I changed recently my front shock the hard way - by removing the complete
strut assembly, because of Hayness book advice. Having done it I have the
suspicion that the shocks could have been replaced easier, without removing
the strut, by just undoing the retaining cap (special wrench) and undoing
the three studs on the smaller upper triangular bracket, sitting atop of the
upper strut support (under the hood).
In the course of the repair I had a chance to clean the teeth of the CV
joints' ABS wheels and so fixed the ABS intermittent light, so there is
nothing to be sorry about, yet I am curious : could it have been done
simpler?
Plamen, Toronto

 

Yes. BTDT like you did on a previous type 44.

Since then on the Audi World forum there have been a number of people
talking about how easy it is to change the shocks in the front in the
manner you describe. Apparently the only issue is holding the top of the
rod while tightening the bolt. There is a special tool for this that is
supposedly included with Blitzen shocks.

Live and learn : )

Tony
'91 100Q 5spd
107 K on the clock

Petkan wrote:

> I changed recently my front shock the hard way - by removing the complete
> strut assembly, because of Hayness book advice. Having done it I have the
> suspicion that the shocks could have been replaced easier, without removing
> the strut, by just undoing the retaining cap (special wrench) and undoing
> the three studs on the smaller upper triangular bracket, sitting atop of the
> upper strut support (under the hood).
> In the course of the repair I had a chance to clean the teeth of the CV
> joints' ABS wheels and so fixed the ABS intermittent light, so there is
> nothing to be sorry about, yet I am curious : could it have been done
> simpler?
> Plamen, Toronto
>
>

 

Special tools?
Mine are a huge pair of Channel-Lok pliers, a pipe to put over the
handle of said pliers, and an impact wrench for the top nut. Takes
about 20 minutes on a bad day. It pays just over an hour.
The only time I ever pull a strut is if the top bearings are bad.
You can even replace the boot by reaching through the spring.



On Fri, 24 Oct 2003 00:28:38 -0500, TonyJ <tonyjNOSPAM@NOSPAMvisi.com>
wrote:

>Yes. BTDT like you did on a previous type 44.
>
>Since then on the Audi World forum there have been a number of people
>talking about how easy it is to change the shocks in the front in the
>manner you describe. Apparently the only issue is holding the top of the
>rod while tightening the bolt. There is a special tool for this that is
>supposedly included with Blitzen shocks.
>
>Live and learn : )
>
>Tony
>'91 100Q 5spd
>107 K on the clock
>
>Petkan wrote:
>
>> I changed recently my front shock the hard way - by removing the complete
>> strut assembly, because of Hayness book advice. Having done it I have the
>> suspicion that the shocks could have been replaced easier, without removing
>> the strut, by just undoing the retaining cap (special wrench) and undoing
>> the three studs on the smaller upper triangular bracket, sitting atop of the
>> upper strut support (under the hood).
>> In the course of the repair I had a chance to clean the teeth of the CV
>> joints' ABS wheels and so fixed the ABS intermittent light, so there is
>> nothing to be sorry about, yet I am curious : could it have been done
>> simpler?
>> Plamen, Toronto
>>
>>