installing strut inserts on my A2

[dagnamit at gmail.com (Brian Wagner)]

Visual for the front struts

http://www.vintagewatercooleds.com/tech/Techtips/Timbotechnotes/struts/struts.htm


On 4/6/07, Jim R <sciroccos@earthlink.net> wrote:
>
> OK.  I'll give it a shot.
>
> On each side:
> With the car on the ground, crack the axle nut loose (30 mm socket,
> breaker
> bar) and remove it.
>
> Jack the car up and remove the wheel.
>
> Use channelock pliers or a pipe wrench to crack the strut cartridge
> retaining nut loose.  This will save you a lot of trouble later as the nut
> is usually pretty tight.  This is the large "cap" you see about midway
> down
> the strut housing.  In some cases, there's not enought room between spring
> coils to do this, but it's worth a shot.
>
> Remove the caliper (17mm?) and brake rotor (#3 phillips).  Hang the
> caliper
> nearby with some mechanic's wire.
>
> Disconnect the tie rod end from the hub carrier (remove the cotter pin and
> the retaining nut (19mm?)).  You may need a puller to get the end unstuck
> from the carrier arm.  Do not use a hammer on the threaded part!  You can
> tap on the side of the tie rod end to loosen it, though.
>
> Loosen and remove the ball joint bolt (17mm?)
>
> Tap a little on the end of the driveshaft to loosen the splines from
> inside
> of the hub.  Tap it gently towards the trans.
>
> Use a huge screwdriver or prybar to disconnect the lower control arm from
> the hub carrier, while pulling the entire strut assembly away from the
> wheelwell.  You can also just bang the control arm down (towards the
> ground)
> with a mini sledge hammer or big hammer to get the balljoint to release.
> Pull the strut housing towards you while pushing the driveshaft end all
> the
> way back out of the hub.
>
> Remove the two 13mm strut bearing nuts while supporting the strut and
> remove
> the strut.
>
> Compress the spring securely with a good compressor.
>
> Remove the upper strut insert retaining nut.
>
> Keep track of the relative location of the nut, washer, bushing, etc.
>
> Remove the spring and stuff.
>
> Remove the strut cartridge nut and the cartidge can be replaced.  Make
> sure
> there's oil or power steering fluid in there to help conduct heat away
> from
> the insert.
>
> Installation is the reverse of removal.  No need to do an alignment this
> way!
>
> Takes about an hour and 15 mins to do both sides if you have the right
> tools
> (incl air tools), are comfortable with the job and you hustle, assuming
> there are no snags.  I would allow 3 to 4 hours or more.
>
> Possible snags: breaking the tie rod end free from the hub carrier,
> getting
> the ball joint loose from the carrier, a possible sticking of the
> driveshaft
> in the hub, loosening the big strut retaining nut, remove the rotor
> retaining screw - hammer around the hub a bit to shake things loose before
> you try to remove this - make sure you have a #3, rather than a #2
> phillips - a motorcycle shop hand impact driver works best to crack this
> loose (uses a hammer - tool costs about $10).
>
> Use a little anti-seize lubricant on the driveshaft splines when you
> reassemble.
>
> HTH
> Jim
>
>
> >-----Original Message-----
> >From: David Brown [mailto:sharpshooter33@roadrunner.com]
> >Sent: Friday, April 06, 2007 9:54 AM
> >To: scirocco scirocco
> >Subject: installing strut inserts on my A2
> >
> >
> >Ok I have a nice set of Bilstein Strut inserts HD's from Potterman
> >at Parts4vw(gratuitous promotion).... I've looked at my Bentleys
> >but it's not really clear on replacing the inserts.
> >
> >Can someone throw me a basic procedure and were I'm probably gonna
> >run into the pain in the A$$ part and how they got it done and how
> >long it takes.
> >
> >Thanks
> >David
>
>
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