mk3 golf suspension - spring snapped?

Hi, Driving home today I heard a loud clunking noise. After this the car continued to make a noise but seemed to drive ok (I was nearly home and going about 30).

I've had a look and it appears that the rear suspension has disconnected. On the other side the spring sits on a disc (mounting?). On the broken side the spring appears to have snapped or come free of the disc leaving the mounting sitting in the spring, a couple of turns up.

So I'll be getting a garage to look at it tomorrow - but I'd appreciate any suggestions or comments before I go... is it a straightforward repair - new spring? re connect to mounting?

Thanks in advance, John

Reply to
John P.
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I should give the following disclaimer: I've never done much work on an A3, but I've done several A2 suspensions, and the I think the rear of an A3 is pretty much the same as the rear of an A2.

I've never heard of the springs snapping on a VW. I have a Ford Escort (differentt from a UK Escort, undoubtedly) and it had this problem. There was a rubber sleave around the spring that I think trapped salt and crap in it, and eventually the spring corroded through and snapped. Although Ford adamantly denies this, I believe the problem is relatively common in areas with snow (in fact, Ford recalled other cars for the same problem). As a result, I'm leary of rubber sleaves (they are allegedly used for reducing noise, but as far as I can tell the only excessive noise occurs after they snap.

Anyway, replacing the spring is pretty trivial. Lift the car up. Remove the wheel. Take a nut off at the top and a bolt at the bottom (you might also have to remove the brake line from the clip if its being held to the shock assembly -- I can't remember, it is unneccessary, and unwise to disconnect the brake line from the brake however). Once the assembly is off, you just loosen the bolt that holds in the upper perch and the spring should come right off.

Caveats:

1) It is unneccesary to use a spring compressor on the rears, only the fronts, so basic hand tools are all that is neccessary. Thats the good news

2) Removing the top nut is a pain, at least in the Jetta (Vento). I have the feeling that the clearance on the Golf is much better, so this may not be an issue, but: The Jetta requires a very deep offset 17mm wrench to remove the nut. I got away with a socket and a visegrip (there isn't ennough room to put a ratchet on it).

3) Its helpful to have a hydraulic jack when reinstalling to aid in aligning the bottom. A cheap one is fine.

4) There are a lot of little parts, make sure you remember how they came out and don't lose them. If you do it yourself, take notes.

5) If you buy new, my guess is you'll have to buy a whole new set of springs, you may be able to get away with a used one. There is a rubbber isolator at the top where it hits the upper hat, hopefully yours isn't too badly chewed up, but it probably is.
Reply to
blah

Thanks for the reply, I'll be taking it to a garage to get fixed - it sounds like it might not need to be an expensive job.

Wosrt case is they need to replace the suspension spring and mounting (?) I guess... hopefully that won't cost a lot.

Thanks John

Reply to
John P.

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