How to Change the Sway bar bushing and sway bar endlink on new beetle (1)

Sep 26
18:56

2013

Olivia Tong

Olivia Tong

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The sway bar (sometimes called anti roll bar) connects the left and right suspension to the front subframe. There are bushings on the middle and ends (end links). Your VW TDI only has a sway bar in the front, there is no sway bar in the rear because it's a torsion beam suspension.

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The sway bar (sometimes called anti roll bar) connects the left and right suspension to the front subframe.  There are bushings on the middle and ends (end links).  Your VW TDI only has a sway bar in the front,How to Change the Sway bar bushing and sway bar endlink on new beetle (1)    Articles there is no sway bar in the rear because it's a torsion beam suspension.  A sway bar reduces car lean during cornering by effectively connecting the left and right springs/suspension.  Unbalancing the front and rear lean will change how the car understeers or oversteers.  Some understeer is desirable to maintain stability.

 

The procedure is the same for all mk4 a4 body cars.  The sway bar is connected to the lower control arms by the endlinks and resists body tilting during turns.  VW/Audi sway bar bushings tend to get worn out fairly quickly.  The endlinks last much longer.  Symptoms of a bad sway bar bushing include a deep/hollow clunking noise in the front when you hit shallow holes or bumps.  Check for play in the sway bar bushings since the bushing's hole gets enlarged with wear.  Below is the bracket and a new and old bushing.

I prefer "rubber" sway bar bushings.  Poly or urethane sway bar bushings are generally harder and last longer but may squeak and make noise.

 

Different bushings and brackets over the years

Early TDI may have used 19mm diameter sway bars.  Later used 21mm sway bars.  Still others used 23mm sway bars.  There's no way to tell if you have a 21 or 23mm sway bar so the only way to check is to get out a caliper and check.  Early TDI had a different bushing bracket, if you have the early bracket without the rib down the middle, also get a replacement bracket to match your replacement bushing.

 

Sway bar endlink info

There were 3 types of sway bar endlinks: metal, plastic with 16mm bolt, and plastic with attached allen bolt.  Although the metal one is slightly different from the plastic, they are interchangeable as long as you replace them as a pair.  There are aftermarket thicker and adjustable endlinks available but you'd be better off with thicker sway bars and other suspension modifications first.

Parts for sway bar bushing replacement

 

2 sway bar bushings, one each side - make sure to check which diameter sway bar you have!  There is no way to check by the VIN, you have to measure it.  There is also some confusion on the part numbers, the part number ending in "T" appears to be 23mm but comes up as 21mm on some websites.

21mm bushing VW# 1j0 411 314 t  23mm bushing VW# 1j0 411 314 g new style bushing clamp VW# 1j0 411 336 d

Parts for sway bar endlink replacement

sway bar endlink VW# 1j0 411 315 h

 

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