E85 Front suspension/shock absorbers- How To

bigwinn · Post by **bigwinn** » Sat Dec 18, 2021 5:11 pm

No worries gents

Wouter I’ve yet to do front suspension and find that the upper and lower rubbers are past it- but of course if you want peace of mind go for it!!!

WouterZZZZ · Post by **WouterZZZZ** » Sat Dec 18, 2021 10:38 pm

Thanks, I will replace them after nearly 17 years of perfect service. You have inspired me a lot. Have nice Christmas holidays. Off course I will let you know once I’ve replaced it all. Frgr Wouter

True-Blue · Post by **True-Blue** » Sat Dec 18, 2021 10:41 pm

WouterZZZZ wrote: ↑Sat Dec 18, 2021 10:38 pm Thanks, I will replace them after nearly 17 years of perfect service. You have inspired me a lot. Have nice Christmas holidays. Off course I will let you know once I’ve replaced it all. Frgr Wouter

I had no choice as my car was running on coilovers when I bought it, and the original struts were not included. I have to say though, the spring pads are cheap as chips really, so worth replacing IMHO

Zulu4 · Post by **Zulu4** » Tue Jul 12, 2022 6:40 pm

Thanks Stuart for the great write-up.

I just changed my front shocks for Bilstein B4's and I noticed a couple of things which others may find useful.

Firstly, the B4's have a longer shaft than the OEM shocks that were on my 3.0Si Sport. I had read that someone was concerned that this would be the case and that the B4's would now be in a permanently compressed state when fitted. I understand why now, so time will tell how they do.

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Secondly, when I refitted the spring, I initially thought this was the correct place for the bottom end to go, as it seemed to fit nicely against the lip of the rubber.:

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But looking at Bigwin's and my other side which I hadn't dismantled, it seems the end of the spring needs to be in this position:

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bigwinn · Post by **bigwinn** » Tue Jul 12, 2022 7:02 pm

That had me foxed for a while Rob as it looked like it should sit into that groove flush- but it doesn't!

Well done

And thanks again for the loan of VCDS

thespannerman · Post by **thespannerman** » Sun Jul 24, 2022 3:53 pm

Just ordered and now awaiting delivery of all the bits to do mine, but intriguing bit about the lower spring position as I would have also thought it would have gone up against that step in the rubber.

Al

enuff_zed · Post by **enuff_zed** » Sun Jul 24, 2022 3:55 pm

thespannerman wrote: ↑Sun Jul 24, 2022 3:53 pm Just ordered and now awaiting delivery of all the bits to do mine, but intriguing bit about the lower spring position as I would have also thought it would have gone up against that step in the rubber.

Nope, mine have always been the same, don't quite line up as you'd think.

Zedebee · Post by **Zedebee** » Sun Sep 17, 2023 11:01 pm

Hi Bigwinn, how did you torque up the top nut to 64Nm without the piston spinning? NewTIS says to use a special tool. I can’t for the life of me remember how I did it last time.

bigwinn · Post by **bigwinn** » Mon Sep 18, 2023 6:41 am

If I recall I did it as tight as I could off the car with mole grips on the shaft then installed on the car and re torqued with the weight on the wheels

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