Replacement Front Shock Absorbers

[Expatman]

Yes, I'm planning a 500 mile trip so let's see how they are after that. Still concerning that I can't find a direct replacement for the Skoda shocks, they don't make their own so someone must make them!

[TruckbusUK]

2 hours ago, Expatman said:

Yes, I'm planning a 500 mile trip so let's see how they are after that. Still concerning that I can't find a direct replacement for the Skoda shocks, they don't make their own so someone must make them!

 

Sure its Sachs, that make the bulk of VAG dampers. 

[TruckbusUK]

Seemingly Sachs and Boge are now part of the ZF group, but here is the dampers link

https://aftermarket.zf.com/en/aftermarket-portal/services-and-support/catalog/#/search?languageID=4&brandID=14,32&countryID=GB&vehicleTypeIDs=p&manufacturerID=106&modelID=8486&vehicleIDs=115192&searchField=vehicle&assemblyGroupIDs=1626,854,1180

 

I have never had an issue with Sachs or Boge replacements on previous VW's, but I have never been a fan of Monroe, not saying its bad kit, just not my flavour.

 

Hope it helps, 

[Expatman]

11 hours ago, TruckbusUK said:

Seemingly Sachs and Boge are now part of the ZF group, but here is the dampers link

https://aftermarket.zf.com/en/aftermarket-portal/services-and-support/catalog/#/search?languageID=4&brandID=14,32&countryID=GB&vehicleTypeIDs=p&manufacturerID=106&modelID=8486&vehicleIDs=115192&searchField=vehicle&assemblyGroupIDs=1626,854,1180

 

I have never had an issue with Sachs or Boge replacements on previous VW's, but I have never been a fan of Monroe, not saying its bad kit, just not my flavour.

 

Hope it helps, 

Interesting, what is your concern about Monroe shocks? I was advised they were top quality but my experience so far leads me to doubt that.

[TruckbusUK]

1 hour ago, Expatman said:

Interesting, what is your concern about Monroe shocks? I was advised they were top quality but my experience so far leads me to doubt that.

Its all very personal and subjective, but IMO, they are always too hard in the front and too soft in the rear and they don't, last ... less than 20k'ish miles before they go soggy and walloway (is that a word?)

 

My personal choice if you can get them are Koni, or Bilstein, but I have had very acceptable performance and longevity from both Sachs and Boge, but that's maybe just me. I've used all the mentioned brands (including the long gone Woodhead and SPAX) on most of my cars over the last 45'ish years of passionate tinkering on anything I have owned, so its just my opinion.  🙂

[Expatman]

On 20/06/2023 at 22:50, Expatman said:

Just an update. Main dealer contacted me advising I should have the front shock absorbers changed because of the MOT advisory. I told them they had quoted £850 and I had got the job done for well less than half that. Immediately got a call from their new service manager asking what I had been quoted by their service department. I told him and he was shocked, said this is a ‘menu’ item and the price should have been £470.92. for all genuine Skoda parts, warranty extension etc. He apologised and offered a free 10k service as recompense, which i thought was decent of him.

One thing I had noticed since having the shocks replaced was that the ride was firmer than before, out of interest I checked the part number of the Monroe shocks fitted and confirmed they were the shocks specified by Monroe for the Yeti. However, they are described in the small print as “for heavy duty suspension”, Monroe used to offer similar shock absorbers for the Yeti with a slightly different part number and specified as “for standard suspension”. Those were deleted from the range some time ago and Monroe now specify just one shock absorber for the Yeti - which it turns out is the HD version. Independent who fitted the new shocks were most concerned when I told them of the harder ride and contacted Monroe who told them they had supplied the right shocks for the Yeti. My problem is that I can’t blame the Independent garage who have fitted the Monroe recommended shocks but I now have a harder riding Yeti than before - it’s not awful and unless you knew what it was like before I am not sure anyone would think the car had a harsher ride. Trouble it I KNOW - now have to decide what to do, live with it or what?

Any ideas anyone?

An update, I spoke to the Skoda dealer about the hard ride and they have offered to replace the Monroe HD shocks with genuine Skoda shocks completely free of charge. That is what I call outstanding customer service.

[Prezafab]

I reckon our front shocks are now past their best (2015, 97k, 4x4 Tdi) as we've just had a bouncy / crashy trip across North Yorkshire - the roads are definitely getting worse!

