Author Topic: Subframe Fitting Guide- Hints & Tips  (Read 16925 times)

Offline Yoof

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Subframe Fitting Guide- Hints & Tips
« on: June 13, 2011, 09:47:13 pm »
Polo Performance Parts Subframe Fitting Guide

If you have any questions about the following guide, please e-mail: enquiries@poloperformanceparts.co.uk

This is intended to be a guide- Polo Performance Parts Ltd take no responsibility for the work carried out on your car using this guide.

Preface:
General fitting time required: 5-6hrs
Tools: Socket Set, Jack, Axle Stands, Dead blow hammer, torque wrench

A minor incident with a curb is sufficient to significantly alter the chassis., If you know your car has been in an accident- or have had previous problems when fitting suspension components, we can modify frames to suit your car-please discuss this with us directly so we can address your needs..

The sub-frames and wishbones mount on existing anchorage points of the polo chassis, in our case being the rear track control arms mounts, and front anti roll bar mounts. You will not need to buy anything additional to fit these kits; they are a bolt on conversion.
Measure your wheelbase (centre of front wheels to centre of rear) each side- note these down, it is normal for them to be different left to right.

Once you've unwrapped your subframe and assembled the frame it should look something like this:



*Text Missing- Compression Strut Assembely*

Step 1: Removing the standard ARB
Jack the car up and support securely and remove both front wheels. The standard anti-roll bar is easily removed if done in the following order:
1)   Loosen ARB pinch bolts through the TCA
2)   Loosen pinch bolts into the hub
3)   Loosen the Front ARB bolts
4)   Loosen the Rear TCA bolts
The standard ARB should now drop away from the car with the track control arms, remove these from the ARB and put the ARB in a safe place, you won’t be needing it again!

Step 2: Chassis Prep
The standard Polo chassis has large amounts of underseal on the TCA mounting points, and two stamping marks. These will impede subframe fitting- remove the underseal/dirt with a wire brush, and the metal dimples on the rear of the TCA mount with a file.

Remember to treat any exposed metal before fitting the subframe. Vactan is a good rust treatment, and cheap on eBay.

Step 3: Gear linkage and Exhaust Removal
You will need to remove the following items to fit the subframe:
1)   Gearlinkage- 10mm socket on the location bolt and pull out the way
2)   Exhaust- split at the downpipe
3)   Standard gearbox mount, support the engine with a jack, and remove the standard gearbox mount, keep the rubber, you’ll need this later.

Step 4: Fitting the Subframe
At this point it’s worthwhile loosening the inner ARB mount, the two bolts for this are located inside the drivers side wing- this needs to be torqued back up correctly upon refitting.

Now the ARB mount is loose, offer up the subframe to the rear TCA mounts- you will need to keep the front elevated so everything lines up.

All Polo-PP frames have standard holes drilled 0.5mm larger than respective bolt diameters, this is to enable a very tight fit, and increase chassis rigidity. At this point you will find out if your car has ever had a front end knock, no matter how minor. It is acceptable to drill out mounting holes by approximately 1mm if/where required. If you have any problems at this stage with fitment please e-mail us for advice, do not under any circumstances drill out the holes so the subframe can move on the chassis with the bolts in place- this defeats the object of it.

The following fitting order makes life easier:
1)   Front nearside ARB mount (UK passenger side)
2)   Rear TCA mounts- line up TCA, Chassis and subframe and fit bolts
3)   Front offside ARB mount
Once complete tighten the front ARB mount up in the inner wing- check Haynes for correct torque setting.

Step 5: Fitting Gearbox Mount
A picture says a thousand words, assemble as the picture shows:

This uses the standard gearbox rubber- it is recommended that this be replaced when fitting the subframe is its history is unknown or clearly worn.

You can now refit the exhaust and gearlinkage- check you can get all 6 gears before going any further.

Step 6: Fitting the Compression Struts
The compression strut is adjustable on the car, this adjusts the castor angle of the wheel.
Castor is down to personal preference and dictated by wheel/tyre combinations and arch clearance.
The compression struts are supplied in the longest possible length- if you need to shorten the strut to increase castor please remove material from the rose joint end, this is threaded approximately halfway down the strut.
Wind the compression strut all the way in so it’s as short as possible. Assemble onto the car as follows:



Note the clevis pin bolt locknut is on the underside of the strut.
1)   Tighten the rear strut bolt whilst supporting the clevis assembly so not to twist the strut.
2)   Tighten the clevis pin bolt
3)   Tighten the front rose joint bolt to the subframe

Step 7: Ball Joints & Wheels
Refit the ball joints into the hub as per Haynes instructions, and refit the wheels.
Lower the car down to the ground.

Step 8: Final setup

The subframe should now be fitted to the car and all bolts be tight- with the exception of the two locking nuts either end of the compression strut.

With the car on the ground measure the wheelbase again and compare to your initial measurements. Increasing the wheelbase length will increase the stability of the car whilst entering a corner and throughout the bend.

To adjust the length of the compression strut turn It by hand until the desired wheelbase/castor setting is achieved. As previously mentioned you may have to shorten the strut by removing material from the rose joint end, to further increase castor to your desired angle.
Once you’ve adjusted both sides to be equal, secure the strut and tighten both lock nuts. It is good practice to mark all bolts which are torqued and tightened so you can visually check they’re still secure.

Step 9: Driving
After a final check over all the bolts, gearlinkage, rear gearbox mount and exhaust, check the wheel bolts are tight, and take the car for a drive, listen for any unusual sounds.
The car should feel a lot more stable under braking, cornering and hard acceleration, with torque steer reduced massively.
We recommend you get used to the car for a few hundred miles, and then make castor changes to suit your needs, a track only car would generally run as much castor as possible- this isn’t always an ideal solution for everyone, the frame should inspire confidence and make the car far more enjoyable and controllable to drive.
Once you’ve covered a short distance with the frame we recommend you check all bolts for torque and that the frame isn’t rubbing/catching anything.

