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Installing H&R springs (with guide) *New shocks*

31K views 34 replies 10 participants last post by  RasmusTJ 
#1 ·
Guide added on page 2!






Hello forum!
Has anyone got experience with fitting H&R springs themselves?

I'm planning on installing the springs myself and then ofcourse get a garage tocorrect the wheel alignment afterwards.

I have experience with fitting springs on older cars like Golf Mk II's and III's and BMW E30s and such, but this is my first new car


Are there any difficulties or hints that you should be aware of? Do you need special tools like XZN bits or VW tools?

Thanks in advance
Rasmus




Edited by: RasmusTJ
 
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#5 ·
Whiteup: Thanks for the heads up on the spreader tool - didn't know about that!
We're going to fit the springs tomorrow.Luckilymyfriend has a dual post auto lift, so that makes things a bit easier


Planning on taking pictures and making a guide for you as well
 
#13 ·
Looking great


Don't know if you're getting other alloys but if you stay with these (btw I like the Classics a lot) you might consider a set of spacers to fill up the gaps a bit. H&R have a set specially for the standard alloys on the up with 26mm in the front and 32mm in the back.
 
#15 ·
S1000RR: Congrats
on the new vehicle (and suspension)
Looks great!

I fitted
the springs today as well, and I'm also very happy with the result.



Here's some
photos from today. There might be other (and easier ways) to fit the springs,
but this worked out quite well for us




Tools you
need:

-------------------------------------------------

Socket
wrench

13, 16, 17,
18 mm spanners or sockets

21 mm
cranked spanner

Various
torx bits or sockets between T30 and T45

Torque
wrench that can go up to at least 100 Nm

XZN 14 bit

Jaw puller

""Spreader
tool""� (VW 3424) or equivalent

Spring
compressor

Flat-blade
screw driver

Hammers
(rubber mallet and ball-peen hammer)



Torque
specifications:

--------------------------------------------------

Front strut
top nut: 60 Nm

Front
spring plate nut: 60 Nm

Wheel
bearing housing bolt: 70 Nm + 90 degrees

Coupling
rod top nut: 40 Nm

Swivel
joint bolts: 100 Nm

Tie rod
ball joint: 20 Nm + 90 degrees

(Rear shock
absorber top nut: 20 Nm)

Rear shock
absorber bottom bolt: 50 Nm + 180 degrees

Windscreen
wiper nuts: 16 Nm



First we
need to remove the rubber seal from the engine compartment. Simply pull it off:




Then remove
the caps and the nuts from the windscreen wiper arms:



We then ran
the wipers until they were placed vertical on the windscreen. This allowed us
to fit the jaw puller, so that we could dismantle the wiper arms:



The plastic
trimming (which is split in two) needs to come off as it covers the top strut
nuts. This trimming is very brittle, so be gentle! Pull the trimming
perpendicular to the windscreen and start from the centre moving towards the
fenders:



At the
fender you need to pull the last bit towards the front of the vehicle. These ""clips""�
are quite fragile, so pull with caution!



Now we move
to the hub. First we remove the brake hose and sensor wire:



We then
disconnect the coupling rod at the top. The torx bit is used to prevent the ball joint from turning when you loosen/fasten the nut:



Now we loosen
the bolt on the wheel bearing housing:



Remember
that you need a XZN 14 bit:



Now loosen
the tie rod ball joint nut - UPDATE 18. August 2013: THIS STEP IS NOT NECESSARY:



And disconnect
the joint with the jaw puller-UPDATE 18. August 2013: THIS STEP IS NOT NECESSARY:



Remove the
swivel joint:



Now we need
to ""spread""� the wheel bearing housing, so that we can remove it from the strut.
Normally you would use the VW 3424 tool, but we didn't have one of those. Instead
we took an old centre punch and modified it to fit the job:



The gap in
the bearing housing is approximately 7 mm, so we cut the centre punch so that
we would be able to expand the gap as much as possible. We then gently punched
our modified punch in with a ball-peen hammer.




