Disassembly
- Fasten the front suspension strut and, using a special tool with grippers, compress the spring so that it moves away from the upper plate (pic. 14.27).
Pic. 14.27. Using a special tool to compress the front shock absorber spring
Warnings
- (1) Install the special attachments symmetrically and in such a way that its maximum length does not exceed the installation limits.
- (2) Do not use a pneumatic impact tool to tighten the bolt of the special spring compressor, otherwise the special tool may be damaged.
- Secure the shock absorber rod against turning with a wrench and unscrew the central nut of the shock absorber rod fastening with the second box wrench (pic. 14.28).
Pic. 14.28. Unscrewing the central nut of the shock absorber rod
Warning. Do not use an impact wrench to prevent loosening of the piston locknut on the stem.
- Remove the strut damping support, upper spring plate and upper spring pad from the shock absorber rod.
- Remove the spring along with the spring compressor, rubber stroke buffer and lower spring pad.
- Loosen the tool bolt until the spring is fully extended and remove the tool from the spring.
Shock Absorber Disposal
- Fully extend the shock absorber rod.
- To remove gas from the shock absorber cylinder, drill a hole with a diameter of 3.0 mm in the place shown in Figure 14.29.
Pic. 14.29. Place of drilling of a hole for removal of gas from the cylinder of the shock-absorber
Note. Gas escaping from the shock absorber is safe, but care must be taken to avoid injury from flying chips.
Examination
- Check the strut mount bearing for wear or damage.
- Check rubber parts for damage or deterioration.
- Check the coil spring for deflection and loss of elasticity.
- Check the shock absorber as follows:
a. grab the shock absorber rod with your hand and push and pull it out of the shock absorber several times;
b. check that the stem moves smoothly, without jamming, and the force applied to the stem does not change with each stroke;
c. make sure that there are no extraneous noises when moving the rod.
Assembly
- When installing, it is necessary to use springs with the same technical characteristics on the same axle of the car (with the same color marking).
- Install the special tool MB991237 and MB991238 on the new spring and compress it to install on the shock absorber.
Warning. Do not use an impact wrench to tighten the special tool bolt as this will block the bolt.
- Install the compressed coil spring so that its lower end is correctly positioned in the lower spring pad.
- Install the rubber stroke buffer, upper spring plate, and strut damping mount, then temporarily tighten the damper rod mounting nut.
- Align the holes in the bottom and. top spring plates. This job is easy to do using a piece of pipe as shown in Figure 14.30.
Pic. 14.30. Using a piece of pipe to align the holes in the lower and upper support plates of the strut spring
- Correctly align both end coils of the spring with the grooves in the top and bottom cups, then loosen and remove the spring compression tool.
- Secure the shock absorber rod against turning with a wrench and tighten the central nut of the shock absorber rod to the required torque (see fig. 14.28).
Warning. Do not use an impact wrench to prevent loosening of the piston locknut on the stem.
- Apply multipurpose grease to the front strut damping mount bearing (pic. 14.31).
Pic. 14.31. An arrangement of the bearing of a damping support of a forward rack
Warning. Be careful when applying grease; do not allow grease to get on the rubber elements of the damping support.