# A pictorial how to on A3 suspension installation



## Silly_me (Jul 26, 1999)

I posted it here because it's more likely to be useful here...and I have decided to stay away from the A3 forum















The following steps/pics may be of help with anyone doing an A3 suspension installation. This was done on my ABA “Base” Suspension Jetta. The Plus suspension setup will have a different front bearing/mount.
*TOOLS NEEDED:*









*1.* Breaker Bar (I broke an 8” long 3/8” drive so I traded it in on an 18” long ½” drive bar that worked like slicing butter). I only needed this for the 18mm front lower damper mounting bolts.
*2.* Torque Wrench
*3.* Ratchet
*4.* Pliers (adjustable)
*5.* Adjustable Wrench
*6.* Haynes manual. Surprisingly good pictures for this procedure.
*7.* Slotted nut tool (this is a “Base” Suspension only tool and is a PITA to use, purchased from the potters)
*8.* Upper strut nut tool (this is needed for all A3 applications, purchased from the potters as well)
*9.* 7mm allen socket
*10.* Socket extension
*11.* 7/8” Crow’s foot (to be used with the torque wrench and the slotted nut tool)
*12.* 1” Crow’s foot (to be used with the torque wrench and the upper strut nut tool)
*13.* Deep and shallow socket 17mm (for the rear applications)
*14.* 18mm socket for the front assembly.
*15.* 10mm socket for the front brake line carrier
*16.* The Holy Bible
*17.* The item most used on the vortex. Thread lock.
*18.* Spring Compressor (I picked up a Craftsman for $40)
*19.* 15/16” socket used for the spring compressor.
You will also need:
Big ole can of WD40
Jack
Jack stands
*PARTS NEEDED* (things _I_ replaced):
*Front:*
Bilstein HD dampers (came with top self-locking strut nut)
Shine 200 pound springs
I decided not to upgrade to VR6 bearings. Adirondack Auto Brokers has a good deal on the front setup that includes the following (all for $49):
2 Front strut bearings
2 Front strut bumpstops (my originals were in fine shape, but since I had new ones I replaced them anyway).
2 Front strut dustcovers (these were shorties and were not as good as the original so I just reused the originals as they were in fine shape)
2 Slotted Nuts
*The following bits were purchased for the rears:*
Bilstein HD dampers (came with two lower 17mm nuts and the top 17mm self locking sturt top nut. Also came with new metal spacer sleeve, new lower spring seat and the upper circlip washer-a better one than the original IMO)
Shine 120 pound springs
2 Rear bumpstops (the originals on both sides were completely destroyed!)
2 Rear Lower Upper strut mounts
2 Rear Upper Upper strut mounts
*WHAT I RE-USED FROM THE ORIGINAL STOCK SUSPENSION:*
*Front:*
Lower damper mounting bolts and nuts
Dust Cover (as explained above)
Bumpstop washer
Upper spring seat
Dust cap
_Rear:_
Lower damper mounting bolt and nut
Damper protective cap (not a requirement as I understand)
Upper Spring seat
Spring Support
Dust cover (unless you bought a new one)
Dust Cap
Upper Upper mount top and bottom covers (metal washer bits)
Dished washer


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## Silly_me (Jul 26, 1999)

*Re: A pictorial how to on A3 suspension installation (Silly_me)*

*PROCEDURE FOR THE FRONT INSTALLATION:*
Pop the bonnet. Loosen lug nuts, properly chuck the rear wheels and jack the car up. Position jack stand to your liking and remove wheel.
Using an 18mm socket loosen the lower damper mounting bolts. Do not remove the bolts yet. **NOTE** These nuts/bolt might be TIGHT. My driver’s side one was responsible for destroying one of my ratchets, and one of my breaker bars







I recommend soaking them in WD40 before attempting to remove. I had no trouble with the passenger side, and the driver’s side was better when I finally went out and bought a real breaker bar















Using an 10mm socket remove the brake hose carrier from the damper body. Secure it out of the way. Note it’s position on the damper…it’s tricky to get it back on.
Place something (I used a car ramp) under the disc brake to prevent the axle from swinging downward and avoiding potential damage to the CV joint.
*Below is a pic of the lower damper mounting bolts. Note the 10mm socket on the brake line bracket bolt.*







