Front Shock Absorbers

[samgardner01]

Hello,
I tried looking for an already created thread about this topic but couldn’t find one so hope it’s ok creating one.

So just had my Leon serviced and they advised me to renew the front shocks.

Now up till recently I’ve really been thinking about working on my own car instead of taking it to garages to save money and also to give myself a little hobby.

As of yet I’ve got no experience on working on a car but after looking at one or two how to do videos I’m feeling a little bit more confident.

The issue at the moment is that I have no tools at all so I we need to spend some money buying some so that would be a cost in it’s self unfortunately as I’m starting off.

While looking at the shocks I need (Monroe shocks)
Do I need electronic ones or standard ones, the price division huge!
Also if I do need the electronic shocks is it just unplugging a sensor or is there more too it.

I do apologise in advance for the lack of knowledge but got to start somewhere I guess.

Thank you in advance, any advice or suggestions would be much appreciated

Sam


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[samgardner01]

Just to edit previous message,

The price difference is huge lol
Autocorrect is annoying at times


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[serdar_18fr]

Do I need electronic ones or standard ones, the price division huge!
Also if I do need the electronic shocks is it just unplugging a sensor or is there more too it.

If your car does not have DCC, you can't use the electronic ones.

If it does, however, that means it already has electronic ones, but you can decide to replace them with the standard ones, along with a DCC cancellation kit.



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[H Rafiq]

Autodoc sells the OEM Monroe shocks at a very good price. I’ve had em n fitted em to my Leon Cupra.

 

[SuperV8]

Hello,
I tried looking for an already created thread about this topic but couldn’t find one so hope it’s ok creating one.

So just had my Leon serviced and they advised me to renew the front shocks.

Now up till recently I’ve really been thinking about working on my own car instead of taking it to garages to save money and also to give myself a little hobby.

As of yet I’ve got no experience on working on a car but after looking at one or two how to do videos I’m feeling a little bit more confident.

The issue at the moment is that I have no tools at all so I we need to spend some money buying some so that would be a cost in it’s self unfortunately as I’m starting off.

While looking at the shocks I need (Monroe shocks)
Do I need electronic ones or standard ones, the price division huge!
Also if I do need the electronic shocks is it just unplugging a sensor or is there more too it.

I do apologise in advance for the lack of knowledge but got to start somewhere I guess.

Thank you in advance, any advice or suggestions would be much appreciated

Sam


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I have recently done my front shocks - and I found it quite a tough job and I would say i'm a competent DIYer, being an engineer, having built my own car and done several engine rebuilds, head gaskets and timing belts.
You need a spring compressor - which is quite an expensive tool.
If you have no experience or tools, for front shocks I would definitely say leave it with a garage - springs on struts can be dangerous!
Rear shocks are much more manageable.

 

[samgardner01]

Thank you all for your responses! I think I will price everything up for this one and see what avenue be cheapest and then go from there


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[H Rafiq]

I’d go for a trusted, competent VAG indi. Seat labour will be too expensive, and they most likely won’t want to fit your own sourced parts, they’ll only fit parts they source direct from Seat (£££).

 

[samgardner01]

Yea I’ve decided that I will use a garage I’ve used for years. I’m expecting it to be close to the £1000 mark but I’d probably be spending that amount if I decided to do it myself anyway by the time I buy a tool set along with parts I need. Plus I will end up taking it to a garage for tracking after the work so makes sense to get all the jobs done in one sweep.
Thank you again for all your help and advice, I do really appreciate it


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[Mr Pig]

If you've never worked on a car before I wouldn't recommend starting with front shocks. Compressed car springs are feckin dangerous things. I'd start with the basics. Oil, brakes, filters etc. These days that's about all I do as I just can't be bothered with the aggravation. All it takes is one rounded bolt and a simple job becomes a nightmare.

 

[RUM4MO]

A few weeks ago, I finally "refreshed" the front suspension on my wife's 2015 VW Polo 1.2TSI, I got warranty work done on that car due to rubbery noises and drivetrain movement when it was maybe almost 2 or 3 years old, part of that warranty work involved replacing the LHS top mounting - which was not the root cause of that noise, anyway, getting the RHS strut piston nuts off was as easy as I have found in the past, getting the LHS strut piston nuts off was a real struggle - both the top one that retains the top plate and the threaded bush that retains the spring, seem to have been forced on with a rattle gun so the piston thread was messed up - remember that was done by a fully trained main dealership workshop person! Never assume that workshops will do the job properly, just see it as being a big "plus" if they do. Incidentally this car went into that main dealership twice for that same warranty issue, the next time involved removing the front subframe bolts - a few years ago I was lucky enough to find a snapped off head of a subframe bolt on my garage floor - by the appearance of the fractured surface, it looked a lot like that bolt had been over torqued, most VW Group bolts are "TTY" ie torqued to a set figure then an additional angle turn is applied and them should always be replaced with new bolts if removed. I bought a new set of subframe bolts, removed the sheared off remains of the one that had failed, replaced it and only torqued it up to the initial torque, then booked it in into a local VAG Indie for them to replace all the other subframe bolts and check the subframe alignment.

That same local VAG Indie got the job of replacing the engine mountings on my 2011 Audi S4, I ended up having to buy the parts as there was, at that time, an issue with VW Group getting hold of engine mountings for that model of car, so I also supplied all the associated bolts - based on me thinking that they would lift and support the engine/gearbox to do that job, but, as I had asked for both engine mountings to be replaced, they used the clever method of dropping the subframe, it and its frame stiffener all use TTY bolts - and none of them were replaced, just reused, so I've got maybe just over £75 worth of new bolts to fit "soon".

It's just annoying when that sort of thing happens, but just too many workshops save you money and them effort, why can't they just follow the workshop manuals wrt this type of advice - it's not just VW Group's way of extracting more cash from owners, its about fastenings material and how companies like VW Group define their use.