Fitting Suspension (not coilovers) THAT easy? Or worth £100?

[SeanyK]

Hey folks,

In the next couple of months, my next planned mod is to sort the suspension out, on 17"s my car sits higher than a tractor, so I plan to get new suspension.

I don't really think im going to go the coilover route, I don't need adjustable height and im not planning on going round tracks in the car or corners at high speed.

Im most likely to go down the route of a SEAT Sport suspension kit, as they are nicely within my budget - although not sure if it will be low enough but we will see.
I did look at the Koni STR.T kit also.

My local VW specialist quoted £100 to fit, which seems a fair price but having had a quick look around the car, I can't see it being a hard job?

Surely it's just a case of;

Jack car, remove wheel, undo top suspension bolts from under bonnet, pull out shock absorber/springs. (i'd imagine they have a lower bolt also which would probably need a good WD40 soaking)
Put new ones in, bolt back up the top.

For rears, the same/similar?

If thats the case, I might as well do them myself and put the £100 towards another mod!

 

[skahigh]

Having seen it changed all round on my LCR yesterday I'm REALLY glad I didn't attempt it myself!

 

[Fl@pper]

how much will the spring compressor cost ya ?

 

[gregorcupra]

Its straight forward enough mate , but to be honest at £100 if you know the guy is going to do it right then Id pay to have it done

 

[SeanyK]

Forgot about spring compressor Mr Fl@pper lol! it'd cost probably around £20-25 for those...

Generally I just leave the car with the guy, walk back to walk (2 mins away) and pick it up whenever it's ready with no rush.

 

[matt110tdi]

it's easy in theory but i found the hardest bit was getting the strut out of the hub. even when you separate it slightly it'll still be tight. for £100 i wouldn't bother doing it myself. it's not a hard job, just time consuming.
The drivers side you'll have to compress the strut to get it out of the arch due to the long driveshaft - it'll touch the subframe and the hub won't drop far enough.
The new ones go in easy though and the back ones take about 20 mins to swap over.

 

[artemis_1991]

Easy job, do it yourself.
no point paying £100 for it.
about 5 bolts to undo on either side on the front and two per side to undo on the back.

WD40 everything beforehand and with regards to getting it out of the hub, undo the bottom first and then the top and give the hub a good wiggle.

Then, go and get it aligned. thats what you should use the money for.

 

[sparkie1984]

my mate did mine, took him about 3 hours doing it out of his council garage, do you have anyone handy with tools?

 

[s1l3nc3r]

Not to hard a job really...just need to remember to compress the spring before you undo the top mount of the shock assembely im sure you need to use them on your new ones aswell and mind things like break lines etc...Just takes time done mine when i had a mk4 fitted a apexi kit...took about 3-4 hours although i did have some help its not somthing i would really "go alone"

 

[lemonslap]

£100 is cheap most places will want at least £50 a corner as said above not a hard job just time consuming and of course you will need a spring compresser and please don't buy a cheap one I have seen with my own eyes what car happen, when I was working at Mercedes an apprentise brought in a cheap compresser and once the spring was fully compressed it slipped lucky missed him and smashed through the workshop roof!!

 

[SeanyK]

Hmm, a tough one, I try and put a lot of business the guys way I think thats why he gives me a good price on things, where I work I tell everyone to take their car there to service lol and he's the first guy I call when I need things doing etc.

I'll probably get this one professionally fitted, more piece of mind, at least I can drop it off in the morning high up, and pick it up in the evening with it sitting well in the arches...!

 

[GarryGti]

Like a lot of people say 3 hours work or so on your own so if your up for it ave a crack as its not that hard but for £100 i'd get them to do it.

 

[acidstrato]

i'd shop around, might find someone willing to do it 20quid a corner

its a dirty job but quite straight forward, especially the rear

 

[lemonslap]

Hmm, a tough one, I try and put a lot of business the guys way I think thats why he gives me a good price on things, where I work I tell everyone to take their car there to service lol and he's the first guy I call when I need things doing etc.

I'll probably get this one professionally fitted, more piece of mind, at least I can drop it off in the morning high up, and pick it up in the evening with it sitting well in the arches...!

Make sure its computer aligned after the works done or the camber won't be correct and the handling with not be right

 

[artemis_1991]

Make sure its computer aligned after the works done or the camber won't be correct and the handling with not be right

Second that.

 

[BHP Addict]

I have springs going on mine when I get a free weekend.

Fitted springs to 3 of my prev cars and quite easy TBH to change suspension(as long as not badly ceased/rusted) Definatly get alignment sorted tho

From memory:

Jack up car
Take off wheel
Take off caliper
Take off Disc
Slack off 3 bolts on struts under bonnet (not remove)
Fit spring compressors (if can get in)
Take off any connecting brake lines
Undo drop link/Track Rod End (Not all cars)
Undo 2 large bolts (Acts as a PIN) Holdint HUB to Strut
Pull Strut out of hub (using the space allowance the 3 nuts have given you at top)
Once out of the HUB, remove the 3 nuts under bonnet and remove strut from arch

May be an extra step or two with diff cars or maybe easier, but this is the general process x4 corners.

 

[tom w]

get stuck in! it all becomes clear what you have to undo once you start , at the front two bolts on the hub and three at the top then the leg comes out , the rear is two bolts ! i know this because i have recently done this! save your money!!

 

[antnee]

If the £100 includes alignment then go for it! I had to whip the front coilovers off mine yesterday to change the springs, had both sides completely off then re-installed in about 90mins!

 

[artemis_1991]

get new topmounts and bearings and no need to compress sprin when taking off. plus better with new mounts.

 

[Fl@pper]

Forgot about spring compressor Mr Fl@pper lol! it'd cost probably around £20-25 for those...

sorry just thought i'd throw it in for you to think about

to be honest £100 all 4 corners isnt bad at all and about as much as you would pay to have ya pads changed - and a lot less hassle too

you can't beat having the kit to hand ramp/compressor/airgun etc