]
Stand up and go to the engine bay.
Pop off the upper dust cap at the top of the strut tower.
You should see the “stop” with the top of the threaded damper shaft sticking up in the middle. A bolt will be fixed to the damper. This is the strut top nut. (see image)
*Front strut top (note nut in the centre)*








Place the Strut Top Nut tool over the nut. Slide the 7mm allen socket attached to the ratchet (using the extension) through the middle of the tool until it is properly seated in the damper shaft. (NOTE: I will have more front suspension pics uploaded by next week…they are currently on regular 35mm















) Have your ratchet set in the “tightening” position (this will prevent the damper shaft from turning and damaging the damper when you remove the nut). Use your adjustable wrench, set to 1” and place it on the outside of the strut nut tool and loosen and remove the nut (taking care not to allow the shaft to turn if you plan on saving the dampers).
Remove the nut and the stop and place them to the side.
Now go back to work in the wheel well. Remove the lower mounting nuts. Firmly grab the damper body with your right hand and remove the bolts with you left hand, catching the damper from falling on the CV boot. Remove the damper (done most easily by moving the bottom of the damper towards the rear of the wheel well, down and then out.
Take the damper assembly to an area with lots of room and good light. Using the spring compressor (following mfgrs recommendations/instructions!) compress the spring until you see it pull away from the upper spring seat (I sat on my ass with the damper in front of me and the assembly bottom on the ground).
My method for spring compression was 15-20 ratchet turns (half turns) on one side, and the 15-20 turns on the other side back and forth until the spring was sufficiently compressed. This allowed for as linear compression as possible.
Don’t mess with compressed springs…..
















Once the spring is compressed take the slotted nut tool and your adjustable wrench and the 7mm allen socket (to keep the damper shaft from twisting in the same manner as described for the strut top nut except you no longer need the extension) and remove the slotted nut. **HINT** If you want to, the slotted nut is fairly soft and I tapped lightly on the tool with a hammer/wrench handle and seated the tool into the nut. This method aids in keeping the tool’s teeth from jumping off the nut’s slots.
Remove the strut bearing. Remove the upper spring seat. Remove the compressed spring and slowly decompress it. Remove the bumps stop *RETAIN THE WASHER* and the dust cover. For the hell of it, press down on the damper shaft and see if yours was blown like mine








Now, it’s time for installation. First and foremost, clean everything that is to be re-used. Lower mounting hardware, dustcover, bumpstop (if you didn’t want to buy a new one), spring seat etc.
*Below is a pic of the front damper and spring with all the bits:*








Slide the new spring over the new damper. Compress the new spring in the same manner as the old spring. ***NOTE*** If you are installing performance and/or lowering springs you will be surprised at how little (compared to stock) compression is needed. Install the new Bumpstop-dust cover combination (they lock together in tounge and groove fashion). Install the bumbstop washer. Install the spring seat and the new strut bearing. Tighten the new/re-used slotted nut down with your finger and then use the slotted nut tool, torque wrench with the 7/8” crows foot extention (compensate for new torque setting taking into account the crow’s foot additional length, for instance the proper torque spec for the slotted nut is 30 ft lb. But with the crows foot the adjusted rate for my wrench was 26 ft lb. Length of torque wrench divided by the length of the torque wrench combined with the length of the adapter times the torque needed = the adjusted torque spec. My torque wrench was 10” long the crow’s foot was 1.5” ) and the 7mm allen socket (with the ratchet set to the “loosening” position) to hold the damper shaft stationary as you tighten the slotted nut. Tighten the slotted nut to the proper torque setting.
*Note the below pic, the spring is compressed (overly so







) and the ratchet with the allen socket is holding the damper shaft still while the torque wrench (with crow's foot) is attached to the slotted nut tool tightening to the proper torque):*








Align the spring so that when de-compressed it will seat properly in the lower and the upper spring seat and slowly de-compress the spring. Remove the spring compressor and bring the newly assembled damper assembly back to the wheel well.
*Below is a pic of the damper assembled. The upper mounting bits are to the right:*








