nocrap 0 Posted March 10, 2008 Could someone with a pair of old standard front shocks that are currently off the car please do me a favour and see how easy it is to remove the bit at the bottom of the shock Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dec 1 Posted March 10, 2008 I tried removing an old shock insert from a set of front shocks on my old rocco and it was absolutely impossible to get them to budge at all! After copious amounts of spraying with plus-gas, battering with various things and heating the threaded cap at the top, I gave up and bought a complete set of new shocks! :mad: Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nocrap 0 Posted March 11, 2008 I have access to oxy-acetylene, what heat were you using? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dec 1 Posted March 11, 2008 I had a butane/propane blow torch. Yours may come off quite easily.....just after possibly 10-15yrs of being rusted into place in the wheelarch my old ones were going nowhere! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dinkus 10 Posted March 11, 2008 I'm fairly sure the standard ones aren't designed to have replacable inserts... that doesn't mean you can't get them apart, but I doubt it'll be easy... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nocrap 0 Posted March 11, 2008 I'm fairly sure the standard ones aren't designed to have replacable inserts... that doesn't mean you can't get them apart, but I doubt it'll be easy... Indeed...these are the suspicions that I'm trying to confirm Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
boost monkey 0 Posted March 11, 2008 Yeah, I tried taking a set apart recently and they didn't want to disconnect from the spring plates. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bruny 0 Posted March 11, 2008 Do you mean the spring baseplate or internals of the shocker? I have an old set surplus to requirements if you want to experiment! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
boost monkey 0 Posted March 11, 2008 I was talking about the spring baseplate personally. I still have a pair of fronts from Danny's Ex-shell, I could try stripping those and taking them apart tomorrow and see what happens. People sell dampers in pairs / fours as just the shock absorber itself, but VAGCAT shows them as a single unit integrated with the sleeve and lower springplate, so I'm guessing Dinky could be right. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nocrap 0 Posted March 15, 2008 Right! i've been reading this after doing a google search - http://www.bimmerboard.com/forums/posts/46622 By the looks of it you have to unscrew the bit just above the lower spring plate, you can then withdraw the old shock inner....clean it out then replace with new insert. what do you lot think? or perhaps Mr boost monkey could have a try? cheers Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
boost monkey 0 Posted March 15, 2008 :lol: mine look excessively rusty but I'll have a look in the morning and let you know Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
boost monkey 0 Posted March 16, 2008 Looks like they could well come apart if you undo that brass cup on the bottom of the silver shock inner just before the spring platform, but unfortunately my spanners only go up to 36mm and it looks like it might be a 45+mm :( Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nocrap 0 Posted March 16, 2008 Cool, i reckon i've got a good understanding on how to do this now! Many thanks Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
boost monkey 0 Posted March 16, 2008 Let us know what you find out, I'm thinking I might change my dampers when I do the top mounts :salute: Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
davidwort 0 Posted March 17, 2008 I did this to fit koni inserts on my valver basically you need to hammer round the collar to unscrew it as my old valver shocks were welded one piece boge ones I needed to get hold of some VAG ones first these came off a passat and worked just fine depending on how corroded the tops are they can be easy or a mare to remove, but all I've tried do come off given a hard enough belt, I used a blunt cold chisel and a club hammer to knock the caps round one other point, some inserts don't sit quite high enough in the empty legs for the screw top to clamp down on, in this case I filed about a millimetre of the top of the leg (top of the threaded part) and they worked fine Koni inserts specify anti freeze of all things, to be added into the leg before inserting the damper, my old VAG polo legs had light oil in them, but this was the actual damper fluid, aftermarket units are usually sealed with their own oil in, the Koni ones seem to specify this extra fill in the leg for cooling/heat dissipation I think. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
boost monkey 0 Posted March 17, 2008 Thanks for the heads up david! Fascinating that Koni suggest lubricating/lining with coolant! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
coolrado 0 Posted March 17, 2008 most antifreeze includes corrosion inhibitor as well so it would prevent crevice corrosion inside the strut tube. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Supercharged 2 Posted March 17, 2008 Nocack - I just picked up 4 Boge Turbo Gas shocks (Hopefully these are the same as Sachs Advantage!) from GSF for £125 all in for mine, rears come with the lower spring plates and plastic caps fitted and the fronts look like they are serviceable (ie come apart and not crimped) so I have asked them to get another pair in that we can get on saturday if we don't have any luck with yours... mind you, if this is the case we would just fit the whole Boge shock... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
davidwort 0 Posted March 17, 2008 Nocack - I just picked up 4 Boge Turbo Gas shocks I hope they're better than the ones I had from GSF a few years back, the fronts were fine, but the rears were so riduculously hard that there was virtually no movement when I jumped up and down on the rear bumper! great for steering response on smooth roads but made the back very bouncy and unbearable for (the occasional) back seat passenger :lol: Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Supercharged 2 Posted March 17, 2008 Yeah - me too Dave, was going to buy VAG but the price seems to have doubled over the last 2 years on Corrado shocks!! used to less than a ton for 4 inc vat! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
boost monkey 0 Posted March 17, 2008 So, corrado suspension sin't the same as mk2? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
davidwort 0 Posted March 17, 2008 So, corrado suspension sin't the same as mk2? VAG dampers are slightly different part numbers but it's only ratings, corrado being heavier esp on front, but the design is the same GSF sold me rear dampers for a 16v golf, TBH I think non gas ones for the rear would have made it better though. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nocrap 0 Posted March 17, 2008 Nocack - I just picked up 4 Boge Turbo Gas shocks (Hopefully these are the same as Sachs Advantage!) from GSF for £125 all in for mine, rears come with the lower spring plates and plastic caps fitted and the fronts look like they are serviceable (ie come apart and not crimped) so I have asked them to get another pair in that we can get on saturday if we don't have any luck with yours... mind you, if this is the case we would just fit the whole Boge shock... Supercharedless - Sounds good! although being crimped or not shouldn't be an issue as it's the nut on top of the tube that needs to come undone...... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
