[jhart9]

Hi there!

So I've seen several threads related to what is involved with replacing the rear shocks and I'm ready to get at it :wrench:

However, I'm not 100% sure on what all is needed besides the shock, shock bump stop and boot (dust cover). The last thing I want to do is get it all apart, just to find out that I'm missing parts that I need to replace. Do I need to replace the shock mount? Anything else?

Thank you as always for your help!

Justin H.

(Shopping list)

 

[cchief22]

2001 2wd I assume..... just doing mine also ,did a "forensic" the other evening in preparation..pretty straight forward,seeing you are from Chicago,and rust belt you will need to also order the 10 x 90 mm bolts /nuts that pass through the trailing suspension arm/link ,easy to get to and remove, b'laster first (days in advance) the nut erodes from corrosion, hard to get a wrench to "take" ,but enough room to get one in or vice grips, or in desparation a hacksaw blade,ha. The top [email protected] bolted to aluminum forging and bolts (2)and (flanged) should come out pretty easy, think they are 8 mm. I am a big fan of putting in new bolts,just a little bit obsessive.....and "never siezing" The bottom bolts you will definately need.

 

[jhart9]

Sounds great! Would you happen to have a link for those? I saw them yesterday, but can't seem to find them again :-/

 

[Electron Man]

Got jack stands? Wouldn't do to trust any jack, let alone the stock "suicide jack" while you're removing the lower bolt.

 

[Mtech]

I'm going to do the exact same job on my 2004 this weekend. I ordered the Bilstein B4 Touring Class shocks from FCP Euro, but only the shocks, planning to re-use all the hardware, bumpstops, sleeves.

I really hope the corroded bottom bolts comes out okay, I hit them with some PB Blaster last night )

 

[cchief22]

Mtech,yep b'laster is way to go...... you will also need a needle nose style vise grip or small pair of vise grips as nut is more than likely corroded away ,but should come out,mine looked way worse than they were,after nut is removed bolt will want to wedge because spring is pushing down on swing arm,so need to bottle jack swing/axle arm up OR raise car then lower down on block to where bolt is free to pull out. Once out, raise car or lower swing arm to get shock necessary clearence to remove once the top two 8mm bolts are out,those two should be in pretty good shape,mine were at 166k in Cleveland(and were original shocks) ,yikes!!!! bumper/snubber is factory glued into upper mount with a two part urethane glue,so if it is removed or a new one installed a good contact type of adhesive is needed to secure...... Mine were shot on my wagon and replaced w

 

[cchief22]

with bilsteins,noticable difference driving into work today.

 

[Mtech]

I was underwhelmed with the 2 new rear shocks I installed. The originals still had some gas left inside, pretty easy to collapse, slow to extend on their own (1-2 minutes) but the difference in ride is not so huge with the Bilstein B4 touring Class units. Maybe I need to do the fronts now? I will wait, too much money spent on this car lately (

 

[cchief22]

mtech, my "originals" responded same as yours slow and soft , where I notice the difference is that mine had zip/zero/nada dampening last inch or so just a little blip in the road made a "knock" sound

 

[VAGguy]

OP, you don't need a shock boot.

1 kit https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/vw-shock-bump-stop-kit-rear-passat-rein-vwskit2
2 of these https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/audi-volkswagen-vw-shock-bumper-rear-3b0512131h

 

[Ray]

I just did mine, 2 shocks and bumps and what a difference, really easy to do....


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[jhart9]

So I ended up getting the Bilstein's, and reused the bumper cover. Whoever did it last time built the whole bumper / cover assembly backwards, as in the cover not even covering the bumper, but covering the shock cylinder. Over all it wasn't terrible, but I used a whole can of penetrating oil to break the bolts loose - uff I was feeling it later.

However, now the front end is my concern. The control arms and struts are shot and need to be replaced. Any one have a tutorial by chance of how that assembly works? I've seen a few things on YouTube, but don't feel 100% confident that I could do it, especially with the needing to torque and angle the arms on the bench.

 

[Ray]

Check this video out, https://youtu.be/lu4oq6VST6k


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[Ray]

You can buy the shock and spring on rock auto and just swap them out


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[jhart9]

I saw them there, but I can't seem to find Bilstein's since I wanted to match what's on the rear. Is it worth it to just get the strut and spring set prebuilt vs. getting preferred strut and getting the other part separate?

 

[smitty40]

The video that Ray provided (https://youtu.be/lu4oq6VST6k) is the one I used to replace my front struts which I purchased from FCPEuro for a ridiculously low price. That clearance item came with two upper mounts and I'm glad it did as there is no way to remove the nut without a special tool or heavy duty long nose vice grips. I used a box cutter to cut away a part of the yellow rubber stock top mount so I could hold the nut in place with my 18MM wrench. The video shows the passenger side which is easier than the drivers side because you don't have to remove the top bracket from the strut. You can remove the rubber caps and use a 13MM socket to remove the two nuts that hold the bracket in place just like in the video. The drivers side bracket nuts are blocked by hard brake lines so you will need to remove the blot that holds the upper control arms in place. You can get a spring compressor from Autozone but be careful and take your time. You need to be sure you align the strut properly when you go to uncompress the spring. When you go to put it back on the lower control arm you need to match the angle of the the lower control arm to the bottom fork of the strut. This job sucks, but the difference is night and day. I replaced the lower front control arms at the same time which added work but it was worth it as the steering is great for a car with 197K. Good luck.