Front DCC strut replacement - what other components to change?

[Butty]

A recent service showed that both front DCC struts are leaking oil, which ties in with deteriorating road manners over the last 12 months.
I'm looking to keep the suspension standard and just get replacement struts but what other components should I look to swap out while I've got everything apart to get back to the original road handling?
It's a 2015 Cupra 280 ST with 50k miles.

 

[jt20vt]

In the past i changed the front springs when doing the shocks on my old mk1 cupra r. Made a decent improvement. Depends how much you want to pay out. That car was 9yrs old and had higher mileage at the time.

 

[Butty]

I'm looking more at things like bump stops, top hat mounts and spring seats. Are they likely to have deteriorated in 50k miles?
I'd rather buy everything in one hit and swap them all at the same time in one weekend rather than have a 3/4 week project where I find I should have ordered stuff at the beginning as items are found to have worn out.

 

[jt20vt]

You can do as you suggest it would be like brand new, if you have the money then go for it. Are your struts leaking alot or just misting? I've had a strut misting for the last 1 1/2 yrs but still works as it should.

 

[Gaz9000]

@Butty If you're doing this yourself can you document any tips for completing the process please? I've posted within the past 6 months about intermittent errors on my 2015 280 ST with DCC (just under 80k miles). Cant decide whether to take the hit and do all 4 corners. I check for cheapest prices, almost commit, then think its not an absolute necessity and bottle it for a few months.

 

[Butty]

@Butty If you're doing this yourself can you document any tips for completing the process please? I've posted within the past 6 months about intermittent errors on my 2015 280 ST with DCC (just under 80k miles). Cant decide whether to take the hit and do all 4 corners. I check for cheapest prices, almost commit, then think its not an absolute necessity and bottle it for a few months.

Hi Gaz,
I'm only looking to do the front suspension as it has been hammered from our poor roads in the UK and are weeping oil plus handling has deteriorated. The rear shocks feel like they ride ok.
So far I've priced up the shocks and OEM ones are £265 each or Bilstein B6 shocks @ £283 each, unless anyone can source OEM ones much cheaper?
I'll be gearing up to do this in late April when I can hopefully I can work outdoors. I'll report back with photos as I can't be bothered with doing video output.

 

[SuperV8]

I'm looking more at things like bump stops, top hat mounts and spring seats. Are they likely to have deteriorated in 50k miles?
I'd rather buy everything in one hit and swap them all at the same time in one weekend rather than have a 3/4 week project where I find I should have ordered stuff at the beginning as items are found to have worn out.

Did my rear shocks recently and had the same thoughts - should I also change bump stops + top mount - but upon checking they were absolutely fine on my 2015 115k ST. This is the rear however - and the front is obviously a strut - vs multi link rear.

I would recommend using new bolts however.
Also have a detailed look at what size sockets you need. On the rear I found it was even sizing 16 & 18mm!! I only have odd sized deep sockets (like most standard socket sets) so getting the 18mm nut off a very long & corroded bolt (why on earth was there literally 25mm thread sticking out Seat!) with an 18mm spanner and another spanner added for leverage as it was so tight was not fun/took ages! With a deep 18mm socket would have been easy!

 

[black_sheep]

Mine was in for some warranty work today...

The front lower wishbone bushes were replaced during the last service as they had perished/started to work themselves free from the wishbone.

Since then it has started creaking when steering/manoeuvring. Apparently there is a technical notice out to replace the top mount and top mount bearings if this happens.

Might be worth considering. If work not completed under warranty I would have looked at aftermarket polyurethane options too.

Extended warranty is looking like it was worth the extra pennies!

 

[SuperV8]

Mine was in for some warranty work today...

The front lower wishbone bushes were replaced during the last service as they had perished/started to work themselves free from the wishbone.

Since then it has started creaking when steering/manoeuvring. Apparently there is a technical notice out to replace the top mount and top mount bearings if this happens.

Might be worth considering. If work not completed under warranty I would have looked at aftermarket polyurethane options too.

Extended warranty is looking like it was worth the extra pennies!

I don't mind poly bushes to replace engine mounts or vertical wishbone mounts as you are not changing how the bush works (they are fixed) - but personally I don't like them for any horizontal wishbone bush as you are changing from a bonded pivoting rubber joint which relies on the rubber flexing for wishbone movement - to a sliding joint, fine when its new and greased or on a track car where you might expect regular maintenance but not on a road car after a few winters when salty water/dust/detritus works its way into the sliding - joint in my humble.

When you are installing any new horizontal bush (wishbone) first you need to set the wishbone/hub at vehicle ride height before torquing up the bush bolts. If you tighten up the bolts when in full droop you are pre-stressing/winding up the rubber bushes which will shorten their life.

Also if you remove the wishbone I would also factor in a new vehicle geometry alignment.

 

[Butty]

Have plumped for bolt set, top mount and bearings, plus ARB to strut link bars swap while I do the front suspension.
Have also found some B4 struts direct from Bilstein that are the same price as OEM units.
The local garage has a decent 4 wheel alignment system, so it'll go to them afterwards as its never been checked from new.

 

[SuperV8]

Have plumped for bolt set, top mount and bearings, plus ARB to strut link bars swap while I do the front suspension.
Have also found some B4 struts direct from Bilstein that are the same price as OEM units.
The local garage has a decent 4 wheel alignment system, so it'll go to them afterwards as its never been checked from new.

I tried removing my anti roll bar links (2015 TDI) when I did my front wheel bearing - they use a silly little triple square drive, a VAG favorite!! to hold the centre while to undo the large nut.
Anyway my small triple square drive sheared off! (decent quality - not some junk off ebay) when the link was half undone - tiny little triple square bit didn't stand a chance vs rust and large nut! It was a right pain doing it back up!

If I come to need to remove my drop links in the future i'll be drilling them out and fitting new ones. The actual drop links were fine.

Also jack the whole front end up and use axle stands when working on the front struts/suspension so the antiroll bar is not under tension.