Strut Bearings - Can They Be Changed In Situ ?

[sasquartch]

Hi all, first time back on here for quite a while.

 

My Galaxy (2005 TDi) has recently been creaking like mad when turning corners at slow speed and looking on here seems to suggest it's a pretty common fault.

 

Jacked up the car today and investigated, I also replaced the drop links as these were an advisory on my MOT some months ago.

 

With the wheels off and my wife turning the steering wheel from lock to lock it was obvious the top mounts were very rough. Sprayed WD40 between the rubber at the top of the strut (from under the car) and now much better but the nearside still isn't right. When the wheel is turned  and you hold the top of the spring with your hand you can feel it 'jump' slightly as though it is pulling against something rubber.

 

Does this indicate a strut bearing ?

 

I know the struts are potentially difficult to get the top nut off due to corrosion but I am confused as to how these work and how much disassembly is required. On my BMW you have 3 nuts on the strut tower and the top mount is an integrated bearing and rubber mount - the Galaxy seems to be a different design.

 

Can I change the bearing in-situ by just undoing the nut at the top ? There seem to be two parts commonly available - a rubber part and a bearing I think. Would this be what I need - GSF part number 457VG0251

 

I cannot find a reference to replacing this in the TIS

 

If there's a how to or at least some pointers for the general procedure I'd be grateful

 

Car is on 91k - I have owned from new so none of this has ever been apart.

 

Any help appreciated - thanks in advance.

 

[daddyfixit]

as far as I know, its a strut off job;

 

bad enough trying to get at top nuts-take out the surfboard for access ??

 

loads of wd40-type stuff in advance as well sprayed all over the place !!

 

if you get strut on the floor you can see what your doing.

[chrispb123456]

You do need to remove the strut to change the rubber seat and bearing.

As said the first nut is the most troublesome to remove as the cup washer fills with water rusting the nut threads.

If it doesn't undo after soaking with penetrating fluid the cup washer can be cut off with a small angle grinder, this will get the strut off quickly you can then deal with that nut easier while off the car.

Once your successful removing the nut and cup washer you will now need to compress the spring enough to remove the second nut, once removed you can now replace the bearing and seat and a new cup washer if you cut off the old one. 

[sparky Paul]

As Chris says, it's a strut out job to change the bearings, but the rubbers can be done without removing the struts.

 

Make sure it's not just the rubbers that's collapsed, I fitted all new bits when I replaced my shocks and springs, and the new Febi Bilstein bushes collapsed within 6 months. The rubber fouled the bearing and top spring cup, causing the steering to become notchy and the strut top mounts to protrude excessively.

 

If you can get the top mounts off, the strut can be pushed down far enough to slip the old rubber bush out underneath the wheelarch turret and slide new ones in. The bush just floats on top of the bearing and the whole thing is held together with the top mount. I replaced my duff bushes this way a few years ago and it's been fine ever since.

[sasquartch]

Thanks for the replies

 

I'm still struggling to visualise how this type of floating strut works as seems very different to the type of arrangements in other cars.

 

is there a diagram anywhere ? The Ford TIS doesn't seem to have anything.

 

I reckon if I take the strut out I might just as well replace the bearing and bush at the same time, the parts don't seem too expensive. GSF I think sell Lemforder parts, these are generally regarded as OEM quality in the BMW world (my other car) - I'm guessing these would be fine for the Galaxy ? I've had experience before of buying cheap ebay Chinese suspension parts that last a few months - if I'm having it all in bits only want to do the job once :-)

[sparky Paul]

It's a VW thing, they have similar arrangements on quite a few of their models. I can't remember seeing a cross section diagram, or anything like that, but you might be able to google something.

 

This link below shows a similar arrangement on the VW Golf...

 

http://workshop-manuals.com/volkswagen/golf-mk4/images/golf-mk4-395.png

 

The bearing is fixed to the top of the strut, and the fat rubber seat is shaped to fit snugly over the bearing and sit between it and the inside of the suspension turret. The weight of the car on the suspension keeps it all together. The cup-shaped steel top mount, which is fixed to the very top of the shocker shaft and sits ABOVE the suspension turret, stops the whole thing coming adrift when you jack the car up. When the car is jacked up, you will find a disconcerting amount of up/down and side to side movement in the top suspension mount, this is quite normal.