Insert the top of the damper into the strut tower from below and swing the bottom of the damper over to it’s lower mounting point. Slide the bolts into the lower mounting point and affix the nuts down finger tight. Move up to the engine bay and place the stop over the top of the damper shaft and use your new self-locking nut and tighten it down by hand. Then use the 7mm-extension-ratchet (set in the loosening position), top strut nut tool, torque wrench with (1” in my case) crow’s foot (with proper settings taking into account crow’s foot length the same formula applies as for the slotted nut tool. The Top strut nut needs to be torqued to 44ft lbs. The length of my wrench was 10” divided by the combined length of my wrench and the crows foot-11.7” multiplied by the needed torque-44 equals the settings for the torque wrench=38ft lb. If this makes no sense I’ll post a link someone gave me that is really good). Tighten the bolt down to the proper torque. Affix dust cap.
*Note the pic below: The ratchet with extnension has the allen socket holding the damper shaft stationary while the torque wrench with crow's foot is attached to the upper strut tool tightening to torque:*








Re-install the wheel and lug nuts and lower the car. Tighten the lug nuts to the proper torque (81ft lbs) and turn the front wheels so that you can access the lower damper mounting nut. Apply thread lock to the lower damper mounting nut (unless you opted for new self-locking) and tighten the nut to the proper torque (70ft lb).
Pic of the finished product. Note how the stock dust cover completely encases the damper shaft:










[Modified by Silly_me, 6:56 PM 4-1-2003]


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## Silly_me (Jul 26, 1999)

*Re: A pictorial how to on A3 suspension installation (Silly_me)*

*PROCEDURE FOR THE REAR INSTALLATION:*
Loosen the lug nuts on the rear wheel. Jack up the car and support with jack stands. Remove the rear wheel.
I jack up only one side at a time. Doing so will cause you a bit of trouble with the torsion beam (see below). You can jack up both sides at the same time which will make installation easier, but you need to support the axle when you remove the damper assembly or it will fall damaging the brake lines. I chose the one side at a time method because it is necessary to do some work from inside the car (granted you are standing outside of it at the time but the thought of a car on jack stands makes me wary anytime I’m working inside of a car).
The lower mounting bolt head for the damper is located on the inner side of the damper mounting point. (see pic below) ***NOTE*** a plastic clip was covering my bolt head and caused for a brief moment of hysterical confusion as the clip was not listed in the Bentley manual







If you have such a clip, you must remove it by gently pulling up on the lower end of it. The nut for the mounting bolt is located INSIDE of the torsion beam. You can feel it with your fingers. ***NOTE*** a metal clip held my nuts in place (that sounds a bit odd














) and there really was no need for me to secure them when loosening or tightening the bolt.
*The arrow on the left is pointing at the nut inside the torsion beam. The arrow on the right is pointing to the bolt head.*








Loosen the bolt. ***NOTE*** If you jack up only one side of the car at a time you will have to fight the torsion beam a bit. Your first battle will be to hold the beam down while you maneuver the bolt out of the damper mounting point. If you fail to do this, the torsion beam will crimp the bolt against the edge of the damper and the edge of the mounting hole when you are 75% of the way out and cause you to curse.
Your second battle with the torsion beam begins as soon as you successfully remove the mounting bolt. You will need to press it down far enough to maneuver the bottom of the damper out of the mounting point. It’s helpful to have a friend nearby or a wife/girlfriend that can stand on the torsion beam forcing it down while you leisurely free the damper.








Now open the rear door, fold the seat back down (this procedure is different in a golf) and lift the parcel tray up with one hand while removing the dust cap with another. Take care not to damage the parcel shelf…if this is too much of a PITA for you, you can remove the parcel shelf following uncle Bentley’s directions.
*Top of the rear strut top assembly:*








