Changing springs.

[Spyda]

I need to change one of my shocks and change all the springs to lowered ones.

I have bought a spring compressor ($21).

I want to know how dangerous it is in regards to using the spring compressor. Everyone is telling me its very dangerous, looking up on the internet i found out a 19yr old died, others saying that the spring should be chained down to something when compressing it, mate telling me not to do it at all..etc etc.

Is it true? Is it realy that dangerous?

Other then that i need to know how far to compress it, whats a safe amount and how the hell do i get the top bolt off. No*19 spaner doesnt fit in the cup to reach the nut properly and I cant use a torque wrench because something has to hold the shaft in place.

[rayray086]

As long as they're used properly, you're clear from danger's way. I'm assuming you bought similar items to the ones in the pic:

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2008/03/disassembly1big-1.jpg

If so, make sure they're holding down on opposite sides of the spring and as much of the spring as possible (similar to the pic). Make sure the clamps are secure and in place. Compress each side bit by bit and make sure the pressure is as close to even as possible.

Best routine is to undo the top nut that holds on the top hat (exterior to the strut tower), then undo the bolts that hold the strut onto the hub. Remove the strut, then compress the springs on the ground. Once they're compressed and no longer sitting on the bottom or top perches, remove all the other nuts and remove spring. Installing springs is exactly the reverse of removing them!

[Spyda]

Thanks mate.

Yeah the item is similar to yours.

Would you be able to tell me how long it would take aprox for each corner?

Thanks again mate, great help. :D

[Peter Jones]

You generally need a special tool or some imagination to undo the strut top nuts.

You only need to compress the spring far enough to release any pressure from the spring seats.

I have used a spark plug socket that had a hex on the top end.I used a spanner on the hex and put an allen key down through the socket to hold the shaft.

These days I use a rattle gun to undo the top nut :)

Lowered springs don't put much pressure on the seats and can even be loose, so you generally don't even need to compress lowered springs to work on the strut.

I'd allow yourself about 1/2 a day for each end of the car for a first attempt. Once you're experienced and tooled up you should be able to do the job in a couple of hours.

Removing the strut from the steering knuckle will change your camber settings. You can either remove the strut with the steering knuckle attached or mark it up very carefully and put it back exactly the same way.

Pete

[rayray086]

Yeah what Peter said! The last time I had to take out my suspension was to replace the mounts/bearings and it took me no more than 3 hours on my own (pretty damn proud of that :D). I didn't have to use spring compressors though as my springs sit low, but it's always a safety precaution.

[Spyda]

Cool cool.

Ill try some imagination but just in case, do you know what the special tool is called. I asked in a tool shop, dont remember which one, and they didnt seem to have an idea of what it was.

How come you use a rattle gun? Isnt it just like a torque wrench just faster?

What does a decent rattle gun set you back?

[Peter Jones]

Cool cool.

Ill try some imagination but just in case, do you know what the special tool is called. I asked in a tool shop, dont remember which one, and they didnt seem to have an idea of what it was.

How come you use a rattle gun? Isnt it just like a torque wrench just faster?

What does a decent rattle gun set you back?

You need to go to an Automotive tool store like Ryans or Snap-on, they'll have the right tools but they will be expensive. There's probably a genuine VW tool available from dealerships too.

A rattle gun is nothing like a torque wrench, they're natural enemies.

Ideally-
Rattle guns are for un-doing nuts.
Torque wrenches are for doing up nuts.

Rattle guns have hammers internally that shock the nut.

Torque wrenches are for applying a measured amount of leverage. You shouldn't use torque wrenches for undoing nuts it's not what they're for and you can easily mess up the calibration if you're swinging off them to undo a tough nut.

Most rattle guns are air operated which means you need a compressor to run them. There are DC powered ones becoming available but I don't know how good they are.

A rattle gun is not guaranteed to work by the way. If the nut is rusted to the shaft you might have a fight on your hand.

You could always make a tool.

Buy a socket to fit the nut.
If you have a welder, weld a handle to the side of it.
If you don't have a welder file or grind flats on the side of the socket so you can get hold of it with some vise grips or a shifter.

A tube spanner might be a good option for this sort of modification.

Depending on the shocks you've got you'll need an allen key or something else to hold the shaft. There's a few different designs. Whatever you need has to be able to pass through the socket and engage the shaft.

I'll look up some references tonight.

Pete

[h100vw]

I have the 18 Volt Snap On impact gun. It pulls struts apart easy, the 14.4 volt one was as good.

As I live life on the edge, I never used spring compressors on lowered springs, I just got right over the top and gunned the nut off.

I already have 2 kids so, if the spring got me, it would be no great problem ;)

There is a fair amount of tension in std springs so I always used the spring compressor there.

Gavin

[Oneofthegreats]

For a mk1 you don't need any special tool's apart from the spring compressor's but,

If this is for a Mk2 you should need a special tool to disassemble the front strut's.

The nut on the top is only to hold the strut & strut bearing assembly to the body. Once the top bearing is removed, there should be a special nut underneath the top mount that's hold's the spring assembly together. The tool required look's like this.

http://xs225.xs.to/xs225/08133/snapon623.jpg (http://xs.to)

On Mk2's the camber isn't adjustable, but you will still need a wheel alignment after fitting lowered spring's, as the toe will change. It should end up with fair amount of toe out once lowered.

If you use the spring compressor's correctly, you shouldn't have a problem. As Pete said, you really only have to take enough tension off the spring to get it out without it flying up into your face.
It can make it alittle easier to crack off the top nut before you clamp up the spring.

Also in regard's to using rattle gun's on shocker's. I usually use them to undo strut assemblie's etc., but "ONLY" if I'm replacing the shock absorbers.

I never, nor recommend using a rattle gun on shocker's.
As this mistake cost my brother alot of money a while ago now. His new coilover's were fitted by a so called "suspension specialist". As soon as the car was picked up it had a knocking from the front.
I had alook, & after removing the front strut's, & trying to disassemble them, the spring retaining nut was not only done up stupidly tight, but also stripped! It had to be removed with a plasma cutter, wrecking the coilover. Anyway, I sent them away to have the internal's looked at & all the internal adjustable valve was blown to bit's.

All of which was caused by a rattle gun spinning up the nut's. The nut grabbed, stripped & spun the shocker piston at the same speed as the rattle gun, destroying the valving.

I took the whole lot back to the bloke & said what had been done. He said I had done it taking it apart!!!!:mad: Didn't have a leg to stand on.
Should've taken photo's I was told later on. He'll get his one day the f#%ker!

Anyway, the coilover's had to be sent away to be rebuilt at my brother's expense.(Not by that bloke!) Ended up with Koni's insert's.

Sorry for the long rant, but-
Hope this give's you a bit of an idea about what a rattle gun can do to shock absorber's

[Jmac]

Great info mate but one thing the camber on a MK2 is adjustable! Done countless amounts of them mate, and if you cant just quite get the desired amount of camber there is camber correction bolts that you can buy from VW with a thinner shank for that extra adjustment.
I agree about rattle guns - i worked at Porsche for over a year and the workshop was really quiete. hardly a sound of a rattle gun. Used rarely to loosen thing but never to tighten, NEVER EVER on Wheels. And always use a torque wrench, You might say ah that was Porsche but we had the same rule at Audi, i wouldnt want my 100 grand audi and some monkey rattling the wheel nuts up (magnesium nuts on some) just doesnt make sense, sure use a gun on a steelie with a torque bar but IMO its crazy to use one on Mags from experience have seen many a lovely Porsche wheel damaged purely due to lazyness.
My 2C
Jmac

[Peter Jones]

Point taken regarding Rattle Guns.:rolleyes:

I too use torque wrenches on wheel nuts. My experience is with early beetles that quite often have warped drums due to over tightening of the wheel nuts. I have had to get drums machined with the wheel attached to fix this in the past.

This discussion reminded me of Matt's thread and what can happen when you rattle gun wheel nuts.
http://www.vwwatercooled.org.au/newforum/upload/showthread.php?t=10618&highlight=grinder

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2008/03/100_1165-2.jpg

Pete

[Oneofthegreats]

Great info mate but one thing the camber on a MK2 is adjustable! Done countless amounts of them mate, and if you cant just quite get the desired amount of camber there is camber correction bolts that you can buy from VW with a thinner shank for that extra adjustment.


Yep your right. I forgot all about the special bolts. I think I should stick to mk1's;)

Haven't really worked on that many mk2's, nor seen any early mk2's.

I read somewhere that the early mk2's were exactly like a mk1 with the eccentric bolts.
The later one's had reduced assembly tolerances, so they done away with the eccentric bolt's.
VW released a bolt with a narrower shank of 11mm instead of the standard 12mm shank bolt.
The narower shank allowed some movement upto 2 degrees of camber if both the top & lower bolt's were fitted with the special bolt.

VW Part is either - N 903 334 01 or N 101 740 02