# How to change your front (And Rear) ARB....walkthrough



## TT DWN UNDER (Aug 29, 2007)

I have just replaced my front and rear ARB's with the R32 front ,23mm and 19mm rear ones.
John indicated he would appreciate it if I took some pics and did a "how to" for you all ,so I did.
This is how I did it and take no responsibility for anyone trying it for themselves and damaging their car.
It was a very straightforward process, only time, patience and persistence needed, plus some basic tools.
I did it on my own with no help, but an extra set of hands would have made it quicker.
The sub-frame merely supports the steering rack, an exhaust mount, an engine stabiliser mount and a few other things and does NOT support the engine or anything that serious.
It took me a whole day, but others have done it in a couple of hours, I didn't rush and had to wash my hands alot so as not to get my camera dirty....lol...well here it is.

1. You need : A new front ARB, 4 x new sub-frame bolts, 2 x new rubber or Powerflex bushes, trolley jack, support stands, socket set, spanner set and Torx set (and if your doing it by yourself, a bottle jack)



















(My old sub-frame bolts as I forgot to take a picture of the new ones, but you get the general idea)

2. Jack the car up, put it on support stands and remove the wheels.










3. Remove the plastic cowling under the car to expose the engine and bits. (Torx screws)










4.Tie up each end of the steering rack to the suspension springs with some rope,octopus straps or the like...
This will prevent it from dropping and getting in the way when you lower the sub-frame.










5.Remove the 2 bolts at each end of the ARB that are attached to the drop links. Also on the passenger side ,remove the attachment bolt of the xenon adjustment sensor arm, and swing it up and out of the way.



















6.Remove the bolts on the clamps that hold the ARB bushes on and remove the clamps and bushes.
There is one bolt on the right hand side bush bracket and 2 bolts on the left hand side bush bracket.
The second bolt supports a clamp that holds a section of the power steering pipes in place. This bolt is a real pain to get 
to and I finally got to it by using a flexible end on my socket and reaching down from under the bonnet.




























7. Remove the 2 bolts that attach the engine stabiliser ? mount thingy...The mount comes from the sub-frame and attaches to the centre of the engine.










8. Remove the 4 bolts that hold the steering rack to the sub-frame. They are located under the car in the centre of the sub-frame. Once undone you can pry the steering rack away from the sub-frame a little with a small jimmy bar. The passenger side comes away easily, the drivers side has a small lug that sits in a hole in the sub-frame and must be preyed out gently. (remember to line this up and get the lug back in the hole on the install)



















(this pic is a bit further down the track, but it illustrates the lug on the steering rack well)

9. Remove the 2 bolts that hold the exhaust bracket onto the sub-frame, and remove the exhaust bracket and rubber bung.
(From the pic you can see I did this after I had already lowered the sub-frame when i realised I needed to , but in hindsight it would have made things a lot easier if i had done it now, at this stage.)










9(a) At this point I removed some more brackets that hold the power steering pipes to various things, just to allow a bit more movement of them . Im not sure if this is necessary, but I did it anyway and have added the pics .










(couldnt get at it from this angle so.............










(...........using a torx bit and a small spanner to undo it, on the install I put it upside down for easier installation and possible future removal)



















10.Place your trolley jack under the car with a block of wood to spread the load. Jack it up so it just supports the sub-frame.










11. Undo the 4 x sub-frame bolts by placing a long (6ft) length of pipe over your socket handle and undoing them. Mine came undone very easy and needed no strain at all, others have reported them to be quite stiff... (because I did this on my own, I used a small bottle jack to hold the socket end up on the bolt while I went to the other end of the pipe to move it.)





































12. With the 4 bolts removed lower the trolley jack and sub-frame. (I actually took the jack right out and left the sub-frame hanging there ,it seemed fine...)

13.The ARB bar is a real pain to get out, but here is where the patience and persistence comes in....just keep jiggling ,twisting, pushing, pulling and eventually it will come out....





































And finally out...............










14. Feed the new ARB bar through and attach bushes and brackets.
I used Powerflex bushes...notice on the rear of the bush one side is larger than the other.
Put the larger side so its on the bottom of the ARB. Use the supplied grease to lubricate it well so it doesn't creek..




























