Hello all,

My '93 polo breadvan rattles and clatters fairly badly over rough ground and have been told that there is excessive play in the drivers side, front top mount. My wheel alignment is also way out and can seem to shift slightly, which i'm guessing is the play causing the position of the strut top to move around slightly.

The car suspension is standard and not lowered or anything.

I'm looking to do this sometime soon so it would be good to get advice first on a few things if poss;

1. Where is best to get the parts from (brand, supplier, etc)?

2. Do I need to to both drivers and passengers side to keep things balanced?

3. What's the best method and any hidden nasties to watch out for?

4. Any extra things worth doing/changing whilst I'm there?

I imagine its a case of undo the top nut, hub nut etc. Disconnect anti roll bar, ball joint, track rod end, calliper and the whole shock should drop out. Remove old, then fit the new top mount and reassemble.

If I'm wrong or missing anything out then please add to it.

This may be a well trodden path and have been covered in the past. A link to a good resource or guide would also be much appreciated.

Thanks

Bill

1. The genuine ones are made by Febi, to be fair, the pattern ones aren't bad generally.

2. I'd do both, if one's worn, the other probably isn't great.

3. Give everything a good drink of release spray the night before, or ideally a couple of times in the week before as well.

You'll need to either bizz gun the top nut off, or use a deep swan neck spanner and the appropriate tool to hold the insert to stop it spinning.

The suspension FAQ will cover what you need http://www.clubpolo.co.uk/forum/index.php?showtopic=125676

You'll need a castle nut tool, but they're cheap.

The spring needs to be compressed when you undo the castle nut to take the mount off.

Undo the brake carrier bolts from the hubs, rather than trying to get the slide bolts out to take the caliper off the carrier.

I tend to take the steering arms off the rack rather than try to part the track rod end ball joints from the struts. Make sure the nearside track rod is freed off while you're on the bench, so it's easier to adjust when it's back on the car.

Use new pinch bolts, they're that cheap, there's no excuse not to.

4. It's worth changing the top cup (the one you can see from the engine bay) for a 6N polo one, they don't exhibit play like the mk2 ones do (even when they're new).

That's excellent. Really appreciate that, thanks. Will get on the case soon.

Is this what I'm after, 2 sets of these? Or is there a better place to get them?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Strut-Top-Mount-Mounting-Kit-Front-Audi-50-Vw-Polo-Derby-871412323AS1-/400842188733?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&fits=Car+Make%3AVW%7CModel%3APolo%7CCars+Year%3A1993%7CPlat_Gen%3A86CF%7CCars+Type%3A1.3&hash=item5d540e67bd

Also, can anyone point me in the right direction to get some 6N top caps.

Thanks again,

Edited 31 May, 201511 yr by wmydlarz

That'll do. Not a bad price for genuine, and new bump stops too.

6n top caps.... Find someone who's breaking one.