# DIY replacement of the rear traverse link rose joint/ bushes



## peter-ss (Sep 3, 2008)

Recently there has been a slight clicking from the rear suspension of my TT; mainly when people were getting in and out of the car or when the car rocks slightly whilst driving. On investigation I found the noise to be coming from the rear traverse links, or tie bars, as they're more commonly referred to.

Whilst under the car, pushing and pulling on the traverse links, it was impossible to hear which end of the links the noise was coming from, and there wasn't enough movement in them to be able tell either. As the inner joint was a rubber bush and the outer a rose joint / bearing I guessed that it was more likely be the outer joint. The price of the parts also swayed my decision in this direction: around £400 for a complete set of links, bushes, nuts and bolts or about £55 for just the outer bushes, nuts and bolts!

When ordering the replacements from Audi I found out that the rose joint that was fitted to my TT had since been superseded by a bonded rubber bush. I'd heard that in the early days there had been problems with the original rose joints seizing up on some cars and that upgraded versions with better seals had been fitted under a recall. With this in mind I felt a bit happier with the bushes instead as there shouldn't be a chance of a traverse link snapping with them fitted.










With the parts in hand all I was short of was a tool to extract the old rose joints and fit the new bushes. There are tools available to buy for around £70 but I decided to make my own. Without going into too much detail this consisted of a 40mm length of tube approximately 60mm in diameter, another 40mm length approximately 40mm in diameter, a piece of M12 (high tensile) threaded bar, a couple of bits of steel channel and a couple of M12 nuts and washers .










_If you're going to make your own then I'd recommend getting the new bush first and then offering it up to the pieces of tube to check the size. Basically you need one piece that's just slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the bush and the other large enough for the bush to pass through. The other thing I'd recommend is high tensile threaded bar; the bar I used initially started to wear quickly but the high tensile I replaced it with lasted much better._

*Starting the job*

I jacked up just the one side of the car at a time but lifting both sides would probably have made things easier. Once the car was lifted I supported it with axle stands, which freed up the trolley jack for later as it would be required for manoeuvring when trying to get the bolts through the new bush.










At the time I removed the brake calliper, tying it to one side and the brake disc in the hope that I could remove the shield plate to get better access to the bush bolts. Unfortunately the small bolts that hold the shield in place couldn't be removed as they hit the rotation sensor notched wheel before they were fully out. This meant having to bend slightly the brake disc cover during the job or a lot more work to enable its removal.

I loosened the top and bottom nut and bolt slightly and once they were both loose, removed them completely (leaving the bolts in place until they were both loose helped to hold everything together).










With both bolts out I gently prised and manoeuvred the traverse links away from the bushes. Extra care was taken not to damage the BRAKE PIPE that runs just above the bottom bush.










With the bolts out it was time to put the home made bush extractor into use. A good spray of WD40 was applied to the old rose joint and a good covering of grease on the threaded bar before positioning the puller as shown below (at this stage I introduced a long socket round the threaded bar to give better access to the nut).










The nuts on the threaded bar were then turned with plenty of force to drive the old rose joint out. When things started to get a bit tight I found a slight tap with the hammer to the threaded bar in the direction of travel helped things along a bit. Eventually the rose joint popped out which it has to be said was quite a relief.










A bit of sandpaper was then used to clean up where the exposed steel had rusted on either side of the rose joint and a clean with a bit of WD40 and a rag.










With the old rose joint removed and the metalwork cleaned up it was time to drive the new bush into position. As recommended by John-H, I applied a bit of grease to the new bush and the steelwork to help things along a bit. The home made tool was then set up as in the photo and the nuts turned until the bush was in position.










The outer casing of the new bush was longer than that of the rose joint so it showed through a bit on both sides. It was pressed in just enough to have the same amount showing through on each side.










The removal of the old rose joint and fitting of the new bush was then repeated on the bottom.










With both new bushes in place the not so easy task of getting the bolts in position began. The tie bars were again gently prised into position, taking care to avoid the BRAKE PIPE underneath. Getting the bolts through the traverse links and the bushes was difficult, as the bush didn't have as much movement as the original rose joint so and things didn't align with the suspension decompressed.










Gentle levering and support from the trolley jack in the right places was required to eventually manoeuvre everything to enable the bolts to go in! (the manual states that on the top joint the nut goes on the front side and on the bottom joint the nut goes on the rear side).










With both nuts and bolts fitted they were tightened up loosely as final tightening has to be done with the weight of the vehicle on the wheels! The brake disc and calliper were then refitted as was the wheel.