15. Then basically put everything back in reverse order...noting a couple of things...
- Remember to line up the steering rack lug in the hole in the sub-frame
- Make sure the new ARB is in front of the steering rack before you attach it
- Torque the 4 sub-frame bolts to 100Nm plus 1/4 turn
- Torque steering rack to sub-frame bolts 20NM + 1/8 turn (suggested to replace these with new also)
- watch out for the exhaust mount bracket catching on the other exhaust mount bracket when raising the sub-frame if
you have already installed it again. My advice is to install it after you have raised the sub-frame back in position.

Well hope this helps....I used Steve Schwengs pic's and Waks guide also, so you may want to check that too for added information.......I also took the opportunity to remove the wishbones and have new bushes and DEFCONs installed.
The car handles noticeably better.....not a hugh difference...but nice and sweet.........Good luck.....Shandor


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## eunos_rsh (Dec 13, 2004)

Great writeup...will get round to doing mine eventually and this will be a big help.

thanks!


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## John-H (Jul 13, 2005)

Excellent stuff - we needed a How To on this one


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## Bikerz (Aug 23, 2008)

surely your tracking, camber and toe should be checked now as it could and probably will be slightly out


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## John-H (Jul 13, 2005)

As the steering rack ends were not adjusted and neither were the wishbones removed from the subframe, then these relative distances remain in track, so the toe is unaltered. If the subframe is put back slightly to one side then the camber will increase on one side and reduce on the other. There will not be a huge amount of play here and the effect is not as sensitive as toe. If the subframe has moved relative to the rack, then the steering wheel will end up at an angle when driving straight. You may end up with a slight thrust angle if the front track shifts relative to the rear track but again this effect will be small. It might be worthwhile to accurately mark the positions of rack, to subframe, to body before removal of anything. If the car drives straight afterwards, then all is likely to be well.


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## TT DWN UNDER (Aug 29, 2007)

The steering rack has that little protruding lug that sits very snugly into a hole in the subframe, so the rack will not have moved at all , relative to the subframe on instalation. However their is some small level of movement possible and I say small , in the subframe bolts , so the subframe to body position may ,as John has said , have altered slightly....cheers


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## mac1967 (Sep 8, 2006)

Well done!

I love write-ups.

It's so good that we can get good resource info on the site :wink:

Excellent!

Regards,

Martin


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## denTTed (Feb 21, 2007)

Well done, nice write up.

John


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## 4ringsdh (Nov 7, 2006)

Good write up and nice pics. 
Just to add, you ought to renew the steering rack to subframe bolts as well 20NM + 1/8 turn, also we renew the drop link to roll bar nuts.
You obviously succeded in the repair you have carried out, just for info we lower the subframe completely in order to renew the roll bar - this makes it much easier to remove and refit. This procedure requires removing the 6 wishbone nuts from the bottom ball joints. you will need to mark the wishbones (the nuts removed will leave a reference mark for refit)
As John H has suggested, the subframe needs to be marked. There is significant movement available on the subframe when loose


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## MRF (Jun 22, 2007)

nice write up.

ok, wheres is the cheapest place to buy the golf R32 arbs and powerflex bushes?


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## S&amp;S (Mar 29, 2009)

Where is the best place to get a 4motion rear bar and all the powerflex bushes to replace the front and back roll bar. Am I right in thinking that the 4motion rear bar will work nicely with a new standard front bar? What else will I need to get before I give dean a ring at 4 rings to fit them?


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## John-H (Jul 13, 2005)

S&S said:


> Where is the best place to get a 4motion rear bar and all the powerflex bushes to replace the front and back roll bar. Am I right in thinking that the 4motion rear bar will work nicely with a new standard front bar? What else will I need to get before I give dean a ring at 4 rings to fit them?


I got mine from Audi and yes the 4-motion rear goes well with the front standard ARB - reduces understeer slightly by shifting the balance towards oversteer. The bar from Audi is about the same cost as the Powerflex bushes :lol:


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## physiojlb (Oct 4, 2009)

I need to get this done next week.