You will now see a 17mm bolt holding down a brass colored dished washer (see above pic). Remember, if you want to keep/reuse this damper you will need to use an allen key to keep the damper shaft from rotating when removing the bolts! Remove this bolt and make sure to keep the washer and note which side is up and which is down. Now you will see the upper upper rubber strut mount being held down with another 17mm nut. There is a metal washer between the mount and the nut. Remove this nut *BUT REMEMBER* that the lower damper bolt has been removed and you will need to catch the damper before it falls. Removing this second 17mm nut will free the damper from the top. Keep the metal washer from the top of the upper upper mount and keep the washer from the bottom of the mount as well. Keep in mind which washer was on top and which one was on bottom (they are of different sizes so if you get them mixed up you can figure out which is which later.).
Remove the damper assembly from the car and proceed to the well lit open place where you worked on the front damper. ***NOTE*** there is a good chance that the lower upper mount will still be stuck in the strut tower when you remove the damper assembly. So if you don’t see the rubber mount on top of the damper assembly, go fetch it up the strut tower.
I’ve been told it isn’t necessary, but the rear springs IMO looked to be under a bit of compression so I used the spring compressor on them as well. Better safe than sorry. I used the same procedure for compressing the rear springs as I did for the front springs. Once the spring is compressed remove the 17mm nut holding the spring support and seat down (it is also holding the metal spacer sleeve down as well, that’s the sleeve that the lower upper mount slides over.).
Remove the metal spacer sleeve and retain if necessary (my Bilsteins came with a new one). Remove the spring support, the spring seat, the bumpstop (mine were destroyed) and the dust cover. Now you can remove the spring and decompress it in the same manner as the front springs.
Now, it’s time for installation. First and foremost, clean everything that is to be re-used. Lower mounting hardware, dustcover (if you didn’t want to buy a new one), spring seat (mine looked to be covered with wax, I’m gussing to preserve the rubber), spring support, etc.
*Below are all the bits for the damper assembly (sans the upper mounting hardware). Please note that in the pic all bits are in order of appearance except for the bottom spring seat washer (it goes on before the bottom spring seat) and the spring itself is upside down in the pic*
















Take your new damper and install the new lower spring seat washer and lower spring seat (align the holes in the seat according to the Bentley, but essentially you align the hole with the hole in the lower damper mounting point). Install the (if you want to) damper protective cap from the stock unit to your new unit. Install the new spring (I compressed my new rear spring mildly just for ease of work). Install the new bumpstop and dustcover (these go in together, connected via tongue and groove). Install the new upper circlip washer (you will notice the bumpstop has an indention that will allow it to seat with the bottom of the washer, but don’t press it too hard up!) making sure that the washer is properly seated over the circlip. The bilstein’s washer will actually “click” into place.
Now install the upper spring seat and spring support. Slide the metal spacer sleeve down on top and tighten the 17mm nut down on top of the metal spacer sleeve with your fingers. Using an allen key to hold the damper shaft stationary, tighten the 17mm nut properly with a torque wrench. I must admit I cheated here. I was too cheap to run out and buy a crow’s foot for the torque wrench on this application so instead I used a deep 17mm socket on the torque wrench and tightened it down while holding the damper shaft itself with a pair of pliers (taking care not to scar the damper shaft!). This procedure isn’t very hard to do as the torque spec for this nut is a mere 11 ft lbs and thus there is not a lot of torque being applied to the shaft (making it easy to hold still with pliers).
Slide the new lower upper mount over the metal spacer sleeve and bring the entire assembly back to the car.
*Below is the rear damper completely assembled with the upper mounting hardware (the bits that are installed from inside the car) off to the right in order of appearance.*








Place the top of the damper through the strut tower hole and maneuver the lower end of the damper into it’s mounting point. Again, if you only jacked up one side you will need to press the torsion bar down in order to gain enough clearance for the damper’s mounting point. If you are working alone you can finger tighten the strut top down inside of the car so that you don’t have the chance of the damper falling as you attempt to maneuver it, just make sure that you first place the upper upper mount and it’s washers over the damper shaft before you put the nut on!








Once the damper is in place, slide the lower bolt through the mounting point and the damper. You will need to press the torsion beam down a bit to keep it from crimping the bolt in the way in. Tighten the bolt down but don’t torque it yet (I don’t think there would be a problem if you did torque it down now, but Bentley adivses to torque it down when it’s on the ground and that causes a bit of clearance problems).
Now go back into the rear seat and (if you didn’t already place the upper upper mount in there to hold the damper from falling as mentioned above) install the washers on the upper upper mount and finger tighten the 17mm nut down. Grab your torque wrench with a deep socket and tighten down the 17mm nut to the proper torque (11 ft lbs). I was able to do this without the need to hold the damper shaft still with an allen key by holding the damper shaft stationary in the wheel well with one hand and tightening the bolt with the other hand.
Now place the dished washer (the gold one) onto the assembly. Take you new self-locking nut and tighten it down to the proper torque (18ft lbs). Again, I didn’t use an allen key to hold the damper shaft stationary as I did the same procedure as described above.
Once that’s done, re-attach the top dust cap. Put the wheel back on. Lower the car. Tighten the lug nuts to the proper torque (81 ft lb) and then torque the lower damper mounting bolt (unless you tightened it before lowering the car) to the proper torque (52 ft lb).
Viola!
Put your tools away. Throw out the old crappy stuff that can’t be reused. Take the old crappy stuff that can be reused and sell them on ebay. The below pic was all that was salvageable on my 128,000 miles Jetta. Everything else, including all dampers were blown
















