Sachs Racing dampers

[Tempest 0]

OK, not for my Rado, but for my favourite toy, my Mk1 Rocco:

 

My Mk1 Rocco has a Sachs Racing coil-over set, where the rear dampers have started to seep a little oil.

 

Having contacted Sachs in Germany as to whether they can service them or whatever, the let me down, saying the dampers in question no longer exist, and they don't service them either. There are also no replacements.

 

Does anyone know any place where I could get the rear dampers serviced, is this at all possible, or can I even do this myself?

 

The dampers, just in case someone has ever seen them before on Mk1 Golfs etc., are painted red, with green springs. The set is rock-hard, and is a bit of a cult coil-over system amongst Mk1 Rocco and Golf drivers (as it really makes the car stick to the street like a plank, making hard cornering a pleasure), hence I'd really want to try eveything to keep them rather than start a potentially disastrous journey of trial and error with new coil-overs by other manufacturers. In a nutshell, my Rocco cannot really give at all, as it would rub on the stretched arches, and the current set-up is just perfect, it hardly gives, no rubbing whatsoever.

 

Here's a picture (look at how tight the wheels sit in those arches - no rubbing!) :-) :

 

Tempest

[billinjah 0]

there must be some one that can service them, try hagon motor cycle suspension they can service any bike shock and bike and car shocks are essentially the same, seals are often generic as it is far cheaper that way and if the rods are unpitted this is all you will need.

[Tempest 0]

Thanks for the reply.

 

Tried a contact that Darren from G-Werks had given me, they only service their own shocks :-( They also said that there is no such thing as a generic seal on shocks, every manufacturer uses their own seal, typical ...

 

Tried Hagon, they only service motorcycle shocks, and only their own.

 

Contacted Vince at Stealth, but his contact only services Bilstein, not Sachs.

 

My local MOT garage claimed they could do it (yeah right :lol:), gave me number to contact, as I didn't believe them, and yup, I was right, they, too, can't service my Sachs shocks :cry:

 

Looks bad ...

 

Open for further contacts, folks.

 

Tempest

[rmn 0]

try VW vortex, and ask there, the US can be a fantastic place to find obscure parts(like coilover seals)

[Tempest 0]

Just in case this proves to be useful to anyone:

 

Leda and Bilstein both can build a bespoke damper (be it a normal or coil-over) to match the characteristics of an existing damper.

 

In my case, as Sachs no longer rebuild their dampers (since their take-over by ZF-Trading), I can send in the damper, the relevant company determines the damping characteristics, and can build a new one based on the determined characteristics :-)

 

Prices compare favourably, too, to buying a brand-new coil-over kit (excluding the cheap coil-over kits, of course ;-) ).

 

Bilstein are a bit cheaper and more importantly, closer to where I live (almost around the corner), so can drop off and collect the dampers in person :-)

 

Tempest

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Get some Bilstein oversized gas monotube dampers if you can..... they're superb.

[GazzaG60 0]

thers a company caled racehardware i believe that does this type of thing. cant remember the nmuber but i got passed the contact from h100 VW

[Tempest 0]

Get some Bilstein oversized gas monotube dampers if you can...

 

As long as they give me the same characteristics as my current set-up at the rear, Im happy :-) That's why I'm looking for companies that can "copy" or "clone" or whatever you want to call it, an existing damper based on its damping characteristics :-)

 

Tempest

[2cc 0]

Hi Eric, a bit surprised you didn't try asking the boys in Germany (or did you?) about this as suspect loads of them must have same set up.

[Tempest 0]

you didn't try asking the boys in Germany (or did you?) about this as suspect loads of them must have same set up.

 

I did, and no, not that many have this cult suspension. Most have got the current after-market stuff, e.g. FK, KW, cheapies like Supersport etc. or fixed lowering kits or just simply oem. Those that do were all a bit concerned that Sachs no longer support these shocks. it seems I have more research into the topic than others, but as mentioned, Bilstein and Leda are happy to "clone" such shocks.

 

Tempest

[2cc 0]

Well, tbh, I thought you would have. Glad you've found somewhere that'll fix them though