Suspension Problem

[ffgb]

I have a 1984 Rabbit with Rokker Coilovers. The fronts are set at full length. I have replaced the front strut mounts and strut bushings with Febi units. I also filled in the gap under the strut mounts with window weld. Everything is fine with the suspension, so I thought. Both front strut mounts look fine with the car on the ground, I only have 1500 miles on these. I have recently swapped suspensions over to my 1981 Rabbit. During the process, I noticed that the drivers front coilover/strut mount had alot of play with it. The passenger side had no play, but both sides have the same amount of threads showing from the top. Can the strut bushing fail? If so, that fast? The drivers side strut mount wobbles about 1/8"-1/4", but the actual strut mount seems fine, meaning when the strut mount is loaded with the vehicle weight, it looks identical to the passenger side. Is there a fix for this other than just replacing them? I can't see how the strut bushing can fail, because it is located on the top in a fixed position. I don't think the strut bearing has failed because the distance from the bottom of the strut mount to the top of the strut is the same as if they were new.

[rabbitman]

Vdubs are funny like that, lift the front and the mounts move around and look worn, set it down and all is good. I think I'd call it good.

How do you like the rokkors? Can you post a pic of your ride? I was considering buying either that or raceland (same brand but with softer springs) but I don't want to go any lower than stock and never got a straight answer from the company about it. How does the ride height compare with stock? Thanks

[ffgb]

I have left it alone for now, but it's just weird that with the coilover and the strut mount assembly in my hand that it wobbles that much.  I like the Rokker coilovers, then again, my stock suspension was all worn out, bushings and all.  The Rokker's are stiffer than the Raceland.  Also, if you want to stay stock height, these coilovers aren't for you.  They will lower your car about 1-1.5 inches, this is with the coilover at full length in the rear and with the front coilover turned down a little bit to get rid of the reverse rake.  I have 14x6.5 mesh rims from a BMW 318is with P195 60 R14 tires on my car, and I have about 2 fingers clearance between the rear tire and wheel fender, and about 2.5-3 fingers clearance between the front tire and wheel fender.  I do recommend them if you don't mind going a lower than stock.  My car handles great, like it is on rails, but my setup is pretty stiff with the Potenza tires that I have.  While driving my car when it had stock suspension, I could just drive straight and not worry about any bumps, but going into turns was sorta scary.  Now with the Rokkers, I am constantly scanning for road irregularity's because I am trying to avoid them or I am met with a loud THUD because of the stiff suspension, but with spirited driving, they are blast, they give you so much confidence!  I will be able to post pics this weekend when I get back into town.  I hope this helps so far?

[rabbitman]

Thanks, you answered my questions , I'd sure like the handling of coils but I drive on miserable little back roads a lot and sometimes trails so I can't lose any height.

[92EcoDiesel Jetta]

Hope it's ok to dig up an old post. I can use some help here with my front strut bearings. With the weight of the car on the wheels, there is a gap between the strut bearing and body sheetmetal. When the wheel is hanging (jacked up), there is no gap. Is that normal?

I took the passenger side strut out to have a look and the 2 big bottom strut bolts snapped, even after lots of good quality penetrating oil. Are those bolts prone to snapping? Hope I can get new ones from the dealer. Odd that one of the nuts on the snapped bolts is 19mm and the other is an 18 mm.

To get the top strut nut off, I used a 21 mm deep socket with an allen wrench in the square drive and used a pipe wrench on the socket- worked ok w/o the special tool.  After getting the strut out, should the strut bearing just pop out or do i have to undo the castle nut (another special tool)?  Sadly, the Bently don't show the castle nut.

Vdubs are funny like that, lift the front and the mounts move around and look worn, set it down and all is good. I think I'd call it good.

How do you like the rokkors? Can you post a pic of your ride? I was considering buying either that or raceland (same brand but with softer springs) but I don't want to go any lower than stock and never got a straight answer from the company about it. How does the ride height compare with stock? Thanks

[the caveman]

yes when off the ground ,even good ones can have some slack. there is a measurement from the body to the metal plate to check when the car is on the ground . Don't know what it is at the moment, but it may be in the Bentley. Foxes were notorious for that. New ones would be loose in no time. Try to convince the idiot doing the safety inspection

[92EcoDiesel Jetta]

I took both struts out (snapped all bolts on both sides doing so, that's $26 in 4 new bolts). I wonder if those bolts were over torqued? They weren't that rusty and there was no give, 1/4 turn with an extension on the ratchet and snap.

I removed the springs (w. rental Autozone spring compressor) and removed the strut bearings to inspect. The rubber is solid and the bearing spins freely without notchyness. I can see why it wobbles and moves up and down because there is no real "bushing" on the bearing to keep it from flopping around. The bushing is more like a washer that is less than 1/8" thick. The strut shock is fine throughout it's range of movement also. Oh well, I guess I'll have to buy new bolts and put it back together.

I noticed that strut bottom mount holes are oval to allow adjustment of the camber. Is that so? Any DIY on the camber adjustment so I don't have to pay for an alignment, now that it has been disturbed?

Afterall, I think it is my tires that are out of balance and the rims are bent which is causing the vibration and not the struts or strut bearings.