A3 2.0tdi sline suspension

[Christopher Davison]

Hi I'm new here, I'm currently driving a 5 door diesel sline. The previous owner put coilovers on and lowered it too far and now rear shockers are leaking. Wanting to replace them after xmas and was wondering if s3 suspension would fit?

Any help be greatly appreciated

 

[SootySport]

Easy way out is change or repair the leaking shock and wind up the springs a bit.

 

[Christopher Davison]

What's apex suspension like? I've seen a suspension kit for £345. Worth the money?

 

[Nessy]

I renewed all the suspension on my Sportback earlier this year , I fitted Bilstein B4 shocks and an Eibach Pro-kit set of springs, cost was about the same as the Apex kit (which I’ve never heard of btw).
Am delighted with the results.

 

[Christopher Davison]

Where did you get them from?

 

[Nessy]

Springs from a German seller on eBay, shocks and other bits online from Autodoc Gmbh , also in Germany .
Considerably cheaper than sourcing the same parts in the UK, and delivered in about a week .

 

[SootySport]

Where did you get them from?

Widely available from any suspension suppliers or on eBay. You can find the correct part numbers for your car on eibach and bilstien websites then shop around. These are not coilovers but fixed ride height only.

Apex are the cheapest of the cheap.

 

[Christopher Davison]

That's what I'm looking for, not keen on coilovers as the ride is good. Wanting something to make it handle better but not break the bank

 

[Nessy]

Just checked my invoices ; 4 Bilstein B4 shocks & 2 Lemforder front strut top mount/bearing =£204
Eibach springs =£112.
(Prices as of November 2018)
Total = £316
I think that’s good value for stuff that’s OEM (or better) in terms of quality
I fitted them all myself so saved a fair bit on labour as well.
I did the job simply because I could no longer stand the ride from the factory S-line springs .

 

[Christopher Davison]

Meant the ride is not good

 

[Christopher Davison]

Was it difficult to do?

 

[Nessy]

Rears are dead easy.
Fronts more involved .
Haynes etc say you can leave front wheel hub in-situ and just split the suspension leg to remove shocker etc but as per usual these manuals don’t take into consideration parts rusted together etc after many years use .
I had to remove the whole suspension leg as I renewed the front hub bearings at the same time .
If I had tried to split suspension leg in-situ I’d have failed as it was rusted together solidly.
One side of the car the front top bearing mount screws also had rusted solid , ended up having to grind out the securing screw with an angle grinder from below after chopping the shock absorber piston in half to allow access!
I was lucky to have the car in my garage and under cover , wouldn’t have wanted to have done the work out in the open!
It took me well over a day of solid working to do all the jobs and I’ve got quite a well-equipped garage .

 

[Christopher Davison]

Ok thank you, I'll ask a friends brother who's a mechanic how much it will cost if I supply parts.

 

[aqibi2000]

Rears are dead easy.
Fronts more involved .
Haynes etc say you can leave front wheel hub in-situ and just split the suspension leg to remove shocker etc but as per usual these manuals don’t take into consideration parts rusted together etc after many years use .
I had to remove the whole suspension leg as I renewed the front hub bearings at the same time .
If I had tried to split suspension leg in-situ I’d have failed as it was rusted together solidly.
One side of the car the front top bearing mount screws also had rusted solid , ended up having to grind out the securing screw with an angle grinder from below after chopping the shock absorber piston in half to allow access!
I was lucky to have the car in my garage and under cover , wouldn’t have wanted to have done the work out in the open!
It took me well over a day of solid working to do all the jobs and I’ve got quite a well-equipped garage .

I made a video on how to easily remove a rusted strut on an A3 hub using only a small bottle jack.

see attached:

 

[Nessy]

I made a video on how to easily remove a rusted strut on an A3 hub using only a small bottle jack.

see attached:

Nifty video thanks!
I hammered away at mine for ages to get the two apart, LOL.

 

[aqibi2000]

Nifty video thanks!
I hammered away at mine for ages to get the two apart, LOL.

I suffered that pain to begin with on this car too! Was meant to be a quick job haha

Only 5 bolts in total (x3 top mount buggers, x1 strut pinch bolt and a drop link nut)...

 

[Nessy]

I suffered that pain to begin with on this car too! Was meant to be a quick job haha

x 3 top mount buggers,...

Tell me about it!
Front offside went without a hitch, front near side top bearing mount one captive nut just spun around (rather than seized like I said ) so couldn’t get out strut.
Mole grips .....not enough space to get jaws in there.
Nut splitter....again not enough clearance .
Had to cut the spring into pieces first to remove it , then shock absorber piston at its top end to enable enough clearance to get angle grinder at the top mounting captive nut.
Once the offending top mounting captive nut was partially ground away it became locked enough to undo the bolt from above ....phew!
Absolute pig of a job .

 

[aqibi2000]

Tell me about it!
Front offside went without a hitch, front near side top bearing mount one captive nut just spun around (rather than seized like I said ) so couldn’t get out strut.
Mole grips .....not enough space to get jaws in there.
Nut splitter....again not enough clearance .
Had to cut the spring into pieces first to remove it , then shock absorber piston at its top end to enable enough clearance to get angle grinder at the top mounting captive nut.
Once the offending top mounting captive nut was partially ground away it became locked enough to undo the bolt from above ....phew!
Absolute pig of a job .

I also had one of them round off, it was scary working in that area with the compressed coil spring (I used 4 clamps just for some level of safety) although then had barely any room up there.

A tip for next time removing a rounded strut nut from the bolt is to get some mole grips on the bolt head in the engine bay side and flatten it very slightly with an angle grinder so you put a centre punch mark on

Then pilot hole drill 3-4-6mm all the way up to 8mm and it will separate the head of the bolt from the shaft. Only took a few minutes on the crusty one

look at this picture to help explain what I mean

 

[Nessy]

I also had one of them round off, it was scary working in that area with the compressed coil spring (I used 4 clamps just for some level of safety) although then had barely any room up there.

A tip for next time removing a rounded strut nut from the bolt is to get some mole grips on the bolt head in the engine bay side and flatten it very slightly with an angle grinder so you put a centre punch mark on

Then pilot hole drill 3-4-6mm all the way up to 8mm and it will separate the head of the bolt from the shaft. Only took a few minutes on the crusty one

look at this picture to help explain what I mean

Cheers,
Hopefully I won’t have to do the job again but worth knowing!