 

I would still make sure it is the bearings, and not just failed rubber mounts - you can do the rubbers without taking the struts out.

 

You can check the rubbers by measuring the the top mount protrusion above the suspension turret, should be about 3/8". Any more than that, and the rubbers have collapsed. This will give the symptoms you describe, as would bad bearings.

 

To do the bearings requires you to remove the struts, and the easiest way to do that is to remove the strut and wheel hub assembly in one lump - splitting the two in situ is not easy.

 

FWIW I've had Lemforder bushes for the bottom arms, the Lemforder branded boxes supplied contained genuine VW parts with VW part numbers.

Edited November 1, 2014 by sparky Paul

[foru2justnv]

Similar problem here.

Can the bearing nut come loose?

I have a really bad clonking on near side strut.

Balljoint drop links and lower arms are new, sounds almost as though strut is loose, even on straight any ruts will make a clonking sound front front left definitely towards top, I'm stuck because it's definatly metal noise.

When mount goes can bearing nut go through mount and hit top cup?

Any help will be much appreciated

Regards

Tiff

[sparky Paul]

If you take the scuttle cover out from under the bonnet, the protrusion of the top cup above the suspension turret will tell you if the top bush or bearing has collapsed. Look for a 1/4"-1/2" or thereabouts gap between the lip of the top cup and the suspension turret, with the car's weight on the suspension.

 

TBH there's not a lot else can go wrong with the top of the suspension legs. The smaller nut under the top cup can come loose if the leg has been disassembled, it's a good idea to studlock it on reassembly. If this has come undone, it will make the knock you describe as the bearing will be able to move on the shaft. You can access the small nut by removing the top cup with the weight of the car on the suspension, but you will need a slender ring spanner and shock it with a small hammer to tighten it. Take care to make sure the bearing is seated properly as you tighten it, as it could be irreparably damaged - if it isn't already. If this is the case, the strut will have to come out to rectify.

 

If all the components on the bottom of the leg have been changed, I would make sure everything is tight - an insecure droplink makes an awful noise. A pry bar can be useful when locating the source of any movement.

Edited January 8, 2015 by sparky Paul

[foru2justnv]

Will check that out, thanks sparky Paul

Also looking at above diagram, I don't have part no 7, and the nut on top of bearing,

that goes on directly to bearing then mount sits on top of this right?

Mine last time I opened was bearing then nut then mount then top cup then nut.

Should the nut that holds bearing down have thread lock on there? I've bought new top cup and top nut and bearing nut from tps and it's not a (blue plastic thing inside nut).

One nuts got a lip on bottom and one standard nut.

On refitting I plan on filling cup with grease then using something like a Pringles can lid and sealing cups.

Regards

Tiff

Edited January 8, 2015 by foru2justnv

[sparky Paul]

Part 7 on the diagram above is a spacer, not present on the Galaxy. The pic is of a Golf suspension, but gives you the general idea of the layout -  I couldn't find one for the Galaxy at the time...

 

On the Galaxy, it goes... top spring seat - bearing - small nut - rubber seat - car body - top mount (cup) & nut.

 

The manual does not instruct you to threadlock the bearing retaining nut, but I don't think it's a bad idea. The original bearing retaining nut is a slim nut, about 1/8" thick - you can re-use the original. The top mount nut is a ovalled locking nut with shoulder, and is sometimes supplied attached to the top mount. Aftermarket shock absorbers are sometimes supplied with a replacement nyloc nut (the one with the nylon insert).

 

Watch what you put in the top mount, some greases affect the adhesive that holds the rubber bumper.

[sasquartch]

When I changed the strut bearings on mine the top spring cup had worn quite badly and the hole was noticeably oval. This could well cause a clonk if the bearing can move around and will probably take out the bearing in time as well. I had to get replacements at a main dealer, at VW they cost about 25 quid for the pair which is a lot considering they're just two bits of stamped steel but had to be changed nonetheless