My Fabia has been knocking for the past few months, i assumed it was the engine or console bushing but apparently its not. The car failed its MOT due to having a broken spring. Came as a bit of a suprise, as it doesn't seem to have affected the handling at all - still brakes in a straight line without any wobbles and its really not noticable. Apparently the droplink is whats causing the knocking, and there's play in the tie rod - all on the front nearside (damn sheffield roads!)

Anyways, this seems like a perfect reason to replace my springs with Eibach pro-sport ones! Also getting the shortened droplinks (was looking at the ones from Awesome-GTI).

Due to being unemployed at the moment (thanks to the fine british government) i'm probably going to fit them myself. I'm pretty certain i will be able to get all the shocks off myself, and the droplinks are a fairly easy job - i'm just a bit concerned that i won't be able to open the shocks to replace the springs (i've always seen this done with an airgun). I've not got a haynes so any pointers from you guys would be greatly appreciated.

- Are there any bolts that will need replacing as a matter of course as i disassemble/reassemble the suspension?

- How to get the shocks apart without an airgun (i understand i may need to throw them all in the boot of my rav and drive them to a garage to get them swapped over but i would rather not if i can help it)

- I understand the eibach springs are progressive, which way up do they go?

- anyone got details of the torques needed to put everything back together?

- do i need any specialist tools other than a set of spring compressors?

- anyone got an online guide to fitting them, or something similar.

Give it to me straight I'm pretty handy when it comes to cars/engines/motorcycles, is this something that is relalistic to do outside my house?

Thanks in advance, actually looking forward to getting the Fabia off its pogostick legs :p

Edited 28 October, 201015 yr by Simonbt

go to www.fabia-vrs.co.uk there is a guide on there on changing struts and springs etc

I did my own mate, its very straight forward, the fronts are easy enough if you have a drill and some adaptors to fit nuts - can get from screwfix. you'll also need some spring clamps but otherwise theres nothing holding the springs to the shocks.

1.) You should be able to use all the original fittings/bolts

2.) Can do it without an airgun, but would reccomend a cordless drill and the above adaptors i mentioned.

3.) Progressive? Dont follow, but they will probably 'settle' which means they'll sit higher initially then drop a little bit over time.

4.) Cant remember the exact sizes but was 15/16/17 IIRC - then again I swapped for Koni's which uses slightly bigger nuts I think.

5.) Elbow grease

6.) Beat me to it in the above post - but if you're pretty handy you can work through it

Progressive meaning the more you compress them, the harder they get. I know all springs do this in a fashion but these are specifically designed to be more pronounced.

Thats a progressive spring, tighter coils at one end than at the other.

Thanks for all the advice and the website, i'll check it out now!

I would put the springs on so 'Eibach' reads the correct way up rather than upside down. I've always presumed this is the correct way when fitting aftermarket springs to vehicles in the past.

- How to get the shocks apart without an airgun (i understand i may need to throw them all in the boot of my rav and drive them to a garage to get them swapped over but i would rather not if i can help it)

PLEASE do not try to undo the top nut unless you have spring compressors fitted, it will hurt a lot!!

shortened drop links are not required!

stick with oem length with eibachs

PLEASE do not try to undo the top nut unless you have spring compressors fitted, it will hurt a lot!!

Luckly, i did already know that fact - very dangerous things those springs!

I've managed to finish it all off today and i've managed to get rid of the annoying knocking! (turned out to be a knackered droplink). I had some issues getting eibachs as quick as i needed, and needed the car back on the road so ended up picking up a couple of standard springs and popped them in.

For anyone else that is thinking about undertaking this, I came across some issues myself having never done springs before so maybe i can help someone avoid them! I'm sure many of you will know all this back to front

- The nearside spring doesn't need compressing to get the strut out, but the offside does. You need about an inch of play to squish the damper as the hub doesn't drop as low as on the nearside.

- The top nut on the strut was actually pretty easy to get out with a ring spanner and a hex key, there was no real need for an air gun which was a relief.