Just to check, My shopping list... 
4 motion rear
New front OEM bar (is it worth getting a thinker bar?)
Polybushes for both?
and all the relavent bolts as mentioned in the How-To.

Cheers
James


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## physiojlb (Oct 4, 2009)

Done this today. And the rear. Started at 630 and finished by 2. with a lunch break. No need to remove the exhaust box, only release the heat shield. and with the front no need to remove all the extra things, just release the steering column and drop the subframe. Easy jobs to do. think audi quoted me 600-700 for them to do it. did it for £140ish i think. and around 5-6 hours work.


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## warrenstuart (Mar 3, 2010)

I used this post to change my front ARB on Monday and like the other "how to do it" posts it was spot-on!
It took me about 4 hours as a very "average" DIYer and i couldn't undo the 4 subframe bolts as i only had a 2ft extension pipe to go over my socket wrench  then my next door neighbour came out and undid all 4 with relative ease  
He is a well built prison officer.

Keep the "how to do it" topics coming and don't be afraid to roll up your sleeves and have a go yourselves peoples


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## narbett (Jul 20, 2010)

Cant believe were talking to a guy down under,I asume Australia, what part? love to get there one day. internet small word now.9.36 pm uk time, supose your getting ready for your tea break (thursday morning)


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## John-H (Jul 13, 2005)

You have been busy


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## warrenstuart (Mar 3, 2010)

John-H said:


> You have been busy


Too right, and saved a total of nearly £800 in labour charges at Audi prices, less at an indie i'm sure!


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## Williamtt150 (Jul 11, 2016)

Can anyone tell me please the size bush I need to buy.
I am replacing the front ARB bushes and have removed the old ones and the plastic lining has come away so I am left with an o/d of 20mm. Do I get a 20mm bush or a19mm bush?
Thanks


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## John-H (Jul 13, 2005)

You'll find it near impossible to fit under size bushes. The correct size is difficult enough. Don't forget the Jubilee clips to prevent lateral movement and make sure the ARB sits central.


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## Williamtt150 (Jul 11, 2016)

Thanks so I should go for 20mm internal diameter bushes then?
The collars on the ARB are still there so lateral movement should be okay. 
Any good suppliers, I can only see the power flex on ebay
Thanks


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## Allspeed (Oct 7, 2016)

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1592537
18mm febi ones for a 20mm rollbar with the colors removed


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## Williamtt150 (Jul 11, 2016)

Okay so I am really confused now, you say to get 18mm bushes which are 2mm smaller than my bar and the previous post said I wouldn't be able to fit anything smalller?


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## John-H (Jul 13, 2005)

Allspeed said:


> http://www.ttforum.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1592537
> 18mm febi ones for a 20mm rollbar with the colors removed


You used the softer rubber bushes by the look of it and it did take you half an hour of swearing on the nearside and the use of a longer bolt to get the clamp engaged :wink:

I used the harder Powerflex and 20mm was hard enough to engage. If I remember right I managed to jam something in to compress it and start the bolt but watch you don't get it cross thread or you could strip the captive nut and then it's sub frame off for a Helicoil.

The Jubilee clips were because the original plastic sleeves widened to form the locating rings which are separate welded on steel rings on the later bar but the original plastic ones break off in their entirety so you need some lateral location. Later ARBs with the welded on rings don't need them.

This shows the bits and discusses the difficulty:

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=66924&p=724773#p724773


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## Allspeed (Oct 7, 2016)

Plenty of bush lube needed, I wanted a more o.e type rubber bush rather than powerflex. The driver's side was not too bad, the passenger side was a trial, more to do with the power steering pipes bracket than the bush itself though. Initially I admitted defeat and fitted the bush clamp that comes with the kit instead. 
Since then I've gone back and fitted the genuine clamp and bracket which I had to attack from above and below.

That said I'm a diyer, but my mechanic chum replaced the nearside bush previously when the collar was still intact in around 35 mins.

