Leaking FSD?

[TG.20T]

Opened the garage door today and discovered a small pool of fluid on the floor beneath the rear swing arm... Doesn't look good does it.

Took it out for a quick drive and the back right knocks / clunks on compression. Happened when I backed it off the drive (slowly) and then also over bumps etc... Doesn't sound good does it.

Strangely there doesn't seem to be anything wrong when you push down on the back end (eg boot lip). The suspension compresses, rises & settles correctly.

Anyway, looks like it's shot and the original suspension's going back in. The fronts are on their way out as well I think as the front end takes a while to settle over bumps. The Eibach/FSD's have been on my car for 8k & previous owner's for 25k. It's been awesome.

Does anyone know much about the FSD's and if they can be repaired?

Otherwise I'll re-fit the OEM suspension.
Link to DIY (which contains links to 3 other DIY's).
http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=3012010
The fronts are pretty involved. The rears look easy. Might do the rears myself & get a prof to do the fronts in due course.
I mean a professional mechanic, not a professor; I'm not sure he/she'd have the right tools or knowledge...

Cheers,
Tom.

 

[gregozedobe]

IIRC there was a bad batch of Koni FSDs a while back. Might be worth talking to the Koni distributor and asking if yours are covered (doesn't hurt to ask, and they may offer replacements or discounted rebuild) ?

I think they cured the problem on later build units.

 

[johno]

those shocks look rooted

 

[Hux]

Mate that sucks. I haven't had any issues with my FSDs, but when I had my F&R sway bars installed at TCCA in Artarmon, the mechanic there commented that they had to replace a full set of FSDs on a Jetta after 10,000km as the shocks had most of their rebound. He didn't say whether it was due to fluid leakage, but after seeing yours, then it probably the same issue.

 

[WhiteJames]

Sorry to hear Tom.

Unfortunately, Koni will not warranty the FSD for a second owner.

East Coast Suspensions are not likely to be interested in your problem either.

Prior to purchasing the KW V3, I toyed with the idea of fitting the shorter version of the Koni FSD that came to market a short time after these were released ... or ... or having the rear dampers rebuilt with the stroke shortened to drop the rear about 10mm. Apparently the stroke in the rear was a tad too long for any type of spring. Many of the original Koni FSD kits were like this for the MKIV and MKV. Didn't affect handling or driving performance, just looks.

I offered to pay East Coast Suspensions all installation labour cost, to change or rebuild the rears. ECS weren't in the least bit interested. They were happy to give me a price on a set of KW V3 between the 2nd and 3rd time I contacted them to see if Koni Australia were willing to come to the party. At worst, I was going to just source two rear dampers, the shortened version, just to drop the rear about 10mm.

In the end, I came to the conclusion that internet providers of aftermarket suspension systems have not killed the local market due to cheaper prices, well not entirely. Part of the blame can be attributed to local suppliers not willing to provide an adequate end-result for their clients. When you're not willing to compete on price, service & warranty is everything.

Not suprising that I purchase the KW V3 from Balance Motorsport in England ... for about 1K cheaper than local price.

Finding that even though internet providers may be distant, their back service can be first rate, and sometimes better than local providers. You may take a hit on shipping, the risk -v- saving is worth it imo for an internet purchase gone wrong.

As for you're buggered rear Koni FSD dampers ... you could source a set of rears from ECS, or preferrably Rennenhaus.com, Tirerack, Redline or any of the internet providers I have mentioned in the WJ Suspension Thread.


Personally, if your budget allows, do yourself a favour and get a set of HPA KW SHS coilovers for @ $1600. Otherwise it's back to OEM.

Edit: If its okay, I may post pics on the WJ Suspension thread re: leaking dampers.

Cheers.
WJ

 

[TG.20T]

Cheers for the info all.

The HP KW SHS are very tempting WJ; If I drove the car more I'd go for them in a shot. My nov. lease is up in July this year - think it'd be better to have the car back to stock.
However, I'm contemplating keeping it longer and possibly taking it back to the UK next year; not sure how much that would cost though.
Decisions, Decisions...

For now I've taken out the rears and put back the stock suspension until I make my mind up. Obviously not driving it in the meantime.

The rears are easy - the DIY's in the links I posted above are pretty good and will tell you all you need to know, although I'll post a few more pics here for reference.

So I started off with removing the special 'anti-theft' wheel bolts. They require a special tool, but after some perserverence I managed to remove them with a Torx...

Then I found this in the boot and realised it works a treat... :bellyroll:

All set

What a mess:

Place a jack under the control arm and remove the outer bolt holding the control arm

The control arm will drop - lower it with the jack.

The spring can now be removed - interference fit at the top - just pull it out.
There's a plastic snap-in locator holding the bottom of the spring into the control arm. Remove this carefully as it looks fragile for what it is. You'll see pics of this when it's been reassembeled.

Spring removed.

Loosen the 2 bolts holding the top shock mount. Note, there are only ever 2 bolts here even though there are 3 holes in the mount.

Now before you remove these bolts, loosen the bolt holding the bottom of the shock as otherwise the whole assembly will twist and you may not be able to get enough torque on to loosen it.

