VW POLO 2003 1.2 Advisory items during MOT

[su966]

I had an MOT on my car on May 21 2010.
Advisory items:
1. Advise O/S/F Wishbone Bush Perished and cracking (May get worse)
2. Advise very slight play in o/s/f antirollbar drop link knuckle (may get worse).

I want to replace these items as soon as possible. I will use a local garage instead of main dealer. I will buy the items from main dealer and use a local garage to replace them. Please give me some idea what I should buy. What does o/s/f means? Any input on this matter will be highly appreciated. About item 2 I am not clear at all. What exactly I should buy.

Note: This forum has helped me to solve my engine light problem. Forum has identified that Coolant temp sender is faulty. After I replaced it no engine light and engine starts every time. No fuel smell. Thanks to everybody.

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

osf means 'offside front'

Take the advisory note to the dealer, they'll sort you out with the right bits. Alternatively your local garage should have no problem ordering the parts direct from the dealer.

 

[Burnerman]

The drop links are known as stabiliser bars, and they connect the anti roll bar to the front suspension strut. Basically its a bar of metal with a ball joint at each end. When these wear you generally hear a knocking noise from the suspension.
You can get new rubber bushes fitted to the wishbone, but its worth checking up on the price of a complete replacement one.
Outlets such as Eurocarparts or GSF are popular suppliers.
John

 

[su966]

By searching the internet I understand Seat Cupra Bushes fits POLO. These bushes are better than POLO bushes. There are two bushes. One is front rear bush. Image below:
//www.diynot.com/network/su966/albums/6030/24858
The above image shows a comparison of the two bushes.
Anybody has ideas if I can use Seat bushes instead of POLO bushes? I don't know where to buy the seat bushes that fits polo.

Someone at ebay sells bushes which are more solid than POLO. I asked them if they will fit my car. they said yes. image of the bush below link:
//www.diynot.com/network/su966/albums/6030/24859

Is it a good idea to use them?
Please let me know.[/img]

 

[SteNova]

you need a press to the the old ones out,

the orange ones are in 2 bits so just push in by hand, i assume they are floflex ones?

 

[Mickymoody]

I had an MOT on my car on May 21 2010.
Advisory items:
1. Advise O/S/F Wishbone Bush Perished and cracking (May get worse)
2. Advise very slight play in o/s/f antirollbar drop link knuckle (may get worse).

I want to replace these items as soon as possible. I will use a local garage instead of main dealer. I will buy the items from main dealer and use a local garage to replace them. Please give me some idea what I should buy. What does o/s/f means? Any input on this matter will be highly appreciated. About item 2 I am not clear at all. What exactly I should buy.

Note: This forum has helped me to solve my engine light problem. Forum has identified that Coolant temp sender is faulty. After I replaced it no engine light and engine starts every time. No fuel smell. Thanks to everybody.

Regarding the off side front (drivers side), anti-rollbar; (surely a performance item, rather than a safety item on the MOT???); anyways...my rear anti-roll bar bushes were fubar, when I bought my car, banging about. So I demanded them be fixed before I bought the car, which they subsequently were. I later found out that gaffer tape was wrapped around the bush, to take up the slack in the bush! It would need to be taken apart anyway to do that..and the part costs £3 ?

Easy peasy to fix myself. But do both sides.

Your drivers side wishbone bush is a more serious matter..that needs the suspension dropping, big job. This would affect the steering, handling, tyre control, and tyre wear. Not good.

As these items are indicated on the same side of the car, would, to me indicate that the vehicle has been involved in an accident at some stage of it's life, on the drivers side front.

It is POINTLESS you buying from a main dealer, then supplying a 3rd party with the parts, as you are paying RETAIL. The garage supplying the parts, would pay TRADE...so do yourself a favour, and DON'T buy the stuff yourself.

I find it strange that you say 'You want to replace these items ASAP, but the MOT was in May !!!??? So you ignored it for 3 months? You also might find the front tyres bald on the edges too?

 

[^neo^]

gsfcarparts.com will have the parts you need at a fraction of the main dealer price. I'd get a complete wishbone rather than sod around pushing in new bushes.

 

[Mickymoody]

gsfcarparts.com will have the parts you need at a fraction of the main dealer price. I'd get a complete wishbone rather than s** around pushing in new bushes.

I agree, if you need a press to get the bushes out, or special tools, but the rear arb bushes, were twist open, soft rubber type affairs, kind of like the exhaust hanger type materials, didn't even need to jack the car up to fit them, or grease them, just 2 bolts, each side, job done. As Neo says, the wishbone might be better obtained even from a scrappy, where they take stuff off for you, complete, might be the best option for that item.

And after you fit the wishbone, you must get a wheel alignment done, or you might need to replace the tyres sometime in the future. I've bought parts from Andrew Page in the past, they are cheaper than the dealer, and many dealer parts have been delivered via AP. Good Luck!