Wash your hands. Get in your car and drive. Hopefully you won’t have any clunking, thumping, bumping, or other odd noises








With my taking pictures of everything, and cleaning everything as I went. And taking many many little breaks. And refilling my rum several times. The entire installation took me about 3 leisurely hours per wheel





















This does count the time spent running out to the tool store for the things I thought I had but lost. And the tools I broke. And the wife asking where dinner was. And the kid wanting to do something that required my assistance etc etc etc








It’s simple. Straight forward. Easy with the right tools. And extremely satisfying to know you did it all by your self







No need to pay some guy money to do it, and judging by many posts I’ve seen, do it wrong.
Any questions let me know. I’ll get the rest of the pics up when they are developed. I’ll also re-read this when sober to make sure it’s right


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## VW97Jetta (Sep 5, 2002)

*Re: A pictorial how to on A3 suspension installation (Silly_me)*

I think this one deserves the "Tutorial of the Year" award.....
Nice knuckles http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif


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## Glenn J (Feb 16, 1999)

*Re: A pictorial how to on A3 suspension installation (Silly_me)*

Hellofa write up. Excllent work. http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif


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## the governor (Jan 24, 2002)

*Re: A pictorial how to on A3 suspension installation (Glenn J)*

that is awesome you should link it to the thread at the top of the 2.0 page. this is unreal http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif


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## DonL (Feb 28, 1999)

*Re: A pictorial how to on A3 suspension installation (tenacious jett)*

Silly, a classic how-to that should be preserved for all time. If someone can't figure it out after that, then there's not a single synapse firing.







http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif


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## Seanathan (May 1, 2002)

*Re: A pictorial how to on A3 suspension installation (DonL)*

Great write up man! http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif \
P.S. I think i'm going to steal that spring compressor picture for my 1.8t buddies...hahaha


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## becones (Apr 17, 2002)

*Re: A pictorial how to on A3 suspension installation (Seanathan`)*

great post. http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif but after seeing your hand like that, I'd rather bring it to the shop lol .. good job man







http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif


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## eirjordan (Feb 15, 2002)

*Re: A pictorial how to on A3 suspension installation (becones)*

awesome post. this should be sticky in the DIY FAQ


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## LangsamKafer (Jul 17, 2001)

*Re: A pictorial how to on A3 suspension installation (becones)*

quote:[HR][/HR]great post. http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif but after seeing your hand like that, I'd rather bring it to the shop lol .. good job man







http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif [HR][/HR]​I could be mistaken... but that looks like grease to me.


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## Silly_me (Jul 26, 1999)

*Re: A pictorial how to on A3 suspension installation (LangsamKafer)*

quote:[HR][/HR]
I could be mistaken... but that looks like grease to me.[HR][/HR]​
It's blood







Or ketchup


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## theuean (May 11, 2000)

*Re: A pictorial how to on A3 suspension installation (Silly_me)*

hahaha i called ya on the ketchup


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## Silly_me (Jul 26, 1999)

*Re: A pictorial how to on A3 suspension installation (Speedemon)*

I added the rest of my pics


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## volks25 (Dec 14, 2001)

*Re: A pictorial how to on A3 suspension installation (Silly_me)*

COOOOOLLL now do one for mark 4's!
hehe


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## skicross66 (Feb 19, 2003)

*Re: A pictorial how to on A3 suspension installation (volks25)*

sorry about your eye


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## vwman099 (Sep 27, 2002)

*Re: A pictorial how to on A3 suspension installation (Silly_me)*

Does the "crows foot" do an accurate job of reading the torque?
........
N/M need to read the post a little more, my fault!!!
Great Job!


[Modified by vwman099, 3:16 PM 4-1-2003]


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## Silly_me (Jul 26, 1999)

*Re: A pictorial how to on A3 suspension installation (vwman099)*

quote:[HR][/HR]Does the "crows foot" do an accurate job of reading the torque?[HR][/HR]​I stole this from another forum:


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## DonL (Feb 28, 1999)

*Re: A pictorial how to on A3 suspension installation (Silly_me)*

Silly, you're really scaring me.
Posting formulas and great how-to instructions... I remember those wild and crazy days of sheep and badgers. 
Good times. Yep, good times...