 

I'm also minded to replace 'the lot' at the front, while its in the garage. What do I need:- ?

 

Front shocks (Will go Skoda or Bilstein)

Front springs 

Top mounts

Top bearings ? Or are these already part of the top mounts?

Bump stops ?

 

Any advice welcome. We will probably keep the Yeti forever so I'm only planning on replacing once!

[J.R.]

YES

YES

Maybe

YES/NO

YES

[J.R.]

You might find just replacing the anti-roll bar drop links takes away all of the crashing but not the bouncing, you should definitely replace them at the same time.

[Carlston]

Top mounts can come with or without the bearings.

 

Here's a photo of a twin pack with the bearings.

 

SKF VKDA 35122 T Top strut mount with bearing(s)

https://www.autodoc.co.uk/skf/1363452

 

Edited 4 August, 2023 by Carlston

[J.R.]

You see that little lug on the top mount?

 

Bear that in mind before refitting the strut and struggling to get the bolts in!

[Prezafab]

Thanks for the advice. I will buy everything and get our very good local garage to fit. They are happy as long as I buy good quality parts (will get Bilstein shocks and Febi Bilstein or Skoda for the other bits).

[Expatman]

1 hour ago, Prezafab said:

Thanks for the advice. I will buy everything and get our very good local garage to fit. They are happy as long as I buy good quality parts (will get Bilstein shocks and Febi Bilstein or Skoda for the other bits).

Having just been all through this I would strongly recommend that you fit genuine Skoda shock absorbers and parts. I fitted highly recommended Monroe shocks and it was a disaster. 

One thing to remember is that Skoda specced the shock absorbers for the Yeti, roads in the Czech Republic are reputedly as bad as ours so shocks had to cope with their roads.!

[J.R.]

I took a punt and fitted some struts that were so cheap that it seemed to good to be true, they came from an Irish seller on Ebay, £30 something the pair, so far they have proved to be excellent.

 

One of the top bearings I fitted after a few months started snatching making a knocking noise while turning like its predecessor which had lost its balls! I fitted another cheapy and its been fine and on the bench I could find nothing wrong with the one I removed.

 

Its a lottery with these parts.

[Expatman]

2 minutes ago, J.R. said:

I took a punt and fitted some struts that were so cheap that it seemed to good to be true, they came from an Irish seller on Ebay, £30 something the pair, so far they have proved to be excellent.

 

One of the top bearings I fitted after a few months started snatching making a knocking noise while turning like its predecessor which had lost its balls! I fitted another cheapy and its been fine and on the bench I could find nothing wrong with the one I removed.

 

Its a lottery with these parts.

Why gamble on the lottery? The main cost is labour so fit genuine parts once.

[J.R.]

Total labour costs to date still at zero after 47 years 👍

 

The clue is in the wording "I took a punt and fitted some struts..........." "One of the top bearings I fitted..........."

 

I don't gamble on the lottery or any other form of gambling and never have, the lottery of life gives me enough of a buzz!

Edited 4 August, 2023 by J.R.

[Prezafab]

Totally understand about the genuine Skoda option. I'm going Bilstein because they are top of the tree on shock absorbers. I do have a story as well:-

 

I had a really bad experience with air suspension 3 or 4 years ago, (Audi OEM shocks were £1700 EACH) and to cut a very long story short, found out that Bilstein were the original suppliers (fitted in production) to Audi. I then found a supplier in Germany and shipped over at less than half the price.

 

The other shocks I tried were technically ok, and TuV checked, but we're not up to the job, resulting in roadside recoveries.

 

I'll try the Bilstein again as they are fitted to Porsche etc , and report back!

 

 

 

 

[Austin 7]

Just to add to this.  I too had an MOT advisory for light misting of oil on one damper.  The car drove fine, with no sign of under-damping so I suspect I could have safely gone on for several years.

 

However, I replaced them anyway, and fitted BilsteinB4 units.  Part number 22-183712 which is a standard replacement i.e. not one of their fancy ones. The same type is listed for the Golf VI. Bought direct from Bilstein for about £80 each.

 

Anyway, a marked IMPROVEMENT in ride quality.  I always thought the factory ones were too aggressive in their damping action, and those sharp type speedbumps you find in supermarket car parks had to be taken at a crawl to avoid a big jolt. Now it rides over like it should.  Shame I have had to put up with a hard ride for 11 years !

