Polo 9N Lower Ball Joint Tool

Hello, what is the charge for pressing out the large control arm bushings in the aluminum carrier of a 9N Polo?

A spindle puller...

Okay, is this easy to do, or do I need a special tool, since the casing is made of plastic/nylon and not metal, and it might deform when pressed in?

Habs fertig. Instructions:
Underbody protection, remove wheels.
The console must be lowered as much as possible. Remove the front sway bar bolt (6 x SW 1 and the three M8 bolts on the outside of the ball joint. Remove the sway bar. Then, use a screwdriver to pierce and open the plastic of the old bearings. Mark or remember the installation position of the bearings. Then, knock or pry them out from the back to the front. I cleaned the aluminum eyelet inside with a wire brush and sandpaper, lubricated it, and then used a 10mm threaded rod, a 65 x 10mm washer, and a 10cm x 3cm piece of iron with a hole drilled in the center to act as a counter-bearing to press the new bearings in from the back.
Initially, it might not fit perfectly, so you'll need to use a hammer and a long nail to adjust the side that isn't fitting properly.
with strut mount (requires removing the shock absorbers and disassembling), and I spent 3.5 hours replacing the front brakes.

Congratulations !

Yes, it wasn't really anything special, but to remove the coil springs and avoid damaging the wear sensor and ABS cables, it would be helpful to have a second person.
Da braucht man oft mal eine 3. Hand.
I do have a Klann 15 hydraulic press with a draw cylinder, but unfortunately, I haven't been able to use it because there isn't enough space.

teileklaus wrote:

... The console must be lowered to its maximum extent ...

Hello Teileklaus,

What do you mean by lowering the console? Are you referring to the generator carrier?
Does it really have to be lowered to get the control arm out?

I suppose I'll have to replace those troublesome rubber-to-metal control arm bushings on my Ibiza 6L soon.
The modification of the control arm, as described by Erwin, requires disconnecting the ball joint. Is that correct, or is it sufficient to simply loosen the three screws on the ball joint and the screw on the front, smaller bearing of the control arm?

Best regards, Georg.

"Nothing needs to be lowered, and no ball joint needs to be unscrewed from the hub; everything stays perfectly together! See my Russian method for removing the plastic bushings and pressing in the better Audi A2 aluminum full-rubber bushings; two hands are sufficient if you have the strength in your hands and arms. You only need to lift the hub with the shock absorber using one arm to thread the ball joint, so you need to compress it a few centimeters and then insert the three screws."

Deus, that looks excellent .

Thank you for the information. Your working method also shows that it can be done with the simplest means.

But seriously, should I maybe get you a set of jack stands for Christmas? Actually, that might be too late. What do you do when it gets cold in November and you're running low on firewood for the stove? Then you won't be able to do any more car work.


Greetings, Georg.

You, do you not think that what's standing here will be consumed by fire in three years? And beech wood is a hundred times better than any support stand. The boiler has a capacity of 35kW.

Just a moment. I need to follow up on this again, more insistently.

I just noticed that your shock absorber is missing, and the driveshaft is just dangling around. Are you sure that the control arm, with everything attached to it, can simply be removed by loosening the 4 screws described above?

If you leave the ball joint on the suspension strut, you'll need to disconnect the driveshaft either in the center or at the transmission side, and then swing the entire assembly out. The length of the driveshaft isn't sufficient (this is also true for the standard engines of the Polo, the driveshaft in the picture is a custom-made one!).
Please note the hammer head as a support for pressing! It is important that the screw, which holds the control arm from the front in the direction of travel, is tightened in the compressed (!!!), i.e. upright, position. This means: insert the screw, position the vehicle, and tighten it from the front using two long 1/2" extensions.

I had already inwardly paid due respect to the refinement of the hammerhead.

"Then I suppose the best thing to do is to remove the kingpin. That way, I can replace them at the same time, and as I said, the alignment will have to be adjusted anyway."

Do you have any tips regarding the appropriate tool to use to push out the ball joint? VW uses a special extractor tool with the part number T20147. Do you know what similar tools could be used?

Which ball joint do you want to press out? The one from the tie rod?
Usually, hitting it firmly with a hammer from the side is enough to loosen it. It then comes loose at the cone. However, I use a Hazett extractor with a fork that presses against the nut attached to the ball joint using a pressure screw.

Loosen the nut on the ball joint stud, but don't remove it completely. Use a pipe wrench to grip the top of the nut and the cast housing where the cone sits, and apply some tension. Then, gently tap the cast housing laterally with a hammer. This usually dislodges the cone from its seat with a sharp impact, without needing a puller. With the ball joint, you won't have enough space to work without removing the ball joint housing directly above it, because you likely won't be able to get the nut off completely if the ball joint is stuck.

No, not the ball joint from the tie rod.

I would like to disconnect the connection between the control arm and the wheel bearing housing and completely remove the control arm.

Simply loosening the three screws that hold the so-called guide joint, or support joint, is not enough if you want to completely remove the control arm. I don't think, and Deus confirmed this above, that the available clearance is sufficient to be able to lower the control arm.

According to Erwin, the procedure involves removing the ball joint from the wheel bearing housing in order to disassemble the control arm. I initially thought I could avoid this step, as it also seems possible to remove the control arm simply by loosening the three screws that hold the ball joint in place.

I just saw that Deus has replied in the meantime.
Thank you for the description of how to remove the tie rod end without using a puller.
What should I do with the pivot joint if there's no space above it?
You probably mean there's no space for the pipe wrench, or the hammer.
It should work with the right extractor tool, though. I don't want to have to remove the driveshaft.

Well, I can already tell that it's difficult for me to imagine all of this. I haven't actually seen the car yet -- it's not being bought until tomorrow .
I'm going to look at the whole thing in person first. That will make a lot of things clearer.

Thank you for the answers so far!
Georg.