Shocks and Struts 1982 Jetta

[Earwig225]

I am looking to put new shocks and struts on my 1982 Jetta.

Any recommendations?

Thanks

[the caveman]

Avoid Al-Ko brand struts. They are being distributed by Auto-Camping here in Canada. I thought they would be okay, I believe [ but now not so sure ] they are made in Germany but no matter what ,are garbage. I had one pair on a Mk2 golf leak within a year and another set on a 98 jetta fail also. Actually in all honesty,i can't say they failed completely, but have leaked some oil and are no where as tight as when first installed.

[mystery3]

Are you just looking to replace with oem spec stuff? I'd probably go with sachs from autohausaz.com or find some kyb gr2 or gas-adjust.

I purchased my sachs from partsgeek I think because I wanted the complete strut not just the inserts.

There are a lot of choices available depending on what you are looking for and how much you'd like to spend.

[79rabbit4dr]

wouldn't these work?
http://store.blackforestindustries.com/bifrstashedu.html

I'm thinking about them for my caddy but I'm not sure if they're the same between rabbit and rabbit truck... anybody know?

[rs899]

Rabbit and Caddy are physically the same strut.  You may be able to find some with uprated springs for the truck, though.

[rabbitman]

I wouldn't use sachs, I went through a set in 2-3 years.

I'd spend the coin and get kyb or bilstien.

[mystery3]

The bilstein hd's are as expensive as sports for any other vehicle, what is the deal with them?

The original struts on these cars are sachs no?

[8v-of-fury]

OEM is sachs. They blow chunks. My pair up front completely faded within a year. back to hitting hard as a rock on sharp juts in the road.

Brother just put in KYB gas struts in his 84, they ride smooth and tight. will see how they hold up in the future and maybe go with them.

[the caveman]

The bilstein hd's are as expensive as sports for any other vehicle, what is the deal with them?

The original struts on these cars are sachs no?

I bought Bilsteins for my Super beetle IN 1980 ! THEY WERE USED . They are still on the car. That's what the deal is on them.

[mystery3]

The bilstein hd's are as expensive as sports for any other vehicle, what is the deal with them?

The original struts on these cars are sachs no?

I bought Bilsteins for my Super beetle IN 1980 ! THEY WERE USED . They are still on the car. That's what the deal is on them.

HD's or sports? I'm a fan of bilstein in general I just don't know why the mk1 sports are so expensive compared to other applications.

[lovinthedeez]

I just got a set of bilstein sport front struts for 225 shipped from mjm. once you hold them in your hands and know you won't need a pair for awhile, (plus the lifetime warranty), it gets easier to wait. 

[rs899]

I have Bilstein shocks on all my Mercedes (W123 and W116) diesels.  They replaced OEM Bilsteins that were 20+ years old and were still pretty good.  Thing about the shocks for MBs is they are only about $45/ea....