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## veedub11 (Mar 10, 2002)

*Re: A pictorial how to on A3 suspension installation (DonL)*

great job http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif this should def. be bookmarked some where


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## Silly_me (Jul 26, 1999)

*Re: A pictorial how to on A3 suspension installation (DonL)*

quote:[HR][/HR]Silly, you're really scaring me.
... I remember those wild and crazy days of sheep and badgers. [HR][/HR]​
LOL I'm still suffering from the aneurysm that you caused when you posted that pic of the shriner whipping the blow up sheep LMFAO







Bwahahahhaaha how I miss those days of yore


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## vwbrvr6 (Jul 31, 2002)

*Re: A pictorial how to on A3 suspension installation (Silly_me)*

Great write up and it came at the perfect time becuase I was to do this job on my Jetta tonight. But a problem came up..... I can't get that damn top nut off of the front struts. MY buddy and I were trying and trying and it would not budge. It got to a point where the hex tool started to strip the inside of the strut rod, thats when I decided to call it a night. Im going to have to find someone with airtools which I don't think I'll be able to do, so I'll probably have to have a shop do it. Big bummer though because I love to do my own work on cars, and hate to pay shops but. I am very







right now.


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## RomeoRx2 (Jan 21, 2003)

*Re: A pictorial how to on A3 suspension installation (Silly_me)*

does anyone know where i can get one of those red service manuals from for cheap, i have the haynes but it's not as detailed as i'd like it to be, or if anyone has one F/S please im 
thanx


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## VW-HEAD (May 1, 2003)

*Re: A pictorial how to on A3 suspension installation (volks25)*

Hey Silly_me:
Have you added anymore pictures that you were talking about? I'm going to put some Bilstein Sport shocks/struts on my 1995 VW Jetta GL III this weekend. I also bought some Dropzone coilovers to go with them, but the spring won't fit over the Bilstein dust boot. I guess I'm going to have to use the factory dust boots instead. When I bought the Dropzone coilovers they didn't come with any instrutctions and I'm







confused







about four large rubber o-rings (about the size of a silver dollar) that I have no idea where they go. Any ideas? Have you fixed the problem with the gap at the strut tower or found out why? I'll be sure to let you know how my suspension adventure goes this weekend, thanks for the great write-up. wish me luck.........
VW-HEAD










_Modified by VW-HEAD at 10:51 AM 5-1-2003_


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## Silly_me (Jul 26, 1999)

*Re: A pictorial how to on A3 suspension installation (VW-HEAD)*


_Quote, originally posted by *VW-HEAD* »_Have you added anymore pictures that you were talking about? 

For the most part those are all the pics I've got. What were you looking for specfically?

_Quote »_I'm







confused







about four large rubber o-rings (about the size of a silver dollar) that I have no idea where they go. Any ideas?

Doesn't sound familiar to me. It may be part of the coilover? I'm not familiar with those.

_Quote »_Have you fixed the problem with the gap at the strut tower or found out why?

That's going to be this weekend at the earliest. I can't think of anyway to fix it though. It's puzzling


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## LangsamKafer (Jul 17, 2001)

*Re: A pictorial how to on A3 suspension installation (Silly_me)*

I changed out my suspension last night... (and a bit the night before







) New equipment included Shine Springs (200/120) and Boge Turbo Gas shocks & struts.
I had a few items different... and most the same. Here are some of my observations.
Get a can of penetrating oil (as opposed to WD-40) and hit the nuts on the front lower mounting bolts in advance and give it a bit of time to work. I recommed using a 18mm deep socket on these same nuts. A peice of hollow pipe comes in very handy when removing the nuts (torque multiplier) unless you are looking for a reason to buy more tools









Similar to Silly, my driver-side strut was a bear to get out, passenger side was easy. (The front right corner alone took me 3.5 hours on the first night) I thought I had a 15/16" socket for the spring compressor... but I didn't, so I had to do it with a large crescent wrench









The remaining 3 corners were complete in 4.0 hours on the second night, not including cleanup time. (I bought a 15/16" socket







)

The Boge Turbo Gas Struts had 6mm sockets on the shaft as opposed to the 7mm socket on the OEM struts.

