Hi, I'm going to be replacing the rear shock absorber on my 1.4 6N2 Polo as the existing one is leaking oil.

I have been reading up on it and the Haynes manual says you have to compress the spring before doing anything, but then this website (here) says that you can leave the spring in place, and doesn't mention anything about compressing it? And it says to keep the spring in place?

Which is correct, anyone have any advice on this.

Thanks :)

Nah, the whole strut comes out.

Open the boot, pop off the cap and remove the nut. It's a pig to get to, a set of moles over the flat face and then a deep ring spanner will see it off though.

Remove the nut and the associated bits - keep them in the same order!

Jack the car up, wheel off and remove the one bolt holding the shock onto the axle. Watch! It's heavier than you think. Wiggle it out and get it on the bench.

Remove the other top mount and then compress the spring, remove the nut and the spring comes off. Keep it compressed and put onto new shock.

Re-assemble. It's not that hard tbh; just KEEP THE BITS IN THE RIGHT ORDER! :)

Excellent thanks for the advise, I was thinking you wouldn't need to compress the spring first as there has to be a top mount to hold the spring. Maybe the haynes is just saying compress it incase the top mount is faulty or something..