Spring & Shock/Damper Installation Reference Guide

[krs]

So I’m knee deep in the driver’s side front strut, replacing stock strut with VWR sport strut (matches the VWR springs I already had).

Got it out fine with the 2x4 method and everything swapped over to the new strut.

I cannot for the life of me get it back in. The first time I got it aligned and in far enough that the top of the tab was flush with the top of the pinch spindle thingy. But even that was a struggle. At least an inch to go and it wouldn’t budge no matter what, basically stuck. Couldn’t figure it out, it looked aligned, I used WD40, etc. it was so stuck I could barely get it out.

2nd attempt and I could only wrestle it in until half the tab was in. I am using the spreader tool as I go. It’s the metalnerd style (not actual metal nerd part), and the widest part of the cam is .310”. Is that not wide enough?

I measured the strut diameters and the VWR is only 6 thousandths wider, can’t imagine that would matter.

I have chisels, but how the hell are you supposed to hammer them or get any sort of leverage?

Any pointers would be appreciated, I’ve been stuck on this all day.

And two specific questions:

When putting the strut back in, should the top mount bolts be tight, or still loose? And do I need to loosen the 3x ball joint / knuckle bolts underneath the control arm? I have not tried that yet but don’t want to loosen anything I don’t have to. Currently they are not loosened.

How thick is the paint on the strut body? Might need to sand that down some.

Keep the bolts loose up top during the install.

 

[nicholam77]

How thick is the paint on the strut body? Might need to sand that down some.

Keep the bolts loose up top during the install.

Thanks. I measured with a caliper and the new ones seemed to be 6 thousandths of an inch wider than the stocks. Seems like that should be negligible.

The first time I had the top mount bolts loose, 2nd time I tried with them tight but I’ll crack them a bit and see if I can get it further tomorrow. I’m quitting for tonight.

The socket spreader I’m using says the oblong part is 5.5mm wide. At least one other person in this thread used it. But maybe it’s not enough though. I ordered one of those Hazet knock off style from Amazon that should be here tomorrow to see if that will help.

 

[krs]

Thanks. I measured with a caliper and the new ones seemed to be 6 thousandths of an inch wider than the stocks. Seems like that should be negligible.

The first time I had the top mount bolts loose, 2nd time I tried with them tight but I’ll crack them a bit and see if I can get it further tomorrow. I’m quitting for tonight.

The socket spreader I’m using says the oblong part is 5.5mm wide. At least one other person in this thread used it. But maybe it’s not enough though. I ordered one of those Hazet knock off style from Amazon that should be here tomorrow to see if that will help.

I’m not looking forward to when I need to pull my front struts again. Really was kind of a pain in the ass. I do recall I needed to use two spreaders and different points to get my Bilstein’s in.

Leaving the top nuts loose worked for me, not sure how others do it.

Good luck.

 

[nicholam77]

I’m not looking forward to when I need to pull my front struts again. Really was kind of a pain in the ass. I do recall I needed to use two spreaders and different points to get my Bilstein’s in.

Leaving the top nuts loose worked for me, not sure how others do it.

Good luck.

Thank you. I got it done last night. The spreader I was using (ATLIN from Amazon) was too small. It's 5.5mm wide, and I read at least one account of the Metal Nerd one being ~ 8.2mm wide.

The Hazet-style tool from Amazon saved me, and I had to pretty much spread it to it's max width, around 11mm, to get the VWR strut in.

I know many of you have had good luck with the Metal Nerd, but man, I think the claw-style is worth the 15 bucks to have on hand.

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And now for a separate question as I'm putting stuff back together... how do I torque the end link bolt that connects to the strut? I see it has an allen key to hold it from spinning, which I have, and a pass-through socket / ratchet, so I can get it as tight as I can with that, but I have no way to get a torque wrench on it without it potentially spinning.

Do I just get it as tight as I can with standard ratchet? Impact wrench it? Use torque wrench without the allen key holding it? I'm not sure how tight is tight enough and I don't want to damage the end link.

Most of the videos I've seen do not even use the allen key and just impact wrench it off, and then don't show the reassembly.

 

[Cuzoe]

I say claw style or a chisel is the best bet, claw style first though. Even when the spreader tools have worked I didn't like it.

 

[krs]

Thank you. I got it done last night. The spreader I was using (ATLIN from Amazon) was too small. It's 5.5mm wide, and I read at least one account of the Metal Nerd one being ~ 8.2mm wide.

The Hazet-style tool from Amazon saved me, and I had to pretty much spread it to it's max width, around 11mm, to get the VWR strut in.

I know many of you have had good luck with the Metal Nerd, but man, I think the claw-style is worth the 15 bucks to have on hand.

---

And now for a separate question as I'm putting stuff back together... how do I torque the end link bolt that connects to the strut? I see it has an allen key to hold it from spinning, which I have, and a pass-through socket / ratchet, so I can get it as tight as I can with that, but I have no way to get a torque wrench on it without it potentially spinning.

Do I just get it as tight as I can with standard ratchet? Impact wrench it? Use torque wrench without the allen key holding it? I'm not sure how tight is tight enough and I don't want to damage the end link.

Most of the videos I've seen do not even use the allen key and just impact wrench it off, and then don't show the reassembly.

If your endlink doesn’t have flat surfaces on the back, you can get a crows foot wrench that’ll fit your torque wrench, at 90° for correct torque.

Or just get it good and tight with a box wrench first. The threaded portion should stop turning when the nut is nice and tight. From there you could check it with the torque wrench.

I wouldn’t impact it personally.

 

[nicholam77]

I say claw style or a chisel is the best bet, claw style first though. Even when the spreader tools have worked I didn't like it.

I managed to get a small chisel in there at one point, but I found it pretty tricky to pound it in with the clearance of the other parts in the way.

Or just get it good and tight with a box wrench first. The threaded portion should stop turning when the nut is nice and tight. From there you could check it with the torque wrench.

Thanks, will try this first. Don't have a crows foot and my torque wrench wouldn't fit at 90° anyways. I kind of figured I could do this, just thought I'd get a gut check since I haven't come across specifically how to tighten these to spec.

 

[VL3X]

The Hazet-style tool from Amazon saved me, and I had to pretty much spread it to it's max width, around 11mm, to get the VWR strut in.

Same here. The MetalNerd bit was frustrating as hell to use. It worked well enough when I did my springs years ago, but I got the other spreader tool when the time came to do my struts.

 

[nicholam77]

I won't lie, it was a bit of a struggle for a first-timer, but finally got my VWR sport dampers installed.

Thanks to this invaluable thread!

 

[khail19]

I won't lie, it was a bit of a struggle for a first-timer, but finally got my VWR sport dampers installed.

Thanks to this invaluable thread!

Looks good! Replacing springs/struts on these cars almost makes me miss my old Subarus. So much easier, 3 nuts on top, 2 bolts on the bottom and the whole assembly is free. No spreader needed!

 

[VL3X]

Looks good! Replacing springs/struts on these cars almost makes me miss my old Subarus. So much easier, 3 nuts on top, 2 bolts on the bottom and the whole assembly is free. No spreader needed!

Yup, springs on my STIs were cake compared to my GTI. And even easier on my Lotus! Everything is easily accessible from the wheel well. Double wishbones FTW! The GTI is such a pain.. from the strut spreader to lining up the top nuts. Hoping to never have to pull mine again.

 

[GTIfan99]

Looks good! Replacing springs/struts on these cars almost makes me miss my old Subarus. So much easier, 3 nuts on top, 2 bolts on the bottom and the whole assembly is free. No spreader needed!

It took me an hour to do all 4 corners on my 05 STi.