It's a fairly involved project as the steering knuckle / upright must be removed.
An assortment of metric wrenches and sockets 10mm thru 18mm and a strut spring compressor will be needed.
If by some chance the struts have never been replaced, there's a safety clip that holds the strut assembly in even after all the bolts are removed. A royal pain in the arse. Those clips can sometimes prove to be quite difficult to remove.

 

If by some chance the struts have never been replaced, there's a safety clip that holds the strut assembly in even after all the bolts are removed. A royal pain in the arse. Those clips can sometimes prove to be quite difficult to remove.

In my opinion, those little push-on retainers were just for convenience during factory assembly, before the upper three bolts were installed. Really are not necessary otherwise, so I tossed them after getting them off.

 

And 21 or 22mm and maybe torx or Allen key to get the strut tower bearing off.

 

Yep, forgot about that.
However, if your careful enough, you can get the strut assembly out without removing the steering knuckle from the axle.
Personally though, I would recommend just removing the steering knuckle. Makes for easier work in the area.

 

Pics are gone, but here it is. Not hard, just fiddly at times.

Replacement of suspension on FWD Passats

Modifcation: Shock and Spring Upgrade for FWD Passat DIY Rating:Moderate (with pneumatic impact wrench) semi-difficult (w/o pneumatic impact wrench) Time (real world): 2-5 hours depending upon tools, breaks, rust, etc. Tools Required (are you ready?): 7mm Long Arm Allen Wrench 13mm 3/8" drive...

www.passatworld.com

 

If you are going to try this yourself, get the struts with the coil springs already compressed. Such as these from Rock Auto: More Information for GABRIEL G57135 (rockauto.com)

 

I hesitate to change the springs, which have been calibrated to a specific wheel size and weight. My old B5 had springs for 16" wheels, and everyone with those was in the market for the factory springs that came with the 17" wheels. The springs were different. Might not be a bid deal, but something to consider.

 

A minor change is wheel size doesn't really affect it. Changing the engine or trans to a lighter/heavier combo makes a difference, but it's mostly in the ride height, not comfort.

 

I would replace the struts and springs at the same time. If you snap a spring that wheel is going to sink down most likely taking out your wheel well and possibly damaging some steering components...

 

Strut/shock replacement is on my todo list (191k on originals) as it gets a little squirrely on anything other than super slabs. If you do this can you let us know what you thought of the job?

I found this video below of strut replacement. Add a big hammer to your list of tools.....

 

l just realized the video is for a B5, not a B5.5 like you have; I'm not sure if the procedure is the same or not.

 

It's the same.