- I had a few issues getting the trackrod end bolts off and ended up stripping the inside of one in the process, ended up having to cut it off with a hacksaw (but only £11 for a new one so wasn't a big problem). I suppose you could do the whole job without undoing them but it does make it a lot easier with them off as you can turn the hub easily and its good when you need to wiggle it to get the strut out!

- As far as the special hub spreading tool, its well worth investing in one. I did get one strut out without one, using a wedge but it was such a pain i ended up making one. Get yourself an 8mm hex key and grind two of the points flat so you end up with a rectangle shape. You're looking for it to be aprox 8mm x 5mm then just round of the corners a little. Pop it in and turn 90degrees and the hub falls off, makes the job muuuuuch much easier. Be carefull if you are hammering stuff into the gap at the back of the hub as their is a locating tab attached to the back of the strut which also goes in that gap, you'll end up pinning the tab to the side and not being able to get the strut out (and if your like me, you'll sit there for five mins scratching your head cause you can't work it out before actually getting a torch and realising your mistake )

- invest in a decent pair of spring compressors. preferably ones you can operate with a socket/ratchet. I had a pair of fairly old ones and they tended to slip if not in the perfect position and were a real pain to tighten/untighten.

- the only tools i had to actually buy was a 14mm spline tool and a 19mm deep socket for the hub pinch bolt., otherwise its a the standard toolkit most have (ring spanners, star/hex keys, axle stands, trolly jack, spring compressors, socket set)

All in all, i replaced both front springs, both droplinks, one trackrod end and brake pads - probably took me in total 8-10hrs. Having never really touched car suspension before, i was slightly wary of undertaking this but its definatly something the amateur can take on themselves. If you don't mind skinning some knuckles (some of the bolts are locked very tight) and have a full weekend its doable solo if you're short on cash or just fancy the challenge! I finished it all this afternoon, took it to the garage to get it tracked and drove all the way back with a grin on my face - quite an achievement i thought (and no knocking!! woooohooo!!)

Now to rest my poor hands, they are a real state after doing this

Edited 1 November, 201015 yr by Simonbt

Thanks for the post Simon, I had to do the same last year - front spring broke (dramatically) half hour after passing the MoT. Unfortunately broken springs seem to be a feature of modern cars irrespective of make - up to and including Rolls.

Simonbt, yes I did this job on a Polo a few years ago, I didn't expect to have a problem with taking the TREs off - the cheeking buggars that make them for Skoda just make them out of cak, so, when you fit a hex key into the top of the TRE threaded "bolt" to stop it turning and try to slacken the nyloc nut, the hex key just opens up the hex recess in the TRE - charming! Hub spreading tool is worth getting I tried lots of large flat screwdriver bits and chisels but their taper is either to shallow or too "fast".

Simonbt, yes I did this job on a Polo a few years ago, I didn't expect to have a problem with taking the TREs off - the cheeking buggars that make them for Skoda just make them out of cak, so, when you fit a hex key into the top of the TRE threaded "bolt" to stop it turning and try to slacken the nyloc nut, the hex key just opens up the hex recess in the TRE - charming! Hub spreading tool is worth getting I tried lots of large flat screwdriver bits and chisels but their taper is either to shallow or too "fast".

Exactly what happened to mine - luckly i did get the nut off far enough to get a junior hacksaw underneith and hack it off! It took me a while to work out if it was a hex bolt or a star, almost everything i tried felt loose. Was pleased to find it was only 11quid to replace, and scary enough i managed to get it back on and track it perfectly by eye (confirmed by a laser tester) - I would like to call it skill, but i think i was having a very lucky 5mins

Thanks for the post Simon, I had to do the same last year - front spring broke (dramatically) half hour after passing the MoT. Unfortunately broken springs seem to be a feature of modern cars irrespective of make - up to and including Rolls.

Strangly enough, almost a whole coil broke off the top of mine but there was no noticable difference in handling and under heavy braking (not holding the steering wheel) it would still run straight. I'm pretty sure i remember when it was likely to have broken, if it was from a knock, and that was almost 10months ago just after all the snow i hit a very big pot hole. Still cursing that i didn't take photos and claim off the council for it.