The Device kit I brought in 18mm was what was recommended if the collars were no longer fitted. And like John says, you have to fit jubilee clips to the inside either side so as to limited any side to side movement without collars fitted anymore


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## Williamtt150 (Jul 11, 2016)

Thanks very much for your input
Regards


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## Williamtt150 (Jul 11, 2016)

An update on my front ARB, I removed the plastic collars and the bar seemed okay so I went for the 20mm powerflex bushes which fitted a treat and were no problem to put on. 
Also I used two stainless steel jubilee clips to keep the bar in place. 
I didn't like the idea of the clips rubbing on the new bushes so I got two large stainless steel washers and bored them out to a little over 20mm and then cut away a section as wide as the flat end of the bar (basically a C shape) this allowed me to slip the washer over the bar and sandwich it in between the clip and the bush. 
I know most people have probably done this already or replaced the bar but it might help someone.


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## John-H (Jul 13, 2005)

With the washers; an interesting variant.
I selected stainless Jubilee clips with the smoothest side - nothing sharp. There's never been a problem for many years and MOTs but washers will be an improvement


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## Cadge (Oct 18, 2008)

I don't suppose anyone has the original photos of this thread? Any way to get a cached version of this thread??

Cheers


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## TT DWN UNDER (Aug 29, 2007)

Wow... 11 years has gone by since doing this...man time fly's...
John asked me to update the pics and after searching though
old hard drives found them as good as new... updated the spelling too
pretty sure we didn't have spellcheck 11 years ago...lol 
I still have my TT and have had no trouble with my ARB's ...she still turns on rails and sticks
to the road like a go-cart.....

I found the pictures of the rear ARB replacement which I was going to do another 'How to' at the time
but never got around to doing it...sorry...
I cant remember exactly what I did (c'mon it was 11 years ago)...so Ive posted the pictures below in the order I took them and had a guess at what to do from the pictures but if anyone can add some more clarity, Ill edit it in.... good luck..this ones very easy........

How to change your rear ARB.......walkthrough

1. Ummmm....jack up the car ,place it on axle stands and remove the rear wheels 










2. Undo the 3? bolts holding the exhaust box (there's probably one bracket on each side Im guessing)










3. Undo the exhaust pipe clamp behind the exhaust box

From John-H.. "many Mk1 TTs had a single piece exhaust so no clamping sleeve to separate the back box - but you can 
simply let it drop enough to do the job as there's enough flex further forward."










4. Remove the exhaust box....so far so good










5. Take off bracket?










6. Take off bracket?










7. Undo the 4 bolts that hold the heat shield and remove the heat shield










8. Undo the 3 bolts on the left side holding the ARB in place










9. Undo the 3 bolts on the right hand side holding the ARB in place

Another tip from John-H.. " I may have been unlucky but when I did mine I managed to strip one of the ARB clamp bracket screws - but it's easy to fix with a longer screw and nut or Helicoil the captive nut."










10. Remove the old rear ARB










11. Lube up the new rear Powerflex bushes and place them on the NEW ARB










12. Bolt the new ARB in place, securing it with the 3 bolts (2 clamps around new bushes) on either side










13. Replace heat shield, brackets, exhaust box , exhaust clamp and wheels

Job done !!


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## John-H (Jul 13, 2005)

Excellent stuff Shandor. Thanks ever so much for updating the missing pictures and adding the rear ARB details. That's really helpful of you and the sort of thing that adds so much value to this forum.

The only things I can think of adding to your rear ARB detail is that many Mk1 TTs had a single piece exhaust so no clamping sleeve to separate the back box - but you can simply let it drop enough to do the job as there's enough flex further forward.

Also, I may have been unlucky but when I did mine I managed to strip one of the ARB clamp bracket screws - but it's easy to fix with a longer screw and nut or Helicoil the captive nut.

Thanks again - glad to hear your TT is still going strong 11 years on


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## Quix (Jan 21, 2019)

I'm very interested it this thread, as I am working on the 1999 TT225 which I bought a few months ago. Although it looks really smart up top, and drives well, the underside is rather sad. I've replaced the rear calipers and would like to replace the rear ARB also, in order to reduce understeer. Can anyone indicate a source for uprated ARBs - are there any alternative VAG items or are they available from specialists? 
I believe that some people recommend removing the front bar completely, but I feel that a stiffer rear would be a sufficiently good thing, as the (very ratty looking) standard bar in my car is a very spindly item indeed. Thanks.


