DIY Spring Replacement

K

ksimpson

Member
You may have seen my earlier post where we found yet another broken spring (driver's side this time).

The local Audi stealer let me down and didn't order the parts when requested. They won't be in until early next week. Problem is that my mechanic is going on two weeks holidays and I don't think we can wait that long.

The car has got worse. Lots of grinding noise the the ARB clattering off the suspension (as the car is too low due to the broken spring). The knocking happens on the slightest bump and I'm afraid it will do more damage.

Am I mad considering a DIY? I don't have a spring compressor, but reckon I could pick one up pretty cheap that would do the job. I have ordered the spring and top bearing so will do both. I presume the hardest part is removing and reinstalling the suspension strut?

Any advice would be appreciated.
 
I picked up a coil spring compressor today in Halfords which should do the job.

Looking at the workshop manual, it seems to suggest a fair bit of disassembly which seems a lot more than that in the link above. It seems that the TDi and petrol verions are slightly different as it gives separate instructions for each.

Manual:

Lift vehicle far enough to take weight off front wheels.
– Remove hexagon socket nut from drive shaft using hexagon key (19 mm), e.g. Hazet No. 985.
– Remove wheel.
– Unscrew nut from swivel joint.

– Apply ball joint puller -3287 A--1- as shown in the illustration and press out swivel joint.
Note!Take care not to damage rubber boot when inserting ball joint puller.
Left suspension strut
Additional steps are necessary when removing the left-side suspension strut.

– Detach coupling rod from right side of anti-roll bar -arrow A-.
The following procedure is the same for both sides.
– Unscrew upper hexagon nut for coupling rod at suspension strut -arrow B-.
– Detach speed sensor wiring from suspension strut.
Left suspension strut
Additional steps are necessary when removing the left-side suspension strut.
– Turn anti-roll bar upwards.
The following procedure is the same for both sides.

– Press out drive shaft.
Note!Ensure sufficient clearance when pressing out drive shaft.
– Remove drive shaft from wheel bearing housing and tie up.
– Re-connect swivel joint to wheel bearing housing.
Right suspension strut
Additional steps are necessary when removing the right-side suspension strut.
– Turn the steering to full right lock.
The following procedure is the same for both sides.
– Position engine and gearbox jack -V.A.G 1383 A- under wheel bearing housing.
 
the link I posted is from A2TDI. He's done this on several cars... However, the workshop manual is the bible. I wanted to show it's possible, it doesn't take forever and doesn't require large numbers of special tools.

Bret
 
Thanks Bret. It looks like the manual has some steps that may not be absolutely necessary. I can see how it goes when I'm doing the job. I wonder if the Audi dealers follow the "bible" rigourously? I would doubt it.

My father has worked on his own cars for the last 50 years and has taken suspension struts out of many cars (mainly Fiats). He'll be helping me so I should be safe enough.

Thanks again for your help.
 
Hi Ken
I fitted Koni FSD's to my TDi a while ago. Just like the photo link Bret provided, its possible to remove the front struts without detatching the bottom balljoints and undoing the driveshafts.
Some of the tricky bits I remember were.....
Due to difficult access the 3 bolts holding the top of the strut are a pain to undo. Best if you have an assortment of ring keys and socket sets.
Pay particular attention how the strut bearing, rubber bearing housing and strut dust cover fit together.
Make sure you fit the plastic domed cap on the strut before putting the strut assy back.
The cap can't be fitted from the top once the strut is in place (Thanks Robin for that tip)

Cheers Spike
 
Going to start the job tomorrow. I'll get the strut out and remove the spring. The replacement sping and bearing should be in on Monday (hopefully).

One thing that puzzles me. I have to remove the top bolts from the difficult side (drivers side):(

The brakefluid resevoir is in the way so I have unscrewed the bolts around it and can move it aside to give slightly better access. However, it would be much easier if I could remove the black cap. I presume this is just a dust cap that can be prised off with a screw driver and replaced as easily once the strut is back in place? This appears to be the case when looking at the workshop manual.

Spike seems to suggest that this is fitted before installing the strut which seems contary to the manual. I'm trying to make this job a bit easier and removing the black cap before removing the top bolts will help.
 
ksimpson said:
Spike seems to suggest that this is fitted before installing the strut which seems contary to the manual. I'm trying to make this job a bit easier and removing the black cap before removing the top bolts will help.
Click to expand...

Both black top plastic dust caps covering the front strut mounts normally are manually removable in-situ :)
 
BTW, the anti roll bar knocking appears to be totally unrelated to the spring. It appears to have moved towards the passenger side which means the curve on the drivers side is not clearing the suspension above it.

My father had a similar problem on a Fiat Marea. He pushed it back into place (not an easy job) and then secured with with a jubilee clip to stop it moving again. It's worked for him as he hasn't had a problem for 3 years. I'll try this and see if it remedies it.

The bushes look fine, only problem is that the ARB has moved.
 
Thanks. I'll try and pick up those bushes tomorrow. I need to get the car back on the road tomorrow night so if the bushes are not readily available, I'll use the jubilee clips and do the bushes at as a more permanent solution over the next few months.
 
Half way there. It was a hard job to remove the strut. I can now see why the workshop manual says that you need to remove the drive shaft. However, as was said above, it is possible to do it without removing the driveshaft which saves time and hassle.

Hopefully the new spring will arrive today and I can get the job finished.
 
Didn't get as much done today as planned. The car has the harder sport suspension so it was some job to get the spring compressed and on the shock. It was much easier ot get it off, but it was broken which helped.

The spring is so strong that it tends to bend when compressed. The ideal would be compressors better than the Halfords DIY job. However, we got there.

The strut is back in the car and secured at the top. Any suggestions as to how we get the shock compressed so as we can get it into the hub?

As I mentioned earlier, we didn't remove the drive shaft so the strut is lower than the hub at present. We tried to compress it, but this is a lot harder with the new spring.

Am I missing something obvious?
 
Hi Ken
Its a while since I fitted the Koni FSD shocks but I think this is how I did it.
With the car on axle stands, position the strut up inside the wheel arch then use a long bar to lever the bottom suspension down as far as it will go. Locate the bottom of the strut on top of the split housing then jiggle the hub assy round until the strut slides into place, making sure the locating rib on the strut does not snag in the split housing. Fit the pinch bolt and lightly tighten. Jack the strut into place and fit the 3 top mounting bolts. Fully torque all the bolts when the car is back on its wheels.
Let us know how you get on

Cheers Spike
 
Thanks Spike. Just reading this now, but glad to say that I figured it out in much the same way as you describe. It was a struggle but I got there. I also managed to change the ARB bushes for the smaller VW ones mentioned earlier. Hopefully that's the end of the knocking and broken springs for a while.
 
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