Remove the bottom bolt and then remove the previously loosened top bolts.

The shock can now be removed

You ideally need a strut tool to remove the top nut holding the shock strut to the bracket. You can use an allen key & wrench (hack) or just a socket with some inertia (air tool would be good here), but you need to be sure it's tight enough when reassembling, so a strut tool is the way to go.

When putting the spring back in, make sure that the top and bottom are seated correctly

(from below control arm

Voila:

too easy.

Fronts will be done once I've made my mind up about the HPA... - they are somewhat more involved.

 

[isaw]

I'm going to attempt a full FSD swapover this weekend, so your guide is very well timed

But as you say, the fronts are alot more difficult. Regarding the "strut tool" do you know where to pick one up from? we have air guns but alas no compressor! If it'll make the job that much easier it might be worth renting one for the weekend.

 

[TG.20T]

I'm going to attempt a full FSD swapover this weekend, so your guide is very well timed

But as you say, the fronts are alot more difficult. Regarding the "strut tool" do you know where to pick one up from? we have air guns but alas no compressor! If it'll make the job that much easier it might be worth renting one for the weekend.

No I don't, sorry. I tried Supercheap - they'd never heard of one.
I tried various other hardware stores, they didn't have them either. The closest thing I could find was a Podger (Scaffold spanner)

But I'm not sure if they come in the right size.
You just need something you can get round the nut and still get a allen / hex tool through into the centre of the strut thread.

Are you replacing old FSD's with new FSD's? You already have the Eiback / Neuspeed kit in don't you?

 

[srbsta]

i think my FSD are farked....the car when i go over a uneven road feels like a boat does this mean they are gonsky

ps i dont have the stock suspension :thumbdown:

 

[TG.20T]

i think my FSD are farked....the car when i go over a uneven road feels like a boat does this mean they are gonsky

ps i dont have the stock suspension :thumbdown:

Yeah I reckon mate - that's bad news. That's exactly how my fronts feel when I go over a bump at high speed or a speedbump at low speed - takes ages to settle and feels like a boat. They've been like that for a while now. I think isaw's were the same.

I never felt the rears going like this, the rear-right just shit itself and leaked. :mad0259::mad0259::mad0259:

 

[TG.20T]

Does anyone know the part number for the rear top shock mount bolts

I want to put new ones in.
I had a look through this guy's page but he only covers springs and not shocks. Some very useful DIY's though.

Anyway, if anyone knows the part number and the best place to get them from I'd be most appreciative.

Cheers.

 

[YouSnooze]

Part number is: 1K0513353G according to ECStuning.com
http://www.ecstuning.com/Volkswagen-Golf_V--2.0T/Suspension/OEM/ES250671/

 

[TG.20T]

Part number is: 1K0513353G according to ECStuning.com
http://www.ecstuning.com/Volkswagen-Golf_V--2.0T/Suspension/OEM/ES250671/

Cheers YouSnooze.

I'll be ordering a full set of bolts.

Mfg Part# 1K0498501

 

[isaw]

Alright,

Started friday night jacked the car up and removed the rear struts,
(Note to anyone else here, a 16mm 6 sided socket is advised for the bolts holding the top of the strut bracket to the chassis. we almost stripped one with shit sockets.) the bolt ontop of the strut is a 16mm as well. Finding a 16mm thats open with a hex ontop is a pain, but Trade tools direct had a socket set that included a 16mm and a 21mm (the size you need for the front!) for about $40.
Given the podger for a 19/21mm was the same price we killed 2 with 1.

so the backs were easy, make sure you have the black end cap on before installing it back in too.. Am happy to say the back sits 1/2 inch lower then it did before improving the overall stance look.

onto the front..
We installed the Whiteline ALK pretty easy, and were unsure if we had the tools needed for the front... The kit that came from ECS tuning for the front suspension install had EVERYTHING! the strut spreader tool was a life saver! while not as easy as the back, undoing the 3 bolts off the control arm and a light tap of the axle (and standing on the rotor while holding onto the guard..) it finally popped out. spring clamps, and swapped struts, (with a maccas lunch inbetween) more cursing and we were done in about 90 minutes for both sides. I was really impressed in the time it took.

OHHHHhhhhh I got another set of FSD's from america shipped over, the new strut top nuts that came in the box were imperial, and thus we needed to use the old ones (not the best idea...) so order these! they are a 16/21mm nut with a nylon lock in the top.

part from that, was pretty easy even for a non mechanical minded person like me.

Took her for a 350km shakedown through Mt Lindsey where my driver boiled the brakes, twice.... but the new pads and rotors seem to be bedded in and are working well.

Brake flush this weekend, and front sway still needs to be done, am dreading dropping the subframe, but I need to drop in new bolts anyway so it wont be too bad.

in summary: get new locknuts for strut tops in metic. 16mm/21mm
get 16/21mm open sockets with a hex optop for removing said strut nuts
a 16mm 6 sided socket (not the regular 12) is very useful.
new axle bolts, and optional new bolts for the rear top strut mount
STRUT SPREADER! and a 16mm triple square and you'll be right

Didn't take pics, but it's all been done before.