Low quality strut mounts?

[8v-of-fury]

Would low quality strut mounts cause the ride to still hit hard on some juts in the road when new struts are used?

Basically what i am saying is, I replaced my struts and mounts 30k ago, and a few months after it was hitting hard on some parts of the road. I replaced it with the FEQ brand strut mounts, as at the time i didn't really have the funds to get the real FEBI/BILSTEIN ones.

I put in Sachs struts.. it was fine for a while.. but then weeks later it was hitting hard. I mean nowhere near as bad as blown struts.. but some of the smallest things make it feel like i am hitting the bump stops....

I am thinking of replacing the whole shebang with good quality mounts and some KYB Gas struts. Any ideas guys?

p.s how do you like my new Avatar? i think.. its "me" lol

[rabbitman]

I just checked on partsgeek and FEQ mounts cost $11.75 and Febi/Bilstein mounts are $14.75, I had to chuckle a bit haha.

It could be that your springs are shot, I had that same problem with my rabbit too, clunking on little bumps and stuff. I got napa struts and cut 1.5 coils off of mk2 jetta springs, I think the springs are alright but my next struts will be bilstein.

Sachs struts are total junk IMHO. The napa ones are already dying after only 6ish months.

I doubt the hard hitting is the mounts though, I couldn't tell any difference between new febi mounts and the 26 year old originals.

[rabbitman]

Oh and I did notice your avatar too, looks good

[8v-of-fury]

trust me dude, i was 17 at a dollar store making like $300 a month.. I could have afforded it, but at the time i guess $6 was too much more.. lmao

Shot springs can cause rough hitting? i thought that was all up to the struts? It's not a clunking like you described.. i had that with the old struts.. it rides amazingly on everything else, just some sharp hits definitely feel like bump stop. Struts must be weak as all hell.

Anyone verify KYB as good stuff?

[8v-of-fury]

What would/have YOU put up front and had good luck with?

[maxfax]

New springs really make a difference...  I have never owned a car with les than 100K miles.. Any one them that I planned on keeping a while got new springs, and WOW the difference..  Alot of the cheaper stuts are indeed just that too..  I put plain jane Gabriels on my rabbit (cause it came with them) and it didn't take them too long to get weak..  I've always been fairly happy with KYB stuff for the price..   Carquest struts are KYB struts, and I get a hella good discount at Carquest...
WHen time and money allow that's probably what I'll be putting on my car, along with some variety of new springs.. 

[catlin_cava]

If your replacing you entire suspension, look at getting a lowering springs, doesn't need to be a big drop but you'll save on the cost. Regular Springs for a MK3 come up to over 500$ but a APEX 1.5 inch drop springs are 300$, and Eibach was close to 500. So for the same price as stock, I could get a Eibach Pro Line drop.

[Rabbit on Roids]

What would/have YOU put up front and had good luck with?

i have KYB gas-a-just shox on my 92 jetta. with some sort of blue no name lowering springs. and those shox/springs were amazing. a stretch of extremely windey road, that you can go no faster than 70 mph in a normal car, for fear that your car is going to leave the road. well anyway, in my jetta, 105 mph felt just fine really. wasnt getting sloshy or anything. just hooked and went. scared the SH*T out of my passengers. lol. and one of them was a good buddy that i used to race with all the time.

[rabbitman]

Shot springs can cause rough hitting? i thought that was all up to the struts? It's not a clunking like you described.. i had that with the old struts.. it rides amazingly on everything else, just some sharp hits definitely feel like bump stop. Struts must be weak as all hell.

If the springs can't hold the car high enough it'll sit closer to the bump stop and so take less of a bump to hit it.

[8v-of-fury]

If the springs can't hold the car high enough it'll sit closer to the bump stop and so take less of a bump to hit it.

Hah, I never even thought about springs playing a factor that way... My car does sit two inches lower then my brother's 84.... NOW I KNOW WHY!

I will most likely be getting rid of the 84 gasser in the the spring to make way for the 81 Jetta diesel i acquired in the fall. But it has some broken springs anyway.. So this suspension question is most likely for it.

Source out some new springs, struts, bump stops and mounts. shouldn't be too hard.

What I was wondering with regards to the mk2 springs, is if I use them.. and cut off a few coils of each to maintain stock mk1 ride height, will it give me much of a stiffer ride? I wouldn't mind a stiffer ride, i just don't want it to ride like it has no suspension.

What are your thoughts? anyone have any mk2 springs laying around?

[rabbitman]

I'd get these http://www.amazon.com/Moog-CC204-Variable-Rate-Spring/dp/B000C53ZG4 over a set of mk2 springs, I have a set on the back that I like so I assume I'll like 'em on the front .

[FineFrank]

Would low quality strut mounts cause the ride to still hit hard on some juts in the road when new struts are used?


I put in Sachs struts.. it was fine for a while.. but then weeks later it was hitting hard. I mean nowhere near as bad as blown struts.. but some of the smallest things make it feel like i am hitting the bump stops....

I am thinking of replacing the whole shebang with good quality mounts and some KYB Gas struts. Any ideas guys?

I just finished correcting the same problem. I'll bet your mounts are fine; If you replace the strut inserts with KYB's (not as good as Bolsteins but perfectly fine) and keep the mounts you have, it'll be fine. Of course, if you notice that the mounts are stiff or are damaged, replace them. But the KYB's are great, and lots less money.
The Sachs inserts are crap AFAIC. I wish I hadn't been so broke when I installed them.
BTW- your springs are prolly fine- leave them in unless you're flush.

[jtanguay]

my old golf had a broken spring... yep you heard me.. broken. made an awful noise when turning the wheel!!! and it clunked so bad!

i doubt that a strut mount can really affect anything other than letting the strut assembly turn easily. when i replaced the ones on my car they were pretty bad and i'm sure any cheap product would have been better. that being said, you should think about bushings and struts. i bought some cheap dropzone ones ($200 for both front & rear and the mk3 ones fit mk2's) and they work really well. i highly doubt they will last more than a few years though, but the good ones are at least $150 a pop, so $600 all around, and they are guaranteed to last about 100k. this is where prothe comes in real handy for us 'poor' people 

[8v-of-fury]

I see that prothe has mk2 springs.. but does he have mk1 springs? and i only see mk2 rears..

[8v-of-fury]

ooh buddy of mine kept his springs when he went to coilovers! SCORE!

I think I'm just gonna throw his old ones on and use new struts and mounts and be done with it. This time use OEM mounts and KYB struts