IRS control arms won't fit onto frame

[facultyofmusic]

I'm having some troubles mounting my IRS control arms. I'll do my best to explain what I mean:

The IRS UCA and LCA both have 2 mounting points that mount onto the frame. It seems that the distance between the 2 mounting points on the control arm is longer than the 2 mounting points on the frame. As a result, the control arms cannot be mounted onto the frame because if one side goes in, the other side won't fit. I've measured the difference between the two to me ~3/16th to ~1/8th depending on the control arm.

Here's a picture to illustrate what I mean (might have to enlarge picture to see the annotations) 154033

Note the obvious gap on the left side of the mounting point. In that picture, right side mounting point is a flush fit.

Any ideas on what to do in this case? I've read through several build threads looking for anyone with experience on a similar issue but couldn't find any. If I missed a post on this I'd really appreciate a redirection to it.

[egchewy79]

it's not uncommon to have to spread those mounting tabs apart a bit. use a 1/2" piece of threaded rod, some nuts and washers. by spreading the nuts/washers along the threaded rod inside the mounting tabs, you can bend the tabs a bit outward to get the control arms to fit appropriately. There should be some washers/spacers that are used as well per the manual to get things snug once the control arms are in the tabs.

[edwardb]

Yes, very common to have to "adjust" the suspension tabs during assembly. The method described using the threaded rod works great. There aren't any spacers in the IRS setup. So once you get them in, tighten the bolts to the specified spec and you'll be good to go. Expect to do the same for the front suspension where spacers are normally used on the lower control arm. One other hint. Take the time now to put some grease in the ends through the grease fitting. Be careful not to expand the bushings out though. Make sure some of the grease is on the outer surfaces of the bushings. Will confirm you have them properly greased plus makes assembly a bit easier.

[32J]

I just posted about this same issue on my build. See post #21 in https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?38175-32J-s-MKIV-Build-Thread-Project-quot-Serpente-quot.

I'll upload some pictures later. But the solution that others have mentioned above is what I ended-up doing.

[JohnK]

As others have said, very common. I had to adjust all of my control arm mounts - some more than others, to get everything to fit properly. I have the "spreader" that I used to adjust them if you want to borrow it but it's nothing more than a section of threaded rod and some nuts and washers.