New front legs, shockers, spring... DIY fit possible?

bye_bye_alfa

bye_bye_alfa

Member
Hi all

Wonder if you guys could give me a bit of advice please.

It appears I need to replace the shockers on the front of the car, now, also have a broken spring on one side.

As it's a 2002 TDi with a fair few miles on, I'm wondering if it's worth fixing, as most other parts are still the originals.

I was wondering if I could replace the whole legs... is the a DIY job or far too technical, or do you need special tools?
May do droplinks and ARB bushes at the same time... the list goes on!

Thanks

bba
 
Have you got axel stands and spring compressors? If so, then get it done yourself.

The biggest issue with doing the front suspension of the A2 is getting to the top mount bolts on the drivers side and splitting the hub on both sides by the lower pinch bolt to free up the base of the struts.

Apart from that, it's a simple mechanical task, which will take you around 3 hours all in. Don't worry about wheel alignment either - it's rarely out by more than 0.1º afterwards.
 
Fix it.
Shocks and springs with compressors and a Pinch Bolt lug on a socket,plus tiny hands for the drivers side top mount.
I used the weight of it all and lowered away the hub with its own weight.
It was easy enough for me
 
I’m going to watch this with interest because I think I need to do the same.

Chrisfix on YouTube has a good video on replacing shock and spring assemblies - not on an A2 alas but similar strut - and it looks manageable with stands and jack and pretty common tools.

I think the Webasto is in the way a bit on the driver side so some juggling may be needed.

Ps. Hi Mike Skipton. How are the 205/55s going? I’m about to look at rubber for mine.


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Cheers, axel stands yes, spring compressor no, I'll whip the bonnet off and have a butchers at the mount bolts and see what's what.

If I swapped the complete legs, would I need a spring compressor... I'm guessing not


Thanks for the replies, Skipton/Mike long time no hear, I was your first cruise install!

FWIW, I had 205x45 (might have been 50's, as it was some time ago) the ride was very hard, and I was glad to go back down size.
 
Thanks for the tip. I’m hoping 55s will give a bit more bounce

I think you may be able to source pre-mounted springs on struts but spring compressors aren’t too expensive or you could maybe convince a friendly garage to compress them for you. 2 min job for them.


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I did the full set on my last TDI myself. When I changed to coilovers on my current car my garage quoted £80 fitting for the whole set so to me it was a no brainer. Very much a DIY job but may be worth you paying for a garage to do the fronts only because the backs are a walk in the park by comparison.
 
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