Front Bilstein shock question

[eki912]

Replaced the whole lot, Eibachs & Bilstein B4s.

Rearend was a piece of cake, easiest suspension change I have ever done.

But the front was a bit of a struggle , as I also expected.
Spent more time than I planned. Mainly due to working alone and not having all proper tools...
All done now.

But when I tried to tighten the metalcup part, on top of the strut inside the enginebay, it doesn’t meet the body.
No matter what I do or try. There is always a gap of 2-3mm between the rubberised underside of that metalcup and the car body.
Is that totally normal and OK ?
I was told that because the rubberpiece inside the fender is old it is OK. I didn’t replace those with new ones.
Seems a bit odd to me that it doesn’t have to be tight and that a gap like that is normal.

[Jay-Jay]

Most probably the top-mount bushings have collpased and are less tall than they were when new.
It is always a good rule to replace them when replacing shock absorbers, because they use to deform with usage.

[Pierlu]

It’s normal, the top strut need to be replaced. Not dangerous at the moment but also not comfortable during the ride as new. I’ve got the same problem and i’ve solved it replacing them. Here 2 photos, one before the service and one after

Now the ride is comfortable even for a b12

[RUM4MO]

That metal cup will be to stop the suspension "escaping" if something nasty happens, it is not, I think, meant to tighten up against the car body as that would cause rubbing and loss of paint and so rusting in these areas.

Edit:- I'd think that as long as all the parts were fitted in the correct order, ie the top bearing under and not over the sprung steel metal in the top mounting, then it will be okay.

[eki912]

Pierlu’s before picture is just like what I am experiencing now !
I am a bit concerned, as I sort of feel as the fitting should be tight....like any fitting in a car.
Especially in suspension.
Altough many have also said it is normal. As even with the original set up (before I changed the springs and shocks) and with that old rubberlump in place there should have been that gap. As the age of that rubbermount would have created the same gap there with the original springs and shocks ? I simply didn’t even look at that when I took them out .
And if all that is true, am I simply worrying for something that I do not need to worry about?
BTW: In what circumstances in normal daily use would that shock/spring combo come out that much, that the rubbermount stuck up there inside the fender would move down from it’s position ? And the actual topcup/uppermount inside the enginebay would move down against the body, preventing the suspension from moving downwards.

The car works and moves like it should, nothing special noticed while driving it yesterday.
Except that the bounciness from the front is gone ! And it doesn’t bottom at the front anymore.
The drive is MUCH harder now. Some might think it is a bit too hard now.
I personally don’t like too soft suspension on a car. So I am pleased with the results.

Changing that rubber lump there.... , not interested. It was enough difficult to take them out once.
While doing that I also managed to brake the ABS-sensor wiring. Don’t ask how...
So simply, trying to avoid doing that.

What if I purchase another pair of those cups, cut the cups bottom away, and use the remaining upper side of cup there, pushing it there as a ”washer” , between the original cup and car body, to fill that gap?
Would that work, and keep the top in place tightly ?
As this part is available :
https://www.autodoc.co.uk/ridex/13634127
Cheap too, and I could put that in place without fighting with the whole suspension coming out again...

[2226]

Hack jobs hardly ever work out in the long run. Rather just buy a new mount. Yes, it's a ton of work to do over again, but what's the point of running on a known failed/failing part?

Look at poly mounts from the likes of Powerflex. That material lasts a bit longer. Transmits a bit more road feel/noise though. Not sure if they do a stock length one, might just be the shorter item that gives a bit of lowering.

[eki912]

Addional info on hard ride on this brand new Eibach & Bilstein combo.
Checked the tirepressures...
They were a bit too high, all around.
Mainly due to my closest service station pressure gauge showing wrong
Checked with my own handgauge, and on another servicestation, and lowered the pressures.
Now it goes OK.
The hard thumps when driving over speedpumps, smoothened out nicely.
I think now the tires, with correct and lowered pressures, take part in suspension movement.
And smooth out the driving.

[eki912]

Have used the car now for a while and no issues. My wife uses it more though, as it is her daily commuter.
All is OK and You were right, having that gap there ( by me using the old top rubber mounts ) doesn’t make any noticeable issues. Atleast I haven’t noticed anything special.
For first day or week I was (kind of...) feeling or hearing that the rubber top mounts are not properly in their position.
But not anymore. Maybe they have now found their place.
For the rubber mounts on top, are there different types available ? Asking only as the car seems a bit too low at the front. Could the old and stock mounts affect the rideheight this much ? Not much, but would like to get the car 10-15mm higher at the front. Rear is OK.
Naturally I am aware that the Eibach springs do lower the vehicle, and they sure did. There is nothing wrong in ride, even with the lower ride hight the car rides OK. The Eibach springs are so much stiffer and with the fitted Bilstein shocks the car rides much better than it did with the old (stock) springs and shocks. It used to bounce earlier, and sometimes the original front ones bottomed...all that is history now. It just looks a bit like the front is too low compered to the rear end. And the bottom plastics and front spoiler regularly touch ground on speed bumps and garage driveways.
Also the Eibach kit came with some round metal pieces, that I did not fit. What is the purpose of those ? And what happens now that I left them out...

[RUM4MO]

I wish that I could remember what the top of these struts looked like when I replaced everything on my older daughter's late 2009 Ibiza 1.4 16C SC, but I can't!

I think the metal parts you are talking about are spacers and the get used on some cars and not on others, remember that Skoda Fabia and SEAT Ibiza and VW Polo all use these parts, as will the Audi A1, and I do remember reading that some cars need these spacers and other don't - again, I've forgotten which one do and which ones don't!

Edit:- no doubt I'll need to find out some time while my wife owns her 2015 Polo 1.2TSI SEL!

[Shappers01]

Hi, I did the same upgrade as you and was also disappointed that the front of the car was a bit too low at the front, I was hitting my front spoiler everywhere. Eventually I sourced a set of 2015 GTi springs and fitted those instead to my Bilsteins. I ended up with a perfect ride and height at the front. The GTi springs are still firm but they have a nice compliency which the Eibachs didn’t have (more OEM feeling). The rear end went up a little more than the Eibachs but I will trim that down with the lower spring cups. Or you could leave the Eibachs on the rear.

The metal stops supplied with your kit can be used on the steering arm to restrict the lock if you need. On the Polo they were unnecessary and I left them out too.

[Jay-Jay]

Those metal rings MUST be installed between the upper spring plate and the little bearing.
They are spacers and allow the spring to be 1cm more compressed, so they work with the correct preload.
They make the front ~1cm higher, but most importantly they avoid any damage to the shock absorber's rod!

It is absolutely necessary to install those ring spacers with Bilstein B8.

I personally experienced problems for not installing them, so, trust me!

[Shappers01]

This is really interesting. Are we talking about the part(s) shown in my picture?

There was no instructions what to do with it and I was told it could be used on the steering rack to restrict the lock.

Now I could understand why the front of my car was 1cm lower than supposed to be with the Eibach/Bilsteins if I left these parts out.

Has no effect on me as I refitted GTi springs but this would be good info for the OP and others

[Jay-Jay]

Yes, I am talking about those rings.

[eki912]

Interesting !
As I think I did see a picture/instructions with those rings, and it did not show them to be fitted to the shocks.
But to somewhere in steering parts, propably like Shappers said too.
Hmmmm. I left them out too....

Should I take the shocks out again....

[eki912]

Found this when I googled with that number on top of that plastic bag in the picture :
https://www.bsr-tuning.fi/assets/pdf/ei ... 085024.pdf