 Passat wishbones: tight!

[breeze]

As above, I thought the combination would be a nice OEM-ish upgrade.

However I am finding it a massive pain getting the console bushes fitted. They are very tight on the wishbone and I don’t see how they are going on without a hydraulic press.

Is this normal? Hammering using a socket definitely not working.

Wishbones are used genuine, console bushes are FEBI.

[pudding]

Yup, that is how the OEM consoles are.  Even my knackered originals needed hammering off the wishbones.  Only the poly aftermarket ones slip in easily.

The Passat wishbones are slightly tighter than the steel arms from memory, and perhaps the FEBI bushes are slightly tighter than OEM, so they're both conspiring against you.

Try some silicon lube on the wishbone/bush and keep at it.

Did the Febi bushes fit in the consoles OK?  I bought the Febi S3 bushes from Darkside ages ago but haven't yet fitted them.

[breeze]

Yup, that is how the OEM consoles are.  Even my knackered originals needed hammering off the wishbones.  Only the poly aftermarket ones slip in easily.

The Passat wishbones are slightly tighter than the steel arms from memory, and perhaps the FEBI bushes are slightly tighter than OEM, so they're both conspiring against you.

Try some silicon lube on the wishbone/bush and keep at it.

Did the Febi bushes fit in the consoles OK?  I bought the Febi S3 bushes from Darkside ages ago but haven't yet fitted them.

Hammering I would be OK with! I was hammering the Febi units quite hard and they were not moving beyond about 2/3 way... They were the complete assembled parts, so bush already inside the aluminium carrier. I tried WD40, copper grease, everything.

This morning I went and bought some Lemforder OEM replacements (MK5 specification, not S3). They went on exactly how I would expect them to have gone on; tight and requiring a good strong tap with a socket, but not needing a hydraulic press. From ECP which means I paid a massive premium even with the 'discount'.

I will send the Febi items back. A real shame because I liked the look of the bush - a nice solid piece of rubber.

If I were doing again I would probably avoid mixing the Febi rear bushes and Passat wishbones. As you say, could be that the Febi bushes are a bit tighter and the Passat wishbones are a bit bigger.

Quite a few things coming together at the front end; aluminium subframe inserts and new bolts, Powerflex ARB bushes (to match rear), Passat wishbones and Lemforder front and rear wishbone bushes. Hoping the effort is worthwhile!

[pudding]

Ah right, so you bought complete S3 consoles? You do know they're not compatible with the MK5 don't you, so fate intervened there to spare you from yet more grief.

You could just press some Febi S3 bushes into the Lemforder consoles, which is standard practice.  Passat and S3 wishbones are the same, so if anything they should have flopped right into the S3 consoles!  But I think as they were aftermarket parts, that probably explains the fitment issues.  Lemorder are the actually manufacturer and supplier to VW.

Yeah the effort is definitely worthwhile 

[breeze]

Ah right, so you bought complete S3 consoles? You do know they're not compatible with the MK5 don't you, so fate intervened there to spare you from yet more grief.

You could just press some Febi S3 bushes into the Lemforder consoles, which is standard practice.  Passat and S3 wishbones are the same, so if anything they should have flopped right into the S3 consoles!  But I think as they were aftermarket parts, that probably explains the fitment issues.  Lemorder are the actually manufacturer and supplier to VW.

Yeah the effort is definitely worthwhile 

Are you sure S3 are not compatible? I thought that was TT.

[pudding]

Yup. Completely different console housings. They look the same at first glance, but when offering them up the car, you notice it.

[breeze]

Ahh OK.

[pudding]

I made that mistake years ago after reading on here that people have used them.  Bought a pair, went to fit them to the car and.....oh. OK then, onto ebay with those then 

The part number for the bush to press into GTI consoles is 8Z0 407 183, which aren't available from VAG, but Lemforder do them for about £14 each on AutoDoc    They will likely fit better than the Febi ones.

[Freem82]

Sorry to be a thread highjacker, but I'm watching a couple of passat b6 2008 tdi front wishbones on ebay, are they compatible and would the complete s3 console bush in alloy housing fit on the stub ? This thread has thrown me a bit, that's all.

[pudding]

The wishbones fit a GTI no problem, but you need 8Z0 407 183 pressed into standard GTI console housings if you want uprated, otherwise use standard consoles or aftermarket poly ones.

[Freem82]

OK thanks for the reply, one last question, do the gti ball joints fit on the passat arms ? I've just replaced mine.

[pudding]

I believe they do, but I used Passat ones to keep it all consistent.

[breeze]

Yes they fit. I used front and rear bushes and balljoints listed for the GTI in the end. All fitted no problem.

If I were doing it all again I think I would buy Passat arms new, with the front bush pressed in. I bought used arms and ended up needing to get a mechanic to press the front bushes in, which in London 2022 prices was £60. I think Lemforder fully made up wasn’t much more.

Another thing I found… my car had quite a lot of front axle lift under acceleration. With anti lift kits being all the rage I strongly suspected that was what I needed but wanted to try OEM first. The factory spec Lemforder bush seems to have massively improved the lift. I bet S3 bushes would be even better, just wouldn’t recommend with the B6 arms.

[Freem82]

So are the console housings that will come with my b6 arms that I've just ordered not be compatible with it then ?
My plan is to build them up then I can just unbolt the steel ones off my car and then put the b6 ones on straight away to save time.

[pudding]

'Anti-lift' is just race car marketing BS used by Whiteline, Super Pro et al to make a stiffer bush sound more amazing than it really is - in order to justify the hideous price of them.

Anyway, re: Passat consoles, no idea mate.  Cross reference the GTI's p/n and see if it also applies to the Passat. I think they are the same tbh.  It's pretty much just S3 and TT that have incompatible differences.