Doug's Race Blue VRS wagon

[Dooge]

So, a friend (Jedd) and I tackled the suspension! Bloody hell, it turned into a mission...

 

Started on front nearside. Instantly, he said the best procedure will be to pop the caliper off, tie rod end and the 3 bolts for the lower ball joint at the end of the wishbone. Then pop the driveshaft out of the hub. Everything looked original and untouched, probably for the life of the vehicle which is 88k. Everything was rusty! We couldn't get the wiper arms off either therefore decision was made to lift the cowling gently which didn't make easy access to the 3 topmount bolts on the offside front.

 

The problems started with the nearside ball joint which would undo to a degree but then just spin. So, decision made to try the offside. Exactly the same. 2 TRW track rod ends were reserved and off we went to the local Euro Car Parts who had some in stock. 

 

The old ones were ground off carefully and new ones wound on. The locking nut was not moved from the track rod so tracking isnt awfully out. 

 

Hub and shock were taken out complete and shock removed from hub. Shock was built with existing bottom spring locator, dust guard and bottom out bumper and topmount attached and torqued up. 

 

Then we realised that we couldn't get the shock all the way into the hub. Topmount and everything else removed and the spring seat used with a bit of wood to hit it downward which worked! 

 

Built shock for second time, put onto car and torqued up. All bolts and mounting points were cleaned up and copper greased.

 

Offside was tougher, one of the bolts for the ball joint was knackered and just span. It was ground off and the thread on the bolt was quite clearly knackered 😪 This part doesn't seem to be available easily, despite being a ball joint. So, washers were added with a new bolt and all cleaned up, copper slipped and torqued up. When we put the topmount bolts in, the hardest to get to was just starting to be screwed in when the shock and hub assembly moved and pulled on the bolt pulling the initial threads on the bolt 🙄 This bolt was knackered and luckily we had a non OEM replacement. I'll try and get this replaced though.

 

Next up was the rear, thinking it was going to be easier than the fronts. How wrong we were... Both ARB droplink bolts snapped. The droplinks have seen better days so I'll replace these when I come to tackle more of the back. Due to not having any 8mm bolts long enough, decision made to drill through lower arm and droplink to accommodate a 10mm nut and bolt on both sides. These are a little too long so need to get something shorter, potentially stainless steel l for longevity. 

 

Overall, basically all bolts were seized and rusty. Nothing was easy and everything fought us, but we got it done! 

 

To do list still:

 

Replace Topmount bolt

Replace ball joint on offside

Shorter bolts for rear ARB droplinks

Replacement rear ARB droplinks

Replacement B4 rear shocks

A thicker ARB might make the list.

 

I am hoping these bits will be easier, especially with most of it being off already. The car definitely drives better, the shocks were knackered and there is alot more control now. The springs are a tiny bit stiffer but body control is much better with new shocks, springs, topmounts and front droplinks. Rear feels a little wallowy in comparison.

 

 

[Dooge]

Before

 

After

 

Difference is subtle, unfortunately I haven't been able to get any great photos before and after. I'm happy with the ride comfort and it was definitely worth the effort however. Would I get the garage to do it if I had to do it again? Yes, but budget a good £500-600 for parts that would need replacing and labour needed. 

[Dooge]

Small update, I got the tracking and alignment completed and the car now drives well. They have said the offside camber adjustment on the rear subframe is seized so can't adjust it. They said they'll have to drop the subframe to cut the bolt out and replace 😑 

 

 

I started looking at the difference between a facelift and non facelift subframe, the facelift has hubs that sit further out to give the wider rear track but otherwise probably identical. I'd figured I could get one from a newer car, it may be in better condition and I could get everything replaced before doing a direct swap to minimise labour. Not sure when I plan to do this, it may be a next year job...

 

On another note, I managed to pick up a spare wheel. Genuine VAG 18" with polystyrene insert and full tool kit, completely unused. It cost me £60 which I thought was a bargain. I picked it up as I'm off to Caffeine and Machine in early August for an Air-cooled weekend and then a drive around Wales so wanted to be prepared!

