Replacing vr6 front springs + what else?

[tonytiger 0]

I've got a broken front spring on my vr (standard suspension) - and I'm hoping that I'll be able to fix this myself, but I need some advice.

 

I've looked in the knowledge base, and the item in there covers 16v front suspension but I assume it's basically the same method for all models. I've still got a few questions though.

 

Do I *have* to remove the brake caliper to do this? If so why? And other than jacking the car up as normal, does I need to support anything anywhere else while removing the strut?

 

From other threads I've read I think I should also replace the stop, the top mount and the bearing. Is that items 2, 3 and 7 in the diagram? What parts other than the spring should I replace at the same time? I may or may not change the shocks (as I don't want to spend more than I have to - having very recently shelled out £2k on other parts/labour).

 

How do I know which spring to get - ETKA shows 3 different items for a 93 vr? I'm assuming by now that the paint marks will have gone from the existing springs.

 

Finally, what parts should I get only from VAG, and which can I get from GSF (or ECP)?

[tonytiger 0]

Anybody?

[Mike Edwards 0]

2, 3, and 7 are the items to replace while it's apart. 2 and 3 are dependent on how worn they look/feel, but 7 tends not to show any signs of wear except when the weight of the car is on it (take 4&5 off and look for cracks/splits in the rubber of 7).

 

There should be no need to remove the caliper when doing this, and nothing else needs to be supported once it's jacked up and on an axle stand (although I've never actually bothered with the latter, this is not good practice...)

 

You will probably find 5 a complete pain to undo, while the bolts holding the strut to the caliper will require BIG spanners to undo them.

 

Oh, and it's definitley worth buying/borrowing a big torque wrench when it comes to doing the strut bolts up again.

[VR6 0]

Do I *have* to remove the brake caliper to do this? If so why? And other than jacking the car up as normal, does I need to support anything anywhere else while removing the strut?

 

No need to remove the caliper.

 

Best to support with axle stands. Might be a fair bit of effort being exerted on the bottom bolts so best to be safe than sorry.

 

From other threads I've read I think I should also replace the stop, the top mount and the bearing. Is that items 2, 3 and 7 in the diagram? What parts other than the spring should I replace at the same time? I may or may not change the shocks (as I don't want to spend more than I have to - having very recently shelled out £2k on other parts/labour).

 

I'd replace all the parts if possible but the main ones to replace, other than what you've mentioned, would be the bottom items 11 and 12.

 

Better document attached for you that might help.....

[Mike Edwards 0]

11 and 12 if you belive that someone has previously over-torqued them to b*gg*ry is an important safety tip.

 

If they're untouched since leaving the factory, corrosion is really the only reason to change (or if you manage to round them off trying to undo them too...)

[VR6 0]

Exactly - may as well buy and replace them for what they cost.

[tonytiger 0]

Mike Edwards, VR6 - cheers guys. :thumbleft:

Good point about the bottom nuts and bolts. I guess it probably makes sense just to buy everything from VAG for this, rather than mix & match with gsf. I'll price everything up and see whether I can afford to replace everything or not.

[Storm Monkey 0]

Is there anything special about nut and bolt 11 and 12? I asume they are fairly standard plated 10.9 (high tensile) fasteners. I can get hold of any length of 10.9 fasteners from work, so could save a fortune over the no doubt rediculous VAG or GSF price. A 50mm 10.9 M10 will cost us about 1.5p each, rather than a few quid from any motor factor.

 

Phil

[tonytiger 0]

Thanks again for the info + tips here guys - did this work a couple of weeks ago. Was fairly straightforward apart from the bottom bolts which were really badly corroded - ended up using a power saw to cut through them!

 

The very top nut was indeed a problem to remove initially. For a start, it seems that a 7mm allen key is not a standard size - at least not in the 3 or 4 sets I had lying around - so had to go and buy one from Halfords.

 

But then once I realised a 21mm spark-plug socket fitted the nut it was fairly easy - a spanner fitted round the top of the socket, and the allen key through the socket.

[Storm Monkey 0]

Thought the top of the strut was a T45 torx head. That certainly fitted, and got one off when I did mine last week. The second though, neither heat, WD or hugh spanners would shift it. Ended up drilling down through the top of the strut, to the nut. Not ideal really!

 

Phil

[DaveVR6 0]

This thread sounds like what i need to sort on my VR...

 

tonytiger, how did you diagnose it was the spring, was it squeaking?

[tonytiger 0]

DaveVR6, in my case I'd had the car jacked up on the passenger side and a few minutes after dropping it down there was an almighty bang/twang from the driver side. So I then lifted the drivers side to have look and could see the top coil on the spring had broken off.

 

I think it'll be obvious if you've got a broken spring as you'll probably hear rattling and/or funny boing/twang noises (for want of a better description) if you drive the car - it was certainly obvious on my sister's Ibiza (on which I've just replaced the broken front spring today - much easier to do, as the bolts hadn't corroded solid and the springs was much softer and easier to compress).

 

Storm Monkey, definitely wasn't a torx head - is your's standard suspension? Or perhaps a different model?

[DaveVR6 0]

Cheers tonytiger, that sounds about right.

[tonytiger 0]

DaveVR6, forgot to say - if you jack the car up you might be able to see if the spring is broken. On mine the very top coil had broken off, and as this is smaller than the rest it fell to the bottom. If this has happened you may not be able to see it, so stick your fingers through the spring and see if there's a loose bit inside. Hope that makes sense.