Replacing front coil spring

[2moto]

Hi all, a newbie here.

So, my old reliable has suffered the common broken front coil spring. I've searched on this forum (and others) and replacing the spring seems to involve undoing a certain dreaded pinch bolt. Having had a quick look underneath, and studied the exploded parts diagram on the ETKA, is not possible to just undo the top two bolts that hold the upper spring perch in place? And, the bottom bolt, of course. Is it then possible to extract the strut without having to deal with the potential pinch bolt problems?

Cheers for any help. Need to do this on Friday.

[2moto]

A bit more youtube watching answered my question. You can't get to the top two strut bolts unless you remove the upper mounting plate. Dreading having to deal with the big pinch bolt! Wish me luck!

[zollaf]

sometimes the pinch bolts just come out, sometimes they don't. i have done a few and never actually had problems. cutting the head off the bolt and then winding a nut onto the other end to get the bolt moving seems to be the way to go, if you don't have the uber expensive extractor tool built for the job. plenty of grease upon rebuild and use a new nut and bolt, then if once a year you remove it and give it a clean and regrease then it shouldn't ever get stuck, treat it as an annual service item.

[passat 130 tdi]

A bit more youtube watching answered my question. You can't get to the top two strut bolts unless you remove the upper mounting plate. Dreading having to deal with the big pinch bolt! Wish me luck! you can if you take the top 3 bolts out plus the bottom strut bolt and pry the whole leg over to get the bolts clear of the chassis . though refitting maybe tricky. get some wd40 sprayed on the pinch bolt and work the bolt to get it turning over the next few days . lining up the top hat and the arch of strut leg so its spot on,,, on refit isn't something you can just guess either

[2moto]

lining up the top hat and the arch of strut leg so its spot on,,, on refit isn't something you can just guess either

Cheers for the advice. Can you explain this a bit more?

Edited to add: Just read this thread ( Best way to get 11 degree alignment on upper strut plate (http://www.passatworld.com/forums/68-b5-garage/241129-best-way-get-11-degree-alignment-upper-strut-plate.html)) and it explains the 11 degree alignment issue. I guess most other struts I've worked on are easy to rotate once reassembled. Cheers, for the heads-up, and all other advice!

[passat 130 tdi]

Cheers for the advice. Can you explain this a bit more?

Edited to add: Just read this thread ( Best way to get 11 degree alignment on upper strut plate (http://www.passatworld.com/forums/68-b5-garage/241129-best-way-get-11-degree-alignment-upper-strut-plate.html)) and it explains the 11 degree alignment issue. I guess most other struts I've worked on are easy to rotate once reassembled. Cheers, for the heads-up, and all other advice! some good info on that page . Koni/Bilstein are easy to turn if needed. <<<< i'll be fitting these then when the time comes , id love to lower my Passat , but always huffed and puffed about getting the 11' angle , I may just do it now ..

[2moto]

OK, had a go at this today. So, it is clearly possible to remove the front strut (on my '02 130HP TDI estate) without having to deal with the double pinch bolt. I did undo the nut just to see but it wouldn't budge with just a few hammer blows, so left well enough alone.

There are two body coloured bungs in the engine bay, which when removed, give you access to the two strut bolts. It was pretty easy, although a swivel socket made it easier. So, it only took three bolts, the two top ones, and the large bottom one, to get the strut out. Took about 20 minutes.

And, yes, getting the 11 degree rotational angle between the lower bolt and the top bolts is important. I had to adjust it a bit when I first refitted it. Just recompressed the spring a bit and it rotated fairly easily.

The biggest problem was getting the new spring on. My feeble spring compressors were woefully inadequate in compressing the spring hard enough to fit the top shock rod nut. Had to take it to my friendly garage to get it fitted.

So, all in all, I replaced a broken front spring, and two outer CV boots today. Thankfully, aside from Europarts first supplying the wrong CV boots kits, no nightmares.

[passat 130 tdi]

wel done .