Volkswagen Passat Front End Clunk Fix

The 1998 to 1999 Volkswagen Passats had two different sway bar linkages up front. Volkswagen changed the design some time in the middle of the 1999 production run. Given that they changed the design there was an obvious problem with the original linkage setup. I started to get a clunk when going over bumps and the car had a tendency to wander at high speed.

The front suspension on a Passat uses four separate aluminum control arms each with a ball joint at one end and a rubber bushing at the other end. If installed incorrectly the rubber bushings can wear out prematurely but that's a whole other subject for my blog. To determine if your bushings or ball joints are worn out you'll need to jack up the car. Make sure you are being safe when jacking up the car....

Please read this article from Automedia.com for information on jack safety, also refer to your Bentley or Haynes manual for tips on jack safety for your specific car.

Grabbing the wheel and checking for looseness didn't come up with anything. I grabbed a crowbar and tried moving the control arms at the bushing end, the bushings didn't have any play at all. The rear bushings did squeak a little bit but other than that it was fine. The upper link bushings also didn't look torn or damaged.

To differentiate between the early and late model Passats they are referred as the B5 and B5.5. B5 is the designation given by the factory to the platform the Passat is built on. The B5.5 links use two rubber bushing on either end of the link with the bolt going through it rather than the dual ball joint setup. The B5.5 links were MUCH more stiff than my car. It could be a function of age but the B5.5 seems to have much more stiffness there.

Updating is nothing more than ordering the parts. Be sure to shop around as dealers can set their own price markups.

8D0 411 317 D (left)
8D0 411 318 D (right)

Nuts: N10332001 or N10286102 (depends upon VIN#????)
Bolts: N10425301

You'll need 4 nuts and 4 bolts.

The links are 42 dollars each from Liberty VW, I believe the bolts and nuts total up to 8 dollars.

The installation wasn't a big deal at all. Use a 16mm box end wrench to remove the nuts on the original links.

These are the original ball joint style links.
Jack up the suspension until you have enough room to pull the link out of the boss on the control arm (the strut will be in the way otherwise). Remove the clip on the boss and toss it. Replace with the new parts and you're good to go.

This shot shows the old parts vs. new parts. This is the driver's side new link installed.
I can honestly say the links made a HUGE improvement in my car! The high speed wandering is greatly reduced and the stability in turns is much better. It isn't as darty but I definately like the handling improvement, I have much better confidence in the car because of the stability.

Previously mid turn bumps would upset the suspension whereas now the car handles them easily. We have a few diagonal elevation changes on the freeways here that would cause my car to head for the next lane, this effect is greatly reduced by the new links.

The clunking noise is about 98% gone now. My tie rod ends are new so I'm guessing it is normal noise or a little wear in the four other ball joints. Of course this is in comparison to my brother's 2002 B5.5 so maybe the '99s just transmit more suspension noise.