Now, the next part was quite tricky. My manual says that the nuts must be tightened to 70Nm and then given another 90 degrees with the WEIGHT OF THE CAR ON THE WHEELS. With the bush nuts and bolts loosely in position and the car on ramps (suspension in its normal condition) I found it very difficult to get decent access to the nuts.










In the end I had to settle for tightening one nut to 70Nm and the other bolt to 70Nm and then taking the car off ramps, jacking it up and checking each nut at 70Nm before giving it the additional 90 degrees.










With the procedure complete on one side of the car it was then carried out to the other side, which in total took me about a day to complete.

The job has been a success as the clicking from the rear suspension has now gone, the car also feels smoother although would benefit from the tracking being adjusted at some point.

The only thing that I'm not 100% happy about is that as the bushes are a lot stiffer than the original rose joint / bearings; the traverse links are now exposed to a bit of torsion in extremes of suspension travel (as found when fitting them!). I'm assured by Audi though that they are the correct parts for my TT.


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## TTQ2K2 (Jun 25, 2009)

Smashing write up. Well done!!

[smiley=cheers.gif]


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## peter-ss (Sep 3, 2008)

Thanks.

I didn't find any information on the forum about doing this, before I started, so decided to write some myself after.


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## TTQ2K2 (Jun 25, 2009)

Peter,

any chance you can post some additional pics of the peter-ss tool parts? fronts, backs , sides...i'd like to do this myself.

cheers


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## teo20net (Mar 20, 2009)

Could you provide me with part numbers of the required parts for this?

Thank god i clicked on your signature, i've been trying to solve this problem for sooooo long!


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## peter-ss (Sep 3, 2008)

Unfortunately I don't have the part numbers of the bushes as I have since sold the Mk1 along with all of the paperwork.

I bought them directly from Audi just quoting my chassis number.


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## teo20net (Mar 20, 2009)

peter-ss said:


> Unfortunately I don't have the part numbers of the bushes as I have since sold the Mk1 along with all of the paperwork.
> 
> I bought them directly from Audi just quoting my chassis number.


That's fine, i'll do the same.


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## SteveTDCi (Nov 10, 2009)

I know its an old post but i love it when people make tools up themselves


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## teo20net (Mar 20, 2009)

Peter, searching the forum i found this!



If you click on picture you'll see the ebay link.
I was wondering for some things.
1) Are these genuine Audi
2) Are they any cheapest from the genuine ones you bought?
3) Do i need all these stuff replaced? I thought i should replace only the bushes


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## peter-ss (Sep 3, 2008)

You need to make sure that the tie bars are the correct ones for your car as there are a few different variations of them, which are slightly different lengths.

Also the rose joints used to seize up and have since been superseded by rubber bushes.

I bought a kit similar to the one in your link and didn't end up using it as two of the tie bars were wrong for my car and I wasn't happy with the possibility of the rose joints failing.

In the end I just bought the replacement rubber bushes from Audi with the nuts and bolts and left the original tie bars in place.


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## teo20net (Mar 20, 2009)

I aggree that ebay ones are not so trustworthy but i found the link above in the eBay TT Parts & Accessories forum, so i guess someone in here has used those.
Unfortunatelly i didn't manage to find the part number yet.



peter-ss said:


> Also the *rose joints* used to seize up and have since been superseded by *rubber bushes*.
> .


It would be helpfull if you could explain me what is what as i cannot translate those above exactly.


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## peter-ss (Sep 3, 2008)

If you have a look at the first picture in this post it shows the original rose joint and the replacement rubber type of bush.


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## teo20net (Mar 20, 2009)

peter-ss said:


> ... it shows the original rose joint and the replacement rubber type of bush.


The lower is the replacement rubber type of bush right?


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## peter-ss (Sep 3, 2008)

yes, that's right.

Are you sure that they need replacing?


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## teo20net (Mar 20, 2009)

peter-ss said:


> yes, that's right.
> 
> Are you sure that they need replacing?


I have a knocking sound from behind everytime i enter the car or whenever i go out ouf the car.
It is very annoying when driving too, when in low speeds this sound is there all the time. I tried 
to lift the car and moved the tie arms, i could hear that it is something from them but couldn't find
exactly which it was as the sound comes from both sides.


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## peter-ss (Sep 3, 2008)

Ok, it does sound the same as the problem that I had.

I would replace just the rose joint / bushes first then and their nuts and bolts.


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## Jordan282 (Sep 21, 2012)

Sorry to bump an old thread but where did you get the new rubber bushes?


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## PeTTe-N (Aug 24, 2010)

Jordan282 said:


> Sorry to bump an old thread but where did you get the new rubber bushes?


