Front strut bearing

[littlepolo]

Yes, at long last. The issue with the hub nut was solved, which allowed me to get on with the job. I tried splitting an impact socket (hacksaw cut) to get a smaller size socket over the nut to get some bite. Unfortunately, the socket was springier than I expected and slipped around - so I decided to drill out the hub nut. I spotted with a countersink to align the hole so the drill would just touch onto the hub spindle. As I started drilling I saw the hub nut move, so it must have loosened somewhere along the way (torque settings are low).

Splitting the hub carrier, even with the right tool, wasn't easy, so I decided to leave it and just remove the assembly intact. I dropped out the hub carrier from the lower suspension mount by undoing the three bolts. After taking off the brake caliper, speedo drive, anti-roll bar, etc. I was able to drop the whole suspension strut out. I found the top of the spring had sheared off, which must have happened when the top bearing went. Put the strut in a work vice and compressed the spring. I was expecting the strut nut to be tricky, and regretted not trying to loosen it in situ, but it was easy to get off using a ring spanner and 7mm allen key (to stop the spindle rotating). Also noticed that the boot had been put on upside down - presumably at the factory.

Purchased a new spring, and boot, compressed the spring and refitted the strut assembly in reverse to above and reconnected everything. Torqued the nuts and bolts, and all was well. If I'd had all the parts at hand at the time I could have got it all done in a morning, easily. I used plenty of lubricating oil before undoing all the nuts and bolts to avoid any sheared nuts/bolts, and again when refitting to avoid any cross threads or similar problems.

Hope that helps. If you would like a few photos pm me and I can email them.

[RUM4MO]

Thanks for getting back, I know how to do this having replaced both springs etc about 6>8 years ago, but I suppose I was hoping that you had found some short cuts - seems not!

I'm optimistic about being able to get the strut out of the hub - though maybe I will find that it is not so easy now that the car is almost 12 years old, I was hoping that someone would have "butted in" with a short cut, like being able to compress the spring enough to allow the top mount and bearing to get removed by grovelling around with the strut still fitted to the car, ie put car up on stands, remove/destroy drop links, compress spring by jacking up the TCA, fit compressors and continue to fully compress the spring, slacken off top nut a bit, get the top mount bolts out, stand on hub to deflect it down enough to get the mount and bearing out, etc etc. Remember I hope only to be working on the NS (LHS) of the car, so no need to remove drive shaft to get extra movement.

Ah well, maybe dream on! By the way, did you apply grease to the bearing, or fit it dry, I think that my original ones looked very dry when removed and so I fit the next ones dry - that does not sound like a good idea now 6>8 years later.

Finally, did you get the drop links off okay or did you need to cut them off, seem to remember replacing them on my daughter's 59 plate Ibiza and it was another annoying job which ended up with lots of hacksawing!

Heard a story today about someone that made his own spring compressor up, two plates, threaded rods and nuts, seems like when he was walking through his house with the compressed spring, it "escaped", luckily it went away from him - not very clever!!

[littlepolo]

Drop links came undone no problem - I was surprised. Only thing that needed a tap was the steering arm.

I had someone helping me who did the lube, so can't be sure but think the hub was fitted dry.

You might have more luck on that side of the car, but I could not get the compressors on in situ.

[RUM4MO]

Sorry, I should have re-read the full thread as I had asked some of these questions earlier!

Well I have 3 sets of compressors, but I think that I'm living in cloud cuckoo land - no harm in hoping though.

I need to get some current part numbers together and visit VW and ECP, pity the on-line VAG parts cat is playing silly buggars right now!

[RUM4MO]

Okay, now I've sorted out wife's Polo N/S/F suspension bonging noises, the VW supplied replacement ARB (fitted 65,100 miles ago) strut mounting end nut, came off with no big issues, though I did have a Torx bit to stop it rotating - seems like I used blue Loctite on it when fitting it back in 12/2006! Opening up the split in the hub was not completely easy, I applied some proper release fluid at 16:00 on Friday, went back out at 20:00 and used the hub splitting tool, it just slipped out so fitted the other (wrong for Polo 9N) hub splitting tool - it is thinner, at the upper end of this joint, and added some more release fluid - then went back indoors! Next day, I added some more release fluid then fitted the correct hub splitting tool, it stayed in and opened up the hub, got the suspension leg out, cleaned and painted the spring, waited for the paint to dry, fitted the new top mount+bearing and secured using a new nut - I only fully torqued this nut up once the suspension leg was back on the car - also I slackened it off initially while the suspension leg was still on the car. I then painted any areas of the spring still needing paint, waited for it to dry,cleaned up both front brakes and refitted the suspension leg. Today we went for a 120+mile round "day out" and car is okay. I used my "jackpoint jack stands to support the front of the car safely while doing this work,I needed to buy these for my S4 as it has no proper support points other than the designated "owner jack/workshop lifter contact points. One thing, for those folk wanting to save some money, while I bought all my bits from VW, the bearing removed was an SKF part, that was also sourced from VW back in 12/2006 - so maybe save some money and buy that bearing from somewhere like ECP as they sell SKF parts as well as another brand.

As always, try try to remember to remove the hub slitting tool BEFORE refitting the clamping bolt with new lock nut!!

By the way, too late for you though, the Seat Ibiza MK4 website, has links covering a few tasks including this one, and they reckoned that you could fit spring compressors and get enough compression to avoid releasing the drive shaft, I thought that I might have had to take the N/S shaft out as the hub showed no signs of playing the game - I even found a new hub nut left over from my 12/2006 front suspension repairs!