 

[Volf]

Looking good so far!
Will be following this closely as I too have an VRS estate now!

[Dooge]

1 minute ago, Volf said:

Looking good so far!
Will be following this closely as I too have an VRS estate now!

 

Pop up a photo!

 

Hopefully buying spacers tomorrow and I've taken a chance on some more cheap centre caps as a stopgap until I decide if I want to fork out another £50 on genuine or Super Skoda.

[Volf]

I've got some H&R springs to go on, 25mm all round.
Have 12mm spacers from an old Octi which I plan to reuse and see how it all looks.

But waiting for a dry weekend as no time during the week day!

[Dooge]

2 minutes ago, Volf said:

I've got some H&R springs to go on, 25mm all round.
Have 12mm spacers from an old Octi which I plan to reuse and see how it all looks.

But waiting for a dry weekend as no time during the week day!

 

Nice colour! Sleeper-esque.

 

I was told that the front hub spigot was too small for 11mm and 13mm spacers, I haven't measured it but it's on the to do list. 

 

Also for you having a facelift model the rear hubs are already 19mm wider than pre-facelift so you might find 12mm at rear is a little too much. 

 

It should sit really nicely on 25mm springs!

[Volf]

1 minute ago, Dooge said:

 

Nice colour! Sleeper-esque.

 

I was told that the front hub spigot was too small for 11mm and 13mm spacers, I haven't measured it but it's on the to do list. 

 

Also for you having a facelift model the rear hubs are already 19mm wider than pre-facelift so you might find 12mm at rear is a little too much. 

 

It should sit really nicely on 25mm springs!

We shall find out in time!

[Dooge]

On 27/07/2023 at 12:37, Volf said:

We shall find out in time!

 

I ordered some Forge 13mm and 20mm spacers for the front and back at the weekend. I did measure the spigot depth and its 11.5mm. When I looked at photos and the construction of the Forge Hubcentric spacer there's definitely more than 2mm of material between where the spigot sits in and where the spacer takes over.

 

In the end Forge came back and said they were out of stock of one or the other and asked if I wanted to cancel my order. I went for a kit from Precision_Autoparts on eBay who supply 15mm and 20mm spacers with 40mm and 45mm bolts for £78.99.

 

I haven't measured the rear hub spigot depth but someone on a Facebook group said recently they tried to fit 16mm to the rear and the only way they could get them to fit was take off the metal dirt shield.

[Dooge]

So I attempted to fit the spacers last night after work... First barrier was the neighbour blocked the joint driveway with dumpy bags of sand blocks as he's having work done in his back garden! So, I parked across the drive and jacked the car up which was far from ideal.

 

The point of getting the spacers on for this weekend was I am visiting Caffeine and Machine with a friend today and then driving around Wales tomorrow. I wanted to see if the wider track would make it handle any better.

 

I got front and rear on one side on, then turned the car around and attempted to fit the rear on the other side. Except, the locking wheel bolt was edging towards being rounded. The locking wheel key would slip meaning I couldn't get it off. Thinking back, I asked the guys at the alignment place to torque up all bolts... 

 

I rang a mechanic mate and drove over there, one side with spacers and one side without! By this point it was 8.30 and starting to get dark. Once I told him the problem he figured a way of putting enough pressure on the wrench so the key wouldnt slip. The legend only got it off! A quick check to make sure the other front could undo and away I went. 

 

I had already decided I liked the 20mm on the rear but was unsure of the 15mm on front. The front needs something but 15mm is too much for me. I suspect I may get 5mm spacers and potentially get some hub extenders which I saw on Awesome GTI. There's also the point of increasing the scrub radius, which I'm sure VAG have done alot of research to get to. I knew that increasing rear track would help a little more and it certainly hasn't done the facelift VRS any issues.

 

A few quick photos.

 

With spacers 

 

Without spacers

 

Once I got home I fitted the rear 20mm, took the 1 front 15mm off and torqued everything up. Took it to a local self clean and gave it a quick rinse.

