erikv11 Posted October 3, 2005 Report Share Posted October 3, 2005 I recently learned that I my 855's factory control arms (ball joints bad) and end links need replacing, so I'm checking everything else up front, and I noticed recent posts here about spring seats going bad, I think I'm in that boat too. Because I noticed that on my 855's driver's (is that the "left" side?), the strut is off-centerand the spring seat is chewed away.On the other side the rubber is chewed up too, but the strut end is still centered. I'm not noticing any major clunking, just some clicks that I thought were the definitely-bad end links and/or ball joints. I put in new struts and shocks 2 years ago at 110k, so only 30k miles ago. Bilstein touring, spring seats, strut mounts, all parts from fcpgroton.So about the spring seats:(1) is this normal wear? or related to / causing the ball joint problems? Did I screw something up on the strut job?(2) do I need to take the struts out and replace the seats? will I need new strut mounting hardware? might as well just drop it all out at once I guess, if control arms going to be done too ...(3) how can I prevent this from happening again - just need to buy better seats? The OEMs went 100k and 7 years, and I really don't push this car very hard.VS rocks, thanks in advance for any help ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the underlørd Posted October 3, 2005 Report Share Posted October 3, 2005 you need new spring seats bro. and yes, you need to have the entire strut/spring assembly apart to change them. there currently are no better spring seats. OEM or nothing. what spring / strut combo are you currently running? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikv11 Posted October 3, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 3, 2005 you need new spring seats bro. and yes, you need to have the entire strut/spring assembly apart to change them. there currently are no better spring seats. OEM or nothing. what spring / strut combo are you currently running?bummer, take apart the whole thing, just for the seats.the springs are stock (original), the struts are Bilstein touring.so is "OEM" whatever fcp is selling, or might a trip to the dealer buy me another year? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the underlørd Posted October 3, 2005 Report Share Posted October 3, 2005 bummer, take apart the whole thing, just for the seats.the springs are stock (original), the struts are Bilstein touring.so is "OEM" whatever fcp is selling, or might a trip to the dealer buy me another year?think of it this way, at least you'll be getting good at it!ok, OE springs and Bilsteins... I had Bilstein HD's and they were about this shittiest strut/shock I've ever ridden in... they tore my spring seats apart.what FCP sells are basically OEM replacements, same materials, prone to the same design flaws. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikv11 Posted October 3, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 3, 2005 last time I took the struts in to the shop and let them run their wall-mounted spring compressor. maybe this time I'll crank it by hand, this job is piling up the little expenses.what about do I need new hardware?can I take everything off, control arms, struts, do it all at once? or will the spindle not have anything to hold on to? don't really know my way around the front that well ...sounds like a long day, but better than 2 long days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the underlørd Posted October 3, 2005 Report Share Posted October 3, 2005 last time I took the struts in to the shop and let them run their wall-mounted spring compressor. maybe this time I'll crank it by hand, this job is piling up the little expenses.what about do I need new hardware?can I take everything off, control arms, struts, do it all at once? or will the spindle not have anything to hold on to? don't really know my way around the front that well ...sounds like a long day, but better than 2 long days.control arms are out of my scope of hands on knowledge, so i'll let someone else comment there. I've installed countless springs and shocks, and I've reused the hardware time and time again.investing in spring compressors is a nice investment... you should be able to swap springs seats in a couple hours tops with the help of compressed air. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Volvoson Posted October 3, 2005 Report Share Posted October 3, 2005 control arms are out of my scope of hands on knowledge, so i'll let someone else comment there. I've installed countless springs and shocks, and I've reused the hardware time and time again.investing in spring compressors is a nice investment... you should be able to swap springs seats in a couple hours tops with the help of compressed air.Also, if your spring seats are that beat up, you may want to look at new bump stops and dust boots for the struts...On my old car when I replaced the suspension, my bump stops were as busted up looking as your current spring seat, but I didn't plan on replacing them so I was kinda SOL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yangotang Posted October 3, 2005 Report Share Posted October 3, 2005 Those are some of the most destroyed spring seats i have ever seen! Congrats! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the underlørd Posted October 3, 2005 Report Share Posted October 3, 2005 Those are some of the most destroyed spring seats i have ever seen! Congrats!hahaha, i right clicked and saved a looong time ago! "this is what happens, when spring seats go bad!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyturbo2002 Posted October 3, 2005 Report Share Posted October 3, 2005 Need to replace speing seats also...so I am to assume that I need totake the whole thing apart? Soundsl ike something for a shop (for me that is, not that mechanical when it comes to running gear) :angry: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the underlørd Posted October 3, 2005 Report Share Posted October 3, 2005 and yes, you need to have the entire strut/spring assembly apart to change them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikv11 Posted October 3, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 3, 2005 Those are some of the most destroyed spring seats i have ever seen! Congrats!But they only ran just under 30k, why are they so trashed? I drove about 100 miles of (graded) dirt road over a couple days this summer, but otherwise these are all easy town and hiway miles.Anybody know if it would be easier to dismantle the whole thing, do the control arms and tie rod ends while the struts are out? or should I put the strut back in, then do the A-arms?johnnyturbo, like they said, you have to take the strut out, then take the strut apart with a spring compressor tool, then put the strut back together with the new spring seat, then put the strut back in. Just like if you were replacing the strut, this page has a link to an excellent description, worked for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yangotang Posted October 3, 2005 Report Share Posted October 3, 2005 But they only ran just under 30k, why are they so trashed? I drove about 100 miles of (graded) dirt road over a couple days this summer, but otherwise these are all easy town and hiway miles.Anybody know if it would be easier to dismantle the whole thing, do the control arms and tie rod ends while the struts are out? or should I put the strut back in, then do the A-arms?johnnyturbo, like they said, you have to take the strut out, then take the strut apart with a spring compressor tool, then put the strut back together with the new spring seat, then put the strut back in. Just like if you were replacing the strut, this page has a link to an excellent description, worked for me.Put the strut back in and then do the A-arms. When you don't have the strut in, the A-arm, axle, and tie rod hole the steering knuckle out. If you go even further your steering knuckle will be very very hard to keep in place without supporting it on something else.I made the mistake of taking the A-arm and strut out at the same time. It was difficult to get everything repositioned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobcat Posted October 3, 2005 Report Share Posted October 3, 2005 Yes they are seriously fooked, this follows on from a post a dew days ago about why hard shocks wreck the seats. As you can see all the load from the shock goes through that tiny pipe that runs through the middle of the seat.this also proves wrong those people that say the seat is a solid metal piece (think admin was one of these people! )regarding replacement, try putting a washer over the shock shaft first to spread the load on the seat. check the pic on the fcp website to see what i mean. But i think if your running bilstein shocks its just easier to get good at changing the seats and do em every 30k. They are a pretty cheap part. And once you get good its a quick job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slater Posted October 3, 2005 Report Share Posted October 3, 2005 control arms are out of my scope of hands on knowledge, so i'll let someone else comment there. I've installed countless springs and shocks, and I've reused the hardware time and time again.investing in spring compressors is a nice investment... you should be able to swap springs seats in a couple hours tops with the help of compressed air.Control arms are cake - 4 bolts total. I can swap them out with new ones with nothing but a few sockets, torque wrench, and a jack in under 30 minutes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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