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## John-H (Jul 13, 2005)

The Golf 4-Motion ARB fits and is 16mm as opposed to the standard 14mm for the TT and usefully reduces understeer.


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## Quix (Jan 21, 2019)

John-H said:


> The Golf 4-Motion ARB fits and is 16mm as opposed to the standard 14mm for the TT and usefully reduces understeer.


I'm not knowlegeable on Golf models. Is that any particular year?


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## John-H (Jul 13, 2005)

This should be what you need as you can just order the parts from Audi or TPS:



> Standard ARB's
> Front (20mm) 1J0 411 305 AE
> Rear (14mm) 1J0 511 409 H
> 
> ...


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## Quix (Jan 21, 2019)

Good information. Many thanks. Looking at these sizes, I wonder if fitting the 19mm bar would give me good handling for autosolos and autotests. The car has such good acceleration off the line, being quick around the tight turns would be a bonus.


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## John-H (Jul 13, 2005)

Well, bear in mind that the stiffer the ARB the less grip on cornering. ARBs are best for a little tuning rather than achieving anything radical.


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## torqueit (Jan 22, 2019)

Quix said:


> Good information. Many thanks. Looking at these sizes, I wonder if fitting the 19mm bar would give me good handling for autosolos and autotests. The car has such good acceleration off the line, being quick around the tight turns would be a bonus.


Have you thought about cookbots in the front control arms?


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## Quix (Jan 21, 2019)

torqueit said:


> Have you thought about cookbots in the front control arms?


Ummm. Pardon my ignorance, but what is a cookbot?


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## John-H (Jul 13, 2005)

Quix said:


> torqueit said:
> 
> 
> > Have you thought about cookbots in the front control arms?
> ...


Just a silly name - like "DEFCON" but basically it's a solid sleeve in the front TCA bush position that allows a smaller bush to be inserted to replicate the stiffer original TT design. The revised and recalled TT had larger more sloppy rubber bushes to stop people turning so fast. See here for install details:

https://public.fotki.com/mcphill/audi_s ... oninstall/


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## torqueit (Jan 22, 2019)

Quix said:


> torqueit said:
> 
> 
> > Have you thought about cookbots in the front control arms?
> ...


They are a metal bushing for the front position of the lower control arms that let's you run the original style bushings which had an OD of 30mm versus 45mm, and that small change is reported to improve turn in and reduce understeer. Received mine not long ago and haven't installed them yet, but if you search around, you will find many positive reviews on them. You will also find references to Defcon, which are the same thing from a different source. You can purchase the "cookbot" brand here:

https://www.cbauto.co.uk/cookbots


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## Quix (Jan 21, 2019)

Sounds interesting, I'll definitely check them out. 
Not the same as polybushing then - Powerfles for example ?


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## John-H (Jul 13, 2005)

All modifying options for this try to result in less movement but even with a big poly you could still compress it a bit more whereas you can't compress a solid metal sleeve - so it limits the possible movement even with a softer rubber bush fitted inside.


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## torqueit (Jan 22, 2019)

Quix said:


> Sounds interesting, I'll definitely check them out.
> Not the same as polybushing then - Powerfles for example ?


Right, because it's metal versus a flexible material. I'm opting to run original Audi rubber bushings in my setup, as I don't want to make the car too harsh. If you do a polybushing in the cookbot sleeve, it will be stiffer yet.


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## HipCity (Aug 23, 2019)

Changed the ARB today but have two problems. The two bolts that hold the dog bone mount to the subframe snapped, I should have just taken the other end out first as these came out fine, the bolts that snapped don't seem to do much as the mount looks welded onto the subframe.

Now for issue number 2. One of the steering assembly bolts snapped off when during removal and now I'm stuck. I don't have a welding kit so either it cut it out or put the car back together and take it somewhere to have them weld a bolt onto it to try and remove the broken part. Is it safe to drive with 3 steering assembly bolts?


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