 

I also splashed out on genuine Skoda wheelcaps from a local dealer which I fitted... £62.45!!! 

 

But the car is looking and feeling good. Time to test it out over a weekend of driving!

 

Edited 5 August, 2023 by Dooge

[Dooge]

Saturday morning I left early as the weather was awful, I got to Bath to meet up with my friend Matt and his newly acquired E class AMG wagon. He had devised a fun route along B roads to get to Caffeine and Machine, but the weather was still a pain. Off we went with him overtaking everything in sight! When you have a bi-turbo 5.5L hand built V8 I'm sure you can overtake almost anything else on the road...

 

We got to Caffeine and Machine and started looking round some of the weird and wonderful cars. It was meant to be an 'air-cooled weekend' but there was a random mix. Some JDM and JDM inspired rides, a few Beetles and a few Porsches. As time went on cars came and went until a few Saab owners came in too. By 5ish it had quietened down and I managed to get a fanboy shot of my car in front of the main wall.

 

[Dooge]

Yesterday turned out to be great weather, sunny with some clouds but not too hot. We went for a drive around Wales, first getting to Llandovery via the A40 and parking up by the castle.

 

 

From here we went North-ish along some fantastic roads, the A483 and onto the A470 and then B4518. 

 

Chasing the Mercedes was fun, he had the pull but I kept with him in the corners. I haven't had much of a chance to drive the car on extended B road blasts, nor in Sport mode. I decided I didn't like the gearbox revving out in every gear, it wasnt needed and I wanted to stay around 2.5k - 3k which seemed to be where the bulk of the power was. Manual mode was great but I realised the shifts are a bit sluggish. The improved throttle response was just right however. 

 

I wasn't a fan of the automatic downshift the car was doing on overtakes. Even without pressing the extra bit, I'd drop a gear (often to 3rd) indicate, accelerate and the car would drop down a gear to 2nd which would rev out and lose puff before I'd Scrabble for 3rd.

 

We stopped at Llanidloes for a quick drink and back onto A470, then A489 to Newtown for a fuel stop. We then followed the B4355 out of Newtown and got stuck in traffic due to an accident. Worst views to have though! 

 

 

Onto the A483 and A470 again, A479 and A40 back to Abergavenny. I lost track of where we were driving and followed Matt at this point but some of the roads were absolutely stunning, I was happy to sit back and just admire the local landscape.

 

It was a great drive but going in the summer we met alot of traffic. The cars performed faultlessly, not complaining at all. I did get the microswitch fault pop up on dash a few times, it's getting more common and I intend to get it sorted. The brake pedal also felt a little softer, I am not sure when fluid was changed so this will be on my to do list soon.

 

In terms of the way the car handles, the front is definitely now superior to the back. The back always felt like it dragged its ass around but with the refreshed front it definitely felt weaker. I believe the spacers helped a little though but it's obvious a stiffer rear anti roll bar would firm the back up and help it pivot a bit, especially initial turn in. Once the car was loaded in the corner it was fine but initial turn in felt a bit soft.

 

Certainly rear dampers, a GTi rear ARB, droplinks and bolts are needed. Brake fluid change too. Power wise, although I'd always wanted a remap I didn't feel it needed it. On several parts this trip I did think it could use more power and torque. Definitely more to come!

 

Edited 7 August, 2023 by Dooge

[Dooge]

Unfortunately there's been no progress on this, literally every living related cost has gone skyward leaving little cash for fun things. Just have to save more though. 

 

I have ordered some 5mm spacers for the front wheels and with winter and my unsociable shifts I am planning on getting some new D3S bulbs. Any opinions on Osram Xenarc cool blue intense? 

 

After Christmas I will be looking to get all discs and pads changed along with fluid change. Maybe next year I'll get around to the rear suspension... 

 

[Dooge]

I managed to grab some time between the rubbish weather, work and dad duty to fit the front spacers. I thought it could be a bit of a pain fitting the hub extenders but it was very easy, bit of scrap wood and a rubber mallet. I was not sure if 5mm spacers would be enough so I ordered longer bolts than needed to ensure it's safe enough if I went for 8mm spacers.