[Expatman]

Interesting isn’t it the different experiences we have had. I found the original Skoda shocks comfortable and dealt well with speed bumps etc. The Monroe shocks are much harder and do tend to “crash” over pot holes and speed bumps. Bilstein have a great reputation so probably will be great; Monroes are also highly rated  but I found them to be very hard. Switching back to Skoda shocks on Monday so will let you know how they perform next week.

[Prezafab]

What year is your 1.4 T si? (Mine is  a facelift but earlier chassis code with 140ps diesel)

Edited 4 August, 2023 by Prezafab

[J.R.]

13 hours ago, Expatman said:

One thing to remember is that Skoda specced the shock absorbers for the Yeti

 

Didnt VAG just chuck on the same ones as they fit to the Golf right through to the Touran as they did with the springs and most other suspension parts?

 

Common platform designs are great but putting the same springs on a Golf, Octavia, Yeti and a 7 seater Touran is just plain crazy to my way of thinking.

 

Do you really think the Yeti got specially valved front dampers? I'm sure the ones I bought had several pages of different vehicle fitments.

[Expatman]

10 hours ago, J.R. said:

 

Didnt VAG just chuck on the same ones as they fit to the Golf right through to the Touran as they did with the springs and most other suspension parts?

 

Common platform designs are great but putting the same springs on a Golf, Octavia, Yeti and a 7 seater Touran is just plain crazy to my way of thinking.

 

Do you really think the Yeti got specially valved front dampers? I'm sure the ones I bought had several pages of different vehicle fitments.

I don’t know but it would be no problem to get dampers specifically valved by the supplier to meet Skoda’s exact specification. The real question is why wouldn’t they? manufacturers spend months road testing their new cars to prepare them for launch and into the hands of the motoring press who can easily make or break a new car and the appeal to potential customers. If it was on the basis of - well just bolt on the same dampers etc for whatever vehicle is on that chassis no matter the weight or set-up - then I doubt the cars would drive as well as they do. Look at the Seat Arona, VW T-Cross and Skoda Kamiq, all use the same chassis platform but all have different driving characteristics from the more comfy Skoda set up through to the more aggressive Arona set up. 

[J.R.]

17 minutes ago, Expatman said:

The real question is why wouldn’t they?

Because in the example of the spring rates they have taken the economies of scale of a common platform too far, I think the same is true of the dampers, I was rather hoping that you would have proved me wrong given that you stated confidently that Skoda specced the shock absorbers for the Yeti.

 

I think with a common platform the individual manufacturers get to choose their body design, trim, what options the vehicle will have but beyond that what else is really unique to models at opposite ends of the spectrum like the Audi TT, the Yeti and the Touran in regards to engine, drivetrain, structure and suspension?

[Expatman]

But it is a combination of springs and dampers that provides ride characteristics. If they were the common to the Arona, T Cross and Kamiq then the ride would be much the same. In fact they ride very differently, the Kamiq is less sharp with a more supple ride while the Arona has a firmer ride and a more sporty setup. T Cross different again, not as soft as Kamiq but more supple than the Arona.

[Prezafab]

On 04/08/2023 at 10:06, Expatman said:

Having just been all through this I would strongly recommend that you fit genuine Skoda shock absorbers and parts. I fitted highly recommended Monroe shocks and it was a disaster. 

One thing to remember is that Skoda specced the shock absorbers for the Yeti, roads in the Czech Republic are reputedly as bad as ours so shocks had to cope with their roads.!

 

On 04/08/2023 at 12:08, Austin 7 said:

Just to add to this.  I too had an MOT advisory for light misting of oil on one damper.  The car drove fine, with no sign of under-damping so I suspect I could have safely gone on for several years.

 

However, I replaced them anyway, and fitted BilsteinB4 units.  Part number 22-183712 which is a standard replacement i.e. not one of their fancy ones. The same type is listed for the Golf VI. Bought direct from Bilstein for about £80 each.

 

Anyway, a marked IMPROVEMENT in ride quality.  I always thought the factory ones were too aggressive in their damping action, and those sharp type speedbumps you find in supermarket car parks had to be taken at a crawl to avoid a big jolt. Now it rides over like it should.  Shame I have had to put up with a hard ride for 11 years !