You should
now be able to gently punch the bearing housing down and off the strut using a
rubber mallet or equal. Be sure that the wishbone and tie rod is out of the way
as you otherwise won't be able to get the housing far enough down to get off
the strut!


Now we just
need to disconnect the strut at the top and pull the coilover out. First, remove the strut top cover cap if you haven't already done it
Then,a cranked 21
mm spanner and a torx T45 bit would be the tools to use here. The torxbit is used to keep the hole strut for turning when you loosen the strut nut, just as with the ball joints.Unfortunately, we didn't
have the right spanner so we had to make our own tool from a M14 nut and an old
spark plug key:



Fit the
spring compressor and tighten until the spring does not create force on the
spring plate:



Use the
21mm spanner and T45 bit again to remove the spring plate:



You don't
need to compress the H&R springs to fit them:



All we
need to do now is assemble the whole front suspension again. It's pretty straight
forward as it is the dismantling done in reverse
Remember to turn the
strut to fit correctly in the gap of the wheel bearing housing, torque the nuts
and bolts down to specified torque and fit the hoses and wires:





Now we move on
to the rear suspension, which is a really easy and quick job to do! Simply
loosen the bolts at the bottom of the rear shock absorbers to pull the rear
axle down and remove the old springs:





Move the
rubber spring plates onto the H&R springs and fit them. Remember to torque
down the shock absorber bolts:





If you were
to fit a complete suspension kit with new shock absorbers, all you would need
to do to get the rear shock absorbers off is to remove the side trims of the
trunk and loosen the top nuts. The side trims are held with bolts and clips,
but is a quick task to do as well.



This is the
outcome of the hours spent:





As I came home after a 50 km drive it felt (looked) like the springs had already settled a bit.

I'm very pleased
with the new ""go kart""� feel of the up! and I'm eager to get the wheels aligned
at a garage so that I can finally call it a job done [;)


That's all
for now





Edited by: RasmusTJ
 
#16 ·
I admire your work but too complicated for me...car looking great !
 
#18 ·
Thank you guys!
Privatedoc: Aren't you a doctor? Then I admire your work as well


lilsumo: I gotoffers here in Denmark ranging from £180 at a local garageto £400 at a VW dealer (including wheel alignment). But perhaps some of the UK members have more relevant prices for you as I see you're from the UK
 
#22 ·
How did you get your dealer to fit your springs for free? did you buy the springs before the car was delivered and give the dealer the springs you boughtseparately? if theres any chance of saving £400! I wanna know
 
#23 ·
Yes we have the springs in stock on the shelf in our warehouse so i took a set and left them with the dealer but most dealers wont do this.We spend about 50k a year with the dealers on parts for the business plus have had a scirroco and a van off them last year so they tend to look after us!!
Worth asking before they do the pdi and dont forget we offer up forum discount on our website.
 
#24 ·
UPDATE - Today I received some new shock absorbers that I bought last week. For a long time I've felt as the original dampers were close to bottomed out, making speedbumps a PITA, so I finally ordered some Bilstein B8 shocks. These are premium line monotube dampers for lowered cars - from one of the best shock damper manufacturers in the world. Can you tell Bilstein is my favourite?




German engineering at it's best!



Gotta love the yellow/blue theme




This might be a bit much for my little up!, but these shocks are race proven




I plan on installing them next weekend - I almost can't wait to feel the results!

I'll of course return with feedback on the upgrade afterwards, as I haven't been able to find any info on other up!/Citigo/Mii drivers using these shocks. But please don't hesitate to post if you have


- Rasmus

Edited by: RasmusTJ
 
#25 ·
Good work here, I will definately follow your instructions when I install H&R springs later on.
But with these shocks - will it be a harder ride with better control or will it just be better control?


Do you think I should hesitate before I install H&R springs and no better shocks?
 
#26 ·
Well I don't know for sure yet - but I actually hope the ride will be a bit smoother, and not as vulnerable to speedbumps, although it will probably not be much softer.


And no, I don't think you should hesitate to install the springs, but be aware that the ride will get much harder and firmer
 
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