 

Edited 9 December, 2023 by Dooge

[Dooge]

Although it's an improvement it's not as good as I was expecting. 8mm spacers are probably on the cards to get the front looking the same as the back. I know this probably isn't the best for handling but from factory they are not as sharp as smaller hot hatches. 

Edited 9 December, 2023 by Dooge

[Dooge]

I did also manage to buy and fit some new bulbs, some Osram Xenarc Cool Blue Intense. Slightly more blue when they are cold but warm up to a nice white quickly. I also ever so slightly adjusted my beam up which has been a little low since lowering the car. The proper way is through VCDS but as I don't have access to it I adjusted them through the plastic Allen key screws on top.

 

I fitted them before we went to visit Longleat and friends in Bath, 2.5 hours to Bath, then 45 minutes journey to Longleat and 2.5 hours back to Plymouth. This ensured a good burn in time. I am suitably impressed, better than the knackered originals and a bit cheaper than the Nightbreakers.

[Dooge]

No real progress but plan to carry on with the suspension once the 97th day of January is done! After fitting the 5mm front spacers I have noticed decreased turn in due to what I believe to be the increase in positive scrub radius. I did fit them for aesthetics really, once I put 20mm on the rear the fronts looked a bit hidden but it drove quite well with just the rears.

 

As previously mentioned I think 8mm or even 10mm fronts would make it look equal with the rear, but I think this would be detrimental to handling. 

 

I have debated trying the extenders on the rear (would have to remove the OEM dirt covers) and trying 12mm or 15mm rear spacers only, this would give me the aesthetics and hopefully keep the positive rear end, which eventually would be made better with an uprated ARB.

 

On top of this, Im looking at buying both the front lower ball joints. There's still alot I want to do on top of this and I'm determined to get it done this year!

 

Who else is splashing out on there's?

[Bobodaclown]

On 14/01/2024 at 21:43, Dooge said:

No real progress but plan to carry on with the suspension once the 97th day of January is done! After fitting the 5mm front spacers I have noticed decreased turn in due to what I believe to be the increase in positive scrub radius. I did fit them for aesthetics really, once I put 20mm on the rear the fronts looked a bit hidden but it drove quite well with just the rears.

 

As previously mentioned I think 8mm or even 10mm fronts would make it look equal with the rear, but I think this would be detrimental to handling. 

 

I have debated trying the extenders on the rear (would have to remove the OEM dirt covers) and trying 12mm or 15mm rear spacers only, this would give me the aesthetics and hopefully keep the positive rear end, which eventually would be made better with an uprated ARB.

 

On top of this, Im looking at buying both the front lower ball joints. There's still alot I want to do on top of this and I'm determined to get it done this year!

 

Who else is splashing out on there's?

Hey! Glad to see things are progressing for you.

I've not done much to mine, had to replace the Haldex pump even after 15/20k service intervals (I suspect that when the main dealer changed the fluid at one point they did not clean the gunk out which did not helped).

Have all the parts now to replace the shocks Inc refresh of LCA, ball joints etc and rear ARB, so hopefully in the next few weeks will get that done. Conscious of the water pump failures on the Superb so may get that replaced first though.

So nothing exciting so far ☹️

[Dooge]

9 minutes ago, Bobodaclown said:

Hey! Glad to see things are progressing for you.

I've not done much to mine, had to replace the Haldex pump even after 15/20k service intervals (I suspect that when the main dealer changed the fluid at one point they did not clean the gunk out which did not helped).

Have all the parts now to replace the shocks Inc refresh of LCA, ball joints etc and rear ARB, so hopefully in the next few weeks will get that done. Conscious of the water pump failures on the Superb so may get that replaced first though.

So nothing exciting so far ☹️

 

That's disappointing! I think just like DSG sometimes it's luck of the draw with the Haldex although more of the time to fails due to someone's poor maintenance. This is why I change oil regardless of little mileage year on year and I'll get my DSG oil changed more regularly than the 40k. I hope you don't have water pump failure, it's something I'm always thinking about as mine has never been changed and it's on 91k now.