The Boge Turbo Gas Shocks had flats on the shaft end, as opposed to the socket on the Bilsteins. A crescent wrench work great here.

I was able to use a 17mm box-end wrench on the upper shock mounting/lock nuts as opposed to a socket. I avoided removing the parcel tray and dinking around in a confined space with my big hands.

On the shocks, the part Bentley lists as "insulator" was very, very, worn on the original suspension. New ones were not included with the new shocks, and I haven't seen them offered for sale anywhere?

Both shocks were completely shot & leaking oil. Rear bumpstops were disintegrated beyond what Silly's pictures show above. Springs were heavily rusted. Upper-upper shock mount rubber in good condition, Lower-upper shock mount rubber mildy deformed.

Both struts were shot. Driver side had about 1" of rebound... and passenger side maybe 2" rebound. Again, springs heavily rusted. Strut bearings were moderately deformed.

The nuts on the lower shock mounting bolts were not held captive by metal clips on my car. A 17mm open-end wrench was used.

Following the Bentley instructions, I removed the upper shock mounting hardware before jacking up the rear end and did both sides simultaneously.
I had the rear end of the car up on jackstands, and used a bottle jack under the rear brake drums to load-up/lift the rear suspension during installation.

Oh yeah... the suspension is awesome! http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif


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## Silly_me (Jul 26, 1999)

*Re: A pictorial how to on A3 suspension installation (LangsamKafer)*








Congrats







I still can't say anything negative about the shine springs


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## DonL (Feb 28, 1999)

*Re: A pictorial how to on A3 suspension installation (Silly_me)*

You won't hear it from me, either.
The car rides and handles better now than with the previous set of springs. Hell, the CD changer doesn't skip anymore. http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif








I'm diggin' the extra height as well. I'm not one of those "drop it til the pan scrapes" guys. Frankly, I think that look gets extreme and looks stupid, IMO. My wife and I take photo trips around the state on the freeway, smaller highways, dirt roads, back roads, two tracks, whatever. The added height, clearance, and suspension travel are great.
My only problem was that whoever installed the Bilsteins on the car goofed up the order of the hardware on the rear. Worst yet, they _mangled_ the top socket on the passenger side shock. It took me an hour to get that one bolt off without having to sacrifice the shock and get a new one. Friggen' hacks...







http://****************.com/smile/emthdown.gif


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## Silly_me (Jul 26, 1999)

*Re: A pictorial how to on A3 suspension installation (DonL)*


_Quote, originally posted by *DonL* »_My only problem was that whoever installed the Bilsteins on the car goofed up the order of the hardware on the rear. Worst yet, they _mangled_ the top socket on the passenger side shock. It took me an hour to get that one bolt off without having to sacrifice the shock and get a new one. Friggen' hacks...







http://****************.com/smile/emthdown.gif
















Oh man I would be soo pissed off. To date I have not bought a previously modified car, so nothing like this has ever happened. But I have encountered questionable repair practices that previous owner's mechanics had used


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## Cheese302 (Oct 12, 2002)

*Re: A pictorial how to on A3 suspension installation (Silly_me)*

seriously, don't mess with spring compressors, i was working on a 66 mustang, but the external compressors are considered even more dangerous, but it was an accident, and i have used the tool multiple times since, don't let my being in a splint for 12 more weeks discourage, pay attention to what you are doing, and everything will be fine. 
http://www.imagestation.com/my...43940

_Modified by Cheese302 at 4:45 AM 7-13-2003_

_Modified by Cheese302 at 4:46 AM 7-13-2003_

_Modified by Cheese302 at 4:47 AM 7-13-2003_

_Modified by Cheese302 at 4:50 AM 7-13-2003_


_Modified by Cheese302 at 4:51 AM 7-13-2003_


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## VW97Jetta (Sep 5, 2002)

*Re: A pictorial how to on A3 suspension installation (Cheese302)*

That's gotta hurt....


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## nappent (Oct 16, 2003)

*Re: A pictorial how to on A3 suspension installation (Silly_me)*

pics don't work please fix!


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## DemonEater (Jan 29, 2001)

*Re: A pictorial how to on A3 suspension installation (nappent)*

And move to Suspension forum while yer at it!








