need help with sport suspension install

[loustylez]

*** please see last post

removing my bilstein pss9's today and putting on oem sport suspension. do i need a spring compressor to put these on? the springs are seperate from the shocks of course unlike the bilsteins where they're already pre-compressed by the collar rings and stuff. i'm on my way to my dad's to begin the work but i can leave and get that if i need i guess. just wanted give some time for this to get answered so when i get there i can start hopefully.

[TQMB5]

yea guy, just rent one from napa for free

[JaVa]

unless you took them out as one unit, but yea get one.

[B518T]

I picked up a couple sets of spring compressors from harbor freight....I had a couple friends helping, so we all got to do our own corner without having to wait for a compressor to become available.....

have fun!

[loustylez]

so the problem i ran into is the front set of sport shocks i got didn't have the spring ring/cup that the sprint seats to on the shock. the back ones do however. something tells me it's not necessarily the person's fault who sent me them because a friend of mien doesn't have them on his extra set either.

should i have been sent that ring? should it still be attached on there? can i just get one from audi?

[Squarrl]

rears go into a housing... i dont remember a ring cup for the rear.

the fronts have a rubber thing that goes on the top and then u put the bolt in they hold spring in.

[loustylez]

what i have now is a front shock that is just the shock itself. the fork end on the bottom, the shock, then the long bolt sticking out the top. there is no ring/cup on the shock that will enable the spring to seat itself to the shock in any way. audi wants $40 a piece of these things which completely defeats the purpose of getting stock sport suspension for $150 shipped.

so if someone knows what i'm talking about, should that have come on the shocks i paid someone for or is there some reason i wasn't sent it because maybe i'm missing something here. i'll just take pics when i get home if i don't figure this out today. need to have this done next weekend so i can send someone my pss9's they paid for.

[onemoremile]

That piece is the upper strut bearing or upper strut mount. They should be about $16 but are usually reused. After removing the front strut assembly you'll need to remove the big plate with the two upper control arms. Then compress the spring and remove the upper strut bearing. Transfer these parts to the replacement suspension. Be sure that the hardened washer goes on top of the strut shaft and under the strut bearing.

[loustylez]

well, i have PSS9's on there now so the bottom of the springs are held up by the coil rings themselves. i obviously can't reuse those since they are threaded and for the PSS9's.

so, to confirm, sounds like i need to get two upper mounts for the fronts as i obviously don't have them on the PSS9's currently and then yah, i vaguely remember the housing/plate/assembly up top you're talking about so that all shouldn't be a problem. i took the PSS9's off to raise/lower and clean them and I don't remember anything else being too complicated.

wish i could have taken care of this last weekend.... grrr....

[JaVa]

you do need the upper spring plates. why are you taking th pss9's off? just to clean them? why not take the fronts off for one day clean them and put them back on?

[loustylez]

because someone was kind enough to pay for them and it's too stiff for DD around town. on the highway is another thing completely, pure sex. however, i'm willing to put stock sport back on to sell the car and have something more comfortable in the mean time and pocket the extra cash to put towards a 5 speed 1.8 soon as i can sell my car.

[loustylez]

I believe this is part 8D0412103B

I bought a set of stock suspension and I currently have PSS9's on now. The front sport shocks I bought don't have the ring/cup that the bottom of the spring is supposed to sit on (attached to the shock).

Does anyone have a set of these (1 each for the front shocks only) laying around? I'd like to get these before this weekend if possible.

[Ewok_Fetus]

What about the dealer? I may be able to send ya some! Just pay for shipping... How much you pay depends on how fast they get there! I will pretty much give them to you...

EDIT: Oh wait... Do you want the metal cup or the rubber lower mount? I think you want the cup huh? If that is the case, I can have them to you NEXT weekend maybe... My spring should be here today and I am ridding of my complete sport suspension... I have the springs sold already, shocks are shot, I will have everything else left over that came with my bilsteins... Such as the lower mounts...

[loustylez]

yah i need that cup that the bottom of the springs sit into (twist and stop), which is in-turn attached to the top end of the shock where those little bumps stick out to hold it in place.

i should be able to re-use everything else the PSS9's are using right (like the upper mount area)? the only thing i have to work with are currently installed PSS9's and these sport shocks that are missing the spring seats/cups for just the front set.

[Ewok_Fetus]

Well, we will see how far I can get while watching my kid and dealing with other things...

[loustylez]

someone pm'd me btw from canada who's got a set. only question i really want to make sure of now is if, aside from this cup i need, everything else will work after taking off the pss9's and reusing whatever housing it fits into up there.

[onemoremile]

38 is the upper strut bearing and is usually combined with 29. I think you're talking about 30 and that should be on the stock suspension on the fronts but not on the backs.

[loustylez]

yup, pretty sure it's 30. now you're saying those should be on the fronts and not the backs, but the back set already does have that around it and the back springs match up to them just right, unlike the front springs. and just to be sure, the back springs are tall and skinny, front springs are wider and fat right?

[onemoremile]

Should be something like these. Fronts on the left, rears on the right.

[loustylez]

yup, looks like i just need that part. thanks for nailing this down for me. now, to get it.