1985 Scirocco Front Strut Replacement

[MikeS0000]

Hello Folks -

Had a great suggestion from Mark1gls from the show your Scirocco Thread. I am going to replace the front struts on the 1985 Model, German Market Scirocco I'm working on. It made its way to the US, where it was left by the owner and set for 25+ years in a barn. Pretty much all original in and out, with a couple exceptions.

I finished the rear assemblies and am just about to start the front. Will post pics as I go along, and also welcome and advice. The front assemblies are OEM BOGE (Sachs), as are the originals. One difference, the new ones are made in Mexico, not Germany. Same for the rear, although those were made in Brazil.

More to follow..... (please let me know if you have any questions or advice)

Best regards!
- Mike

[MikeS0000]

Well, finally....

Had 9 of the wife's relatives come to visit and stay for two weeks!!! Makes me somewhat glad that I am the "Last of the Mohicans." They are probably checking out all of the sh** they can grab when I'm gone.

Anyhow, finally got a start on the front struts. Not too much to see, there is an overall pic, one of the lower nuts loosened and the brake line removed. And, one of the top nuts loosened. Need to hang or support the control arm and it will pop right out.... Really!! His spring compressor has 4 U-Bolts that actually tighten to the spring. To me it looks like the safe way to go, even should a spring break it will be held by the u-bolt. I hope.

Say, are the jacks correctly placed? There is a fiber or some type of material covering most of the underside, so am not sure where the frame is? My son started on this, but he had lost most of the use of his hands for a year before he passed. He was a Toyota Tech, rough way to go... I had to throw it together to bring it over to our house.

Anyhow, more pics, maybe tomorrow. Suggestions, comments and critiques always welcome!

- Mike

[MikeS0000]

PS - what is the brown stuff in the wheel well? It is sprayed on that underside cover.

[MikeS0000]

OK, here is the wrap-up of the first strut..., now, the other one, the lower bolt was a real PITA! Finally got it out by heating, pounding, etc... What seemed to finally do the trick was removing the top adjustment bolt, loosening the bolts in the engine compartment and working the strut in and out. That made the PB Blaster and Kroil work its way into the inside.

Here are some pics showing the whole process...

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[MikeS0000]

Final steps. Sure I missed some in between, but a quick synopsis.

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[MikeS0000]

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While both sides are open I am going to replace the pads, rotors and buggered up screw on each rotor that hold the rotor on and align the lug bolt holes.

Thanks for looking!

- Mike

[MikeS0000]

After cleaning, original paint on this 30 year old buggy shows off! (well not the shield, that has been repainted)

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