(wow did THIS one come back from the dead)


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## Pagano (Sep 24, 2001)

*Re: A pictorial how to on A3 suspension installation (DemonEater)*

erm...technically...(refering to the post with the pictures of what torque is)
Force x Distance = Work
Force x Moment Arm = Torque
Moment Arm: Distance from pivot to point perpendicular to force. It just so happens that with a wrench, the "Moment arm" is essentially the distance from the bolt, to where you apply the force. However, in Physics terms...Distance =/ Moment Arm. Distance is just that, how far something traveled. And if you know with what force it traveled, you can calculate the amount of work done. 
...see I can make educated statements every once in a while!


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## mikemcnair (Mar 28, 2003)

*Re: A pictorial how to on A3 suspension installation (Pagano)*

bringing this back from it's vacation... what would happen if the top of the rear shock, the threaded part, was not exposed enough to put all of the pieces back together? in the following pic you will see two lines drawn, line #2 is indicating how much of the top of of the shock's shaft is supposed to come through into the car. line # 1 is how much ACTUALLY is up, and able to be accessed. 








here's the thing; there is enough there to put a bolt on, which i did for a temporary fix. my fear is, it will cause too muck stress on the top of the rod, and break sending me over a cliff or something. so as the car sits, the shocks are being held in WITHOUT ALL OF THE PIECES!!!! please let me know if there is a special way to get the rod to come through the perch more. 
i hope this makes sense. thanks in advance for any help.


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## Guest (Mar 28, 2006)

*Re: A pictorial how to on A3 suspension installation (mikemcnair)*

put the lower bolt in, and jack up the trailing arm


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## mikemcnair (Mar 28, 2003)

*Re: A pictorial how to on A3 suspension installation ([email protected])*

thanks for the fast response, however i did that to no avail. it seems like the darn thing won't come up. we even put blocks on the jack, THEN jacked it up, and it still only has 3 or 4 threads exposed.


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## mikemcnair (Mar 28, 2003)

*Re: A pictorial how to on A3 suspension installation (mikemcnair)*

bump for some insight.....


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## mikemcnair (Mar 28, 2003)

*Re: A pictorial how to on A3 suspension installation (mikemcnair)*

http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=2524537


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## DaddyOfPayton (Feb 24, 2004)

*Re: A pictorial how to on A3 suspension installation (Silly_me)*

http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif so I can find this thread later


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## nunez08 (Feb 21, 2008)

*Re: A pictorial how to on A3 suspension installation (DaddyOfPayton)*

there's no pics
yes i tried right click show picture.


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## Chapel (Jun 23, 1999)

*FV-QR*

I believe it's because this thread is 5 years old
Silly needed more webspace for his Sheep photo archives


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## JEsse Johnston (Oct 27, 2007)

*Re: A pictorial how to on A3 suspension installation (Silly_me)*


_Quote, originally posted by *Silly_me* »_
Doesn't sound familiar to me. It may be part of the coilover? I'm not familiar with those.



those O rings are most likely to be put on the damper shaft and then snugged up to the damper can to indicate suspension travel. when the suspension strokes and returns to it's static position the O ring will be left behind at the lowest point of travel on the shaft, indicating how much the shock strokes during use. (or least wise that how we do it on bicycle suspension... don't know why you would need to know this in a car?








)


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## scrubdub (Aug 24, 2008)

*Re: A pictorial how to on A3 suspension installation (Silly_me)*

book marked...


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## phatso786 (Jul 8, 2008)

*Re: A pictorial how to on A3 suspension installation (Silly_me)*

is it me or are the pics not showing up?


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## Jersey_Quaker (Jan 17, 2007)

*Re: A pictorial how to on A3 suspension installation (phatso786)*


_Quote, originally posted by *phatso786* »_is it me or are the pics not showing up?

They're not showing up for me either. A previous post said the pics were deleted. It'd be nice if we could get them back...?


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## ornithology (May 6, 2009)

*Re: A pictorial how to on A3 suspension installation (Jersey_Quaker)*

boo pics are dead


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## GTIbrandVW (Nov 29, 2011)

Great DIY!


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## Silly_me (Jul 26, 1999)

OK, by popular demand :laugh: I have painstakingly spent the past eight years reenacting the aforementioned pictures sequencers and have uploaded the finished product. Only three sheep were injured in this effort. Thank you kindly :laugh::beer:


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