According to his first post he got them from the stealers


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## peter-ss (Sep 3, 2008)

I did indeed get them from Audi.

When I first got the Mk1 I bought some other cheaper suspension components, which didn't last very long, so I stuck to original parts after that.


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## mullum (Sep 16, 2011)

Great write up - but the part number of the outer bush would have been very useful ;-)


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## westo3 (Jan 15, 2011)

Does anyone know what year Audi updated these bushes.?


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## Hoggy (May 8, 2002)

westo3 said:


> Does anyone know what year Audi updated these bushes.?


Hi, This should help, any thing built after Feb 2000 shouldn't have the dodgy joints.

http://www.dft.gov.uk/vosa/apps/recalls ... =0.9981435

Hoggy.


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## 3TT3 (Aug 30, 2014)

Hmm ..maybe there were uprated "rose joints" before they brought the solid rubber ones in (Mine was built Nov 2002 and had the rose type joints ) ,I changed them for the same again.
edit :The joints werent worn afaik but the tiebars were, so since new joints came in the kit, I fitted those.


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## westo3 (Jan 15, 2011)

Thanks Hoggy, as mine is 2004 I d'ont need to worry!


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## kraftwerkturbo (Dec 26, 2016)

Any details on the tool? Diameters ID and OD of the pipes?


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## 3TT3 (Aug 30, 2014)

I bought a puller/insertion kit for like $100 big box with like 30 different diameter tubes , 3 different diameter hi tensile bolts with roller bearings for extraction and insertion,the full whack!
The only problem was none of the tubes had the right inner diameter for the joint  ack. I used a cut off piece of a halfords(UK) axle stand which was exactly the right inner size.
Sure I could use the rest of the kit with the axle stand piece but it was a bit of a bummer.I havent used the kit since ;(.

Hand check the diameter yourself is good .


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## SPECSMAN (Oct 11, 2016)

I have bumped this thread; it is invaluable to anyone who needs to do the upper and lower rose joints/bushes.

Greedy Photobucket has ruined it; I am a full-on technology retard! Can anyone reinstate the pictures for the forum?

Regards,

Specsman 8)

Ps Perhaps the op (if he still is a TT owner) could renew the pics?


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## 3TT3 (Aug 30, 2014)

its getting a bit like rosy n the five sisters.
Some of the info is a lil off too in this thread .
The early rosies were replaced by either the good rosies from 2000-late 2002 or rubbers.The good rosies are no longer dealer available and dont seem to have been fitted originally since jan 2003.
The rubbers are more difficult to torque up correctly when replacing. Rosies can be done a wheel at a time. and retain cookbot/leverage adjustment, whereas the rubbers(all of those bolts are supposed to be stretch one use only types) dont n so on 
In this thread viewtopic.php?f=2&t=152094
Droopsnoot did some kind of reposting of one of RabTT's posts earlier in the same thread, I can see the piccies on the reposting.
That might work?


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## SPECSMAN (Oct 11, 2016)

I am a fan of rose joints and sourced four new - old stock ones off eBay.

If I was doing this job again, I would photograph and document it as a post.

Although Peter-SS fitted, (and struggled to do so) rubber bushes; it was the process of pressing out the old unit that was the golden info. (also detailed brilliantly by yourself)

It was his dislike of the rubber bushes that prompted me to cancel my order from Audi (they were out of stock) and fit some reclaimed ones from a breaker. (still working, if it aint broke........)

I have sent one of these to Longodds; he is going to see if he can get them re-manufactured; although I can understand his concern that the rubber ones may be considered to be better.

The articulation and rotational flexibility of a rose joint will never be matched by a rubber bush. And an RJ has zero "play" and will therefore give more precise handling.

Specsman 8)


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## SPECSMAN (Oct 11, 2016)

3TT3;

Totally unrelated, but I have always wondered....

What is the meaning of KHAAAAN! on your signature?

Are you an Irish Sikh?  :? :wink:

8)


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## 3TT3 (Aug 30, 2014)

SPECSMAN said:


> 3TT3;
> 
> Totally unrelated, but I have always wondered....
> 
> ...


 :lol: I had it from day one and maybe some wondered was it in praise of WAK , but it was more Im a trekkie fan 





more recently reprised by alternative reality spock


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## SPECSMAN (Oct 11, 2016)

3TT3 said:


> SPECSMAN said:
> 
> 
> > 3TT3;
> ...


Now I know!

Being in my early fifties, I remember the Star Trek original, but never quite got into the later series; it didn't quite have the simplicity of the original, I suppose.

Thanks for the explanation!

Specsman 8)


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