FAQ/General Info
These subframes are not a ‘bolt-on’ modification, they may require a certain degree of engineering especially when used with different engine combinations. They will not fit with a 1.4 16v AFH using a standard sump.
Wheel/tyre combinations- dependant on the combination there may be contact with the compression strut, wheels/tyres rubbing on any part of the bodywork or suspension components is unsafe, and an MOT fail. 6” wheels with an offset lower than ET33 will generally clear the subframe struts, please contact us for further info.
If you have any questions about your subframe, the fitting of it, or you would like it fitted for you, please e-mail us at: enquiries@poloperformanceparts.co.uk We will be happy to help you on your way to having an older Polo which handles well!



« Last Edit: May 06, 2016, 07:20:12 am by Yoof »

Offline Jezza-7

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Re: Subframe Fitting Guide- Hints & Tips
« Reply #1 on: June 13, 2011, 09:54:33 pm »


You can now refit the exhaust and gearlinkage- check you can get all 6 gears before going any further.


Do you mean 5 gears?

Good guide there yoof. And still the best subframe out there!


Offline dub-disaster

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Re: Subframe Fitting Guide- Hints & Tips
« Reply #2 on: June 13, 2011, 10:02:09 pm »


You can now refit the exhaust and gearlinkage- check you can get all 6 gears before going any further.


Do you mean 5 gears?

Good guide there yoof. And still the best subframe out there!


6 including reverse

Offline Jezza-7

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Re: Subframe Fitting Guide- Hints & Tips
« Reply #3 on: June 13, 2011, 10:09:15 pm »
Oh yeah, true. I dont count reverse as a gear usually. I will take my comment back lol.

Offline cheys03

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Re: Subframe Fitting Guide- Hints & Tips
« Reply #4 on: June 13, 2011, 10:18:18 pm »
Excellent guide Pete!
Worth noting that with early frames the compression arms aren't adjustable in situ? Also any changes to the castor angle should be followed with a tracking session, or comedy clown car steering may result.
Haynes lists the arb mount bolts to be 120Nm/89lbf ft :o

Offline Yoof

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Re: Subframe Fitting Guide- Hints & Tips
« Reply #5 on: June 13, 2011, 10:55:17 pm »
Aye 6 gears wasn't a slip of the fingers on keys, reverse is usually the pain!

Chris- very good point regarding tracking, ARM mount is silly torque, but does use high tensile bolts (M12 iirc) so should be fine, I think ARB bolts (the 4 M8 ones) are 25Nm, I'll consult Haynes book of lies tomorrow and update the thread.  :)

Offline Yoof

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Re: Subframe Fitting Guide- Hints & Tips
« Reply #6 on: June 13, 2011, 10:57:13 pm »
Oh and anyone wishing to upgrade their earlier frames to have adjustable arms on the car, I'll get the parts numbers from Hayesey (he's done this on his) was about £60 in parts I believe, and you get new rose joints etc too.

Offline hayesey

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Re: Subframe Fitting Guide- Hints & Tips
« Reply #7 on: June 14, 2011, 09:30:19 am »
One thing I'm not sure you've mentioned.  When fitting the new rear gearbox mount to the gearbox casing, you mount it using two of the actual case bolts and one of the original mount bolts.  You need to replace the case bolts with ones approx 10mm longer than the originals or you'll find they only grip a very small amount of thread and will strip it off.

Offline Andy

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Re: Subframe Fitting Guide- Hints & Tips
« Reply #8 on: November 28, 2012, 02:23:07 pm »
Standard G40 dimensions, according to the Super Coupe Cup regulations are as follows:

Wheelbase: 2335mm
Front Track: 1320mm
Rear Track: 1346mm

This might help others with setting the wheelbase post-Stage 3 subframe fitment.

Offline scully

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Re: Subframe Fitting Guide- Hints & Tips
« Reply #9 on: March 23, 2014, 07:27:31 pm »
Hi, I've bought a PPP subframe a couple of years ago, and the rose joints weren't delivered inside the rubber (dust jacket). So my question is, how do I get the rose joint inside the rubber, and do I need to grease it before putting it in the rubber, and if so, what type of grease do I use?
« Last Edit: March 23, 2014, 07:30:40 pm by scully »

Offline Yoof

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Re: Subframe Fitting Guide- Hints & Tips
« Reply #10 on: March 23, 2014, 08:26:55 pm »
A general purpose LM grease will suffice, the easiest way to get the dust jacket on is to heat them slightly (warm water) dry them off, then stretch them over. If you have some circlip pliers they can help.

Bit of a struggle, but definitely worthwhile putting them on, if you do damage them then Rally Design sell replacements for a few quid.

Cheers

Pete

Offline scully

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Re: Subframe Fitting Guide- Hints & Tips
« Reply #11 on: March 24, 2014, 07:28:22 am »
Thanks for your reply, I will give it a go one of these days. LM grease is just regular bearing grease? If so, I can take some from work.

Offline UJA

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Re: Subframe Fitting Guide- Hints & Tips
« Reply #12 on: June 17, 2015, 05:12:07 pm »
Currently struggling to fit my stage 3 frame, I have the rear tcas in place bolted up, now I'm onto the front ARB mounts. The Allen key bolts provided don't go through the hole on the rear side of the front ARB mounts. The frame doesn't allow it?! Has anyone had this problem and what's the solution?