easiest way of changing front shocks on a B5 ?

[trevMk2]

Hi
Front shocks gone on the wife’s 2001 Passat Tdi130 Sport and I need to know the easiest way of removing the strut. Haynes (book 4279) recommended process is a bit like the process described here :_

http://home.comcast.net/~hhong4/shockspringinstall.htm (http://home.comcast.net/%7Ehhong4/shockspringinstall.htm)

in that it includes removing the pinch bolt. Done loads on searching on here and on passatworld and everyone says that removing the pinchbolt can be a right mare .

This show a way that avoids hammering and the risk of cracking the housing

http://www.passatworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=233225&highlight=pinch+bolt

Anybody got any suggestions on removing the strut without having to battle with the pinchbolt? For instance does disconnecting the antiroll bar allow the lower arm to be forced down enough to get the fork on the shock past the lower arm? Or does the lower ball joint need to be split to avoid the risk that forcing the strut past the arm may damage the cv boot?

Any reason to expect trouble with strut/lower arm bolt ?

Cant have car off road for too long and will want to order up new nuts n bolts beforehand so I 'd like to know easiest way before starting.

Thanks
Trevor
ps anybody know the size of the nut on top of the strut spindle?

[adamss24]

There are 2 plastic caps wich cover access holes to the strut holding nuts. The socket is a 13mm. Then, you will need to remove the shock bolt on the front wishbone and to compress the spring so the shock go over the front arm. Its very fidly and clearance is minimal so everyone removes thee pinch bolt as the main housing comes off easy after the 3 bolts are removed. If you remove the shock toghether with the alloy bracket and the top arms, you will need the geometry checked afterwards. You will need few speciasl tools to undo the nuts. First if you can get an 18mm deep spaner/deep socket and an allen key to counter hold the shock...I use a set off vortex spanners wich allow threading an allen/torx key trough the core to get thye right leverage.

[trevMk2]

Thanks to adamss24 for info.
Agree with you that not really enough space to fit compressors in situ but since I made my first post I have now found a post in another forum that says that disconnecting anti-roll bars DOES allow the lower control arms to drop (just) enough to get the fork on the shock over the control arm without having to compress spring.

http://www.dubclubs.com/vw-passat-spring-install.html

anybody done it this way ? seems quicker than battling with pinch bolts ?

Trevor

[adamss24]

Thanks to adamss24 for info.
Agree with you that not really enough space to fit compressors in situ but since I made my first post I have now found a post in another forum that says that disconnecting anti-roll bars DOES allow the lower control arms to drop (just) enough to get the fork on the shock over the control arm without having to compress spring.

http://www.dubclubs.com/vw-passat-spring-install.html

anybody done it this way ? seems quicker than battling with pinch bolts ?

Trevor
It works but there is a risk of breaking the cv joint boot . If you have sport suspension it may prove a bit tricky as the spring is very stiff and wont let the shock move much. You can however fit one compressor on one side of the spring(front) and it might give you enough clearance to work with. I have done it either way and i allways remove the main strut + top arms as its much easyier to work after everything is off. I suggest you fit bilstein shocks as they are easy to set-up compared with the genuine ones. If you go for genuine shocks, pay attention to the way the shock go in relation with the spring lower hat as its easy to mess up !

[trevMk2]

Hi Had planned to fit bilsteins from ECP or Boge turbo gas from GSF - wasnt aware of set-up benefits of bilsteins. Very aware of risk of CV boot damage but wasnt sure whether sport set-up likely to increase the risk or decrease it !! Had a quick look this pm and pinch bolt well rusted so not sure how to attack it ! How do you normally get pinch bolt out ?

Thanks (again).

Trevor

[Crasher]

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd20/Crasher1964/3B-8Dtopbolttoolmain.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd20/Crasher1964/forcingoutbolt.jpg



http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd20/Crasher1964/ForcingoutB-J.jpg


Either that or heat the bolt up and destroy the upper ball joints and possibly damage the upright.

[Eddie]

If you are not in a rush to do the job spray the pinch bolts every day the week before you are doing the job with penetrating oil,after a good soaking get a strong arm and try and crack the bolt it will either turn or the head will snap off,if it snaps put steering on full lock and drift it out with a suitable drift it is a pig of a job when i did mine i was doing all the wishbones as well so i split my on the workbench which made life easier,other than that invest in the tool that crasher has.(big show off)

[Crasher]

Hah hah! :D Anyway, one slight catch, if the bolt head snaps off clean that means the bolt is jammed in the end of the casting. If you hit the bolt to drift it out, you can snap the back section of the casting off, I know this from experience, that is why I was a flash sod and bought the tool.

[Izalman]

Proper film of Crasher at work......

http://www.klann-online.de/englisch/Filme_E/KL-0250-40_E.htm

[Crasher]

I am far better looking than that…

[passat 130 tdi]

when the guy turns the strut to 0' or whatever it was , i take it thats the allignment part i have read here about , my question is can a diyer change the struts and somehow mark something up on the strut prior to removing the spring to make reassembly as accurate as possible without that equipment .??

[Crasher]

That tool has been slightly improved since I bought mine, the top arm press bolt threads are now reinforced and the pull handle for the press pins is a good idea. Another thing, that video is not shown on a car with a seized bolt, I have had some that were so seized in that it stripped the thread on the press sleeve and buckled the bolt in the tool. Twice my mechanics have broken the tool and the spares are daft money. That kit shown in the video comes out at well over £3K not including the trolley.

It is not so necessary to have the alignment gauge if you pay attention to the alignment and replacement dampers have moveable lower spring plates which helps. It is critical that when you put the strut assembly back in and bolt it up to the body that the lower damper fork passes over the lower arm and allows the bolt to be inserted without any twisting of the damper being necessary. If the damper has to be twisted to allow the bolt to pass through, the suspension alignment will be pulled out.

My front strut tool isn’t made by Klann and is a little more affordable but it was still about £300.


http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd20/Crasher1964/Passatfrontstrut16.jpg

[passat 130 tdi]

ta 4 that mr.crasher. i understand it now. thanks again :beerchug: