How do you replace the front shocks on a 1981 VW Rabbit pick-up?

Answer 1

Tools needed: Safety glasses; wheel chocks; safe jack and jackstands; MacPherson strut spring compressor; 17mm open end wrench; 17mm 1/2 drive socket; 1/2 drive ratchet; 13mm open end wrench; 6mm or 7mm or 8mm hex (Allen type) key; 22mm deep socket with a slot cut for hex key; 1" crescent wrench; large pliers; two 6X6 blocks of wood; optional: chisel, white-out, impact wrench. Chock rear wheels, set parking brake. Loosen, but don't remove, the front lug bolts. With car on the ground, loosen (but don't remove) the two small nuts on each strut tower in the engine bay. Use the 13mm end wrench for this. At the proper lifting point on the car, raise it and support it with jack stands. Finish removing wheel lug bolts and carefully remove the wheels. Place them out of the way, never underneath the car. With the chisel or white-out, mark the top eccentric bolt on each suspension strut housing. This bolt affects the camber, and to some extent, toe. If you don't mark this, you'll have an interesting time driving the car :) Remove the two bolts holding the strut to the wheel bearing housing (aka, hub). You really should support the control arm and the CV assembly, so jam a block of wood beneath each control arm. Finish removing the top small bolts on the strut towers. The strut assemblies are now relatively free. Depending on the amount of dirt and undercoating and grime on them, they'll need a bit of convincing to come off the wheel bearing housing. Place one of the spring compressors to grab 5 or 6 coils. Tighten it so it doesn't fall off, but don't compress the spring. Then, at 180 degrees opposite, attach the other spring compressor. Tighten each compressor EQUALLY! This is soooo important to doing this job safely. The spring will rattle freely within the strut assembly when it is loose enough to be SAFELY removed. Keep in mind there's plenty of potential energy stored in those compressed springs to maim you or kill you, or someone else. When, and only when, the spring is practically flopping around in the strut housing, do you remove the nut that holds the cap on. Use a piece of paper to draw how the components come out, or place the components on your bench so you know the proper arrangement. If the strut bearing is cracked, replace it. They're cheap. Get the little spacer/bushing at the same time. Chances are excellent you'll be working on a car that doesn't have the spacer/bushing installed. Put one back in it...the factory put 'em in for a reason. Once the strut assembly has been disassembled, you really should release the spring to it's normal height. I know a lot of people that skip this step, but it's totally okay to be safe. Using the large pliers, remove the collar screw that holds the strut cartridge within the strut housing. Don't discard, because it's entirely possibly your struts didn't come with the collar screw. If you bought German stuff, you'll get the new pieces :) DO NOT dump the mineral oil you find inside the housing onto the ground! That's a nasty thing to do. Make sure it gets into a container and is marked as waste! Reinstall the new cartridge into the strut housing, and re-affix the collar screw. If your collar screws don't fit, use the screws that came off when you pulled the old cartridges out. Some cheap inserts have tons of paint on them, which makes fitting a bit tough. Sand the inside of the collar screw and clean it before rechecking the fit. NEVER sand the paint off the strut insert! The rest of the procedure is the reverse of removal. Remember to be very careful with the spring compressor, letting each side out evenly. I highly recommend having your Bunny aligned at this point, even if you were super-careful in replacing the eccentric bolts. Enjoy your new ride! P.S: You'll need the spring compressor on the back shocks, too :)