 

I wish I had got everything for the suspension and changed it in one but I was impatient and wanted it lower. Still looks good though 😁

 

I also need new discs and pads, not desperately but can't justify mapping before suspension and brakes really. I'll only stick to OEM units as for most of my driving they seem ok. I reckon dealer prices are going to pull my pants down on that though.

[Bobodaclown]

The Haldex was frustrating as had it serviced by an independent in the summer(he said that it didn't look like the gunk had ever been cleaned out even though it had oil changes, seems to get overlooked a fair bit) wish I replaced the pump then.

I hope I don't have a water pump failure so will preempt it and get it changed I think.

 

Yours looks great!

I get that the impatience, I keep putting it off due to time but have a huge pile of parts in the living room so have to get it sorted now besides it feels very squishy now so I expect the current shocks are done or not in great shape. I've probably gone over the top replacing pretty much all parts associated.

 

My brakes feel a touch weird since changing discs, pads, fluid, hoses. Getting them relooked at, suspect it may be the pads or discs.

[Dooge]

A small interior mod, a Superb MK3 light switch with added chromey bling. It is white and green instead of all green. It was all of £23 from eBay, I just confirmed I matched up functions and number of pins.

 

 

I started looking at other items, such as Golf mirror adjuster, window switches and facelift climate control. I also looked at a frameless Golf interior mirror.

 

I decided against all of it due to the level of work and that the mirror won't fit due to the connection. Also, I seem to have a combination of white and green already, my steering wheel buttons are white but everything else is green. I also really need to get other bits sorted so I'm looking at ball joints for the front end. 

 

Does anyone know the ball joint size for VRS'? On Autodoc there is multiple sizes, M12 x 1.5mm or M10 x 1.5.

Edited 31 January by Dooge

[Cakemonster]

On 31/01/2024 at 11:52, Dooge said:

A small interior mod, a Superb MK3 light switch with added chromey bling. It is white and green instead of all green. It was all of £23 from eBay, I just confirmed I matched up functions and number of pins.

 

 

I started looking at other items, such as Golf mirror adjuster, window switches and facelift climate control. I also looked at a frameless Golf interior mirror.

 

I decided against all of it due to the level of work and that the mirror won't fit due to the connection. Also, I seem to have a combination of white and green already, my steering wheel buttons are white but everything else is green. I also really need to get other bits sorted so I'm looking at ball joints for the front end. 

 

Does anyone know the ball joint size for VRS'? On Autodoc there is multiple sizes, M12 x 1.5mm or M10 x 1.5.

The switch looks smart, how easy is it to pop the old one out of the dash?

[Dooge]

Just now, Cakemonster said:

The switch looks smart, how easy is it to pop the old one out of the dash?

Very, turn it to off position, push it in, turn it right and it'll sit at the auto position. This releases the catches and it slides out. 

 

For the mirror mod I believe anything facelift can take the Golf frameless mirror. Before this the bracket is different, but it would have been a nice mod to do.

[Cakemonster]

1 minute ago, Dooge said:

Very, turn it to off position, push it in, turn it right and it'll sit at the auto position. This releases the catches and it slides out. 

 

For the mirror mod I believe anything facelift can take the Golf frameless mirror. Before this the bracket is different, but it would have been a nice mod to do.

Oh, bugger, I was hoping you'd say it was a pain and I wouldn't bother attempting it 🤣🤣

Thanks for the quick response.👍

I'm off to surf eBay...

[Dooge]

6 hours ago, Cakemonster said:

Oh, bugger, I was hoping you'd say it was a pain and I wouldn't bother attempting it 🤣🤣

Thanks for the quick response.👍

I'm off to surf eBay...

Just check how many wires you have on your wiring loom, not the old switch. My switch has 10 pins but the loom has 9 wires. The switch I bought is part number 3V0941431 and seems to work perfectly.