Bora R32 Build Thread

[beale187]

Fronts had to be done in 2 stages. Struts and springs, then the R32 knuckle swap.

Undo top mount nut - 60nM


remove sway bar link - 90nM, brake lines and abs wiring from the strut.


new links


Undo strut to knuckle bolt 60nM + 90' and insert knuckle spreader bit


Pulled the strut out, had to swap over the brake line/abs bracket. Litte bit of anti-seize inside the knuckle to stop the strut from seizing in there.




Done.


Quick comparison height wise
R32 EU v R32 AU

[beale187]

Bora knuckles V R32 knuckles.

Note the R32 position of the ball joint sits lower. This helps bring the driveshafts closer to parallel when the vehicle is lowered.




And the Bora arms V R32 arms.



Note the tapered end of the arm allows for wider track and more camber adjustment.



I was all over the place trying to get this done in one day so i may have missed a few steps here but they would've been covered previously when I installed the front struts.

First step was to undo the inner CV joint whilst the knuckle and brake caliper were still attached. I didn't get a pic of it but I normally take a small flat head screw driver (marked in red) and slip it between the brake caliper and the carrier and into one of the disc vents. This stops the wheel from turning whilst undoing the inner CV joint.


6x M10 triple square. Torqued to 70nM.


Removed the knuckle


Removing the control arm was fairly straight forward, 18mm bolt / nut at the rear (70nM +90')
and 1 at the front (also 70nM + 90').

Problem with the front one was it kept hitting the sump before I could fully extract it.


So I was forced to lower the whole subframe to get the clearance needed and pull the arms out.


Tie Rods.
On standard Golfs / Bora the tie rod ends face downwards and angle towards the rear of the vehicle.





When installing R32 knuckles it's necessary to flip them upside down - THEN swap them left to right so they angle towards the rear. Note the angle changes when flipped upside down.

[beale187]

This unfortunately is where I came unstuck, I fitted the rod ends into the knuckle but there was a stupid amount of play.


So as it turns out when I stripped the knuckles from my old R32 the knuckles have metal sleeves in them, which in my case were still stuck on the R32 steering rack.


sleeve removed.


Pressed it back in the knuckle and that fixed that set back.


Got the knuckle back in the car, note the tie rod end now faces UPWARD.

[HaydEn]

Awesome stuff man!

Great detail, makes for a great read.


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[beale187]

Awesome stuff man!

Great detail, makes for a great read.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks mate, I'm hoping to get it to the track some time this year and look at ways of adding a bit more power in the future.

But there's no point adding power if I can't go around corners and stop when I need to! So suspension and brakes come first.

[dylan8]

It's happening!
Thanks for sharing all the numbers and documenting the whole thing.

Where you were discussing the driveshaft. Did you happen to compare the lengths when full compressed vs full extended. I would have thought the 32 one was a smidge longer (or atleast had a longer reach) as the suspension track is wider.
But maybe the bearing plays some part in that

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[beale187]

Didn't measure them exactly but the R32 one does seem a bit. Looking back at that pic I'm thinking the extra length is picked up at the axle end cup (just before the splines) looks to be about 10mm longer.

[beale187]

Brakes.

So I had my mechanic fit some R32 brakes about 2yrs when he changed the master cyclinder.

Rotors and pads were shot pretty much on all 4 corners and the paint was looking very sad. So I took the opportunity over the 4 day long weekend to rip in and replace and repaint the lot.

Jacked it up, removed the wheels.

First step, clamp all the lines.



starting at the rear, lever down the handbrake cable bracket and push the cable end out.


disconnect and cap the line and plug the caliper.



undo the slide pins (install back to 38nM)


undo the carrier bolts. (install back to 80nM)


And it's off.

[beale187]

Fronts are much easier

undo the brake pad wear sensor


undo bracket line support bracket (10nM) and brake line


remove carrier bolts (install self locking bolts back 125nM, clean if reusing)


Done

[beale187]

next up was the most time consuming sh*t of the whole process.

Stripping down, cleaning and masking them up.

Started by splitting the front caliper and carrier.

remove the protective cap


then slide pin (install back to 25nM)


push the pistons back.


* Rear pistons are twist and push, may need a rewind tool for that job *

Hit everything with a degreaser, then a hose down, then hot water and dishwashing liquid with a scrubbing brush.
After that, dremel with a wire wheels, wire brushes, sand paper. Basically whatever it takes to get those b*tches clean, even if it means you remove a little paint. THEN another quick wash


On the rear, you can pull off the slide pin bushes. On the front I found it easier to push them from the side that faces the pad. Little bit of WD40 helped


Also decided to sand down any rust spot where bare metal was exposed. For example where the pads ride.

Before


After


Then time to mask up.