Anyone fitted their own coilovers and had to use the M14 driver???

[Eddy]

The M14 is only for the pinch bolt on the hub carrier, the spreader tool fits in the slot at the back of the hub carrier and gets turned which opens the hub carrier to alllow you to get the strut out, some rough folk out there use chisels and all sorts of stuff but the proper spreader is the go and this cant be bought in any tool shop. It gets used on any application that uses the strut and hib carrier set up like that, all mk5, Jetta, polo, MK4 , A3 etc etc and ive even used it on BMW mini , u can mess around with out it but like i say a pain without it, ive seen them sold on Ebay. Its a must have, one of the best and most used tools i have.
Jmac

Hoyhoy.

I must admit that the ground down centre punch was akward, so just had a look on Ebay & found the tool that Jimmy speaks of $19.50 + 17.50 postage, bloody ridiculous postage, but might get one anyway.

[Jmac]

Do it Eddy, you wont regret i promise that , i use it on tons of applications mate.

Cheers
Jmac

[brad]

Bolt with flats ground on the sides?

[gotboost?]

Well it finished before it even started... Checked the size of the nut at the top of the struts and I didn't have a socket that size... Off to SuperCheap tomorrow evening, me thinks!

[leitch]

Save yourself the hassle and get new strut tops and bearings from VW. Swapping them over is a massive pain in the ass and odds are your old ones will crap out soon enough anyway once you lower the car.

[gotboost?]

If VW were actually open on a Saturday, I'd be happy to... During the week just isn't possible for me.

[Jmac]

Highway springwood ae open on Saturdays mate till 1130am. From experience you will need to order them so give em a call.
Cheers
Jmac

[gotboost?]

Just called and spoke to them. Does $68 each sound reasonable and what part exactly wears out?

[noone]

The plastic around the bearing can break, top mounts can bend/distort.

[leitch]

Sounds pretty right. I paid $70.05 each for the rubber top mounts, $37.32 each for the bearings and then a couple of bucks each for the bolts and nuts (including GST).

As noone said the bearings themselves can crap out (one side of mine was missing a couple of balls), and the rubber mounts themselves can distort and petrify. I changed mine recently after almost 90,000km of use and it made an enormous difference - it greatly reduced the amount of vibration transferred to the wheel and cabin when hitting harsher bumps.

[gotboost?]

Had a bit of a poke around and found them a bit cheaper. Just have to wait for them to come from O/S.

Also ordered the M14 bit, because I just know that either someone else or I will need to use it at some stage.


What I've done in the past with other car forums and I'm thinking of doing now is adding these odds and ends to a section in my existing online store, just so people don't have to wait for it to come from overseas, but actually have it within a couple of days.

Might only make $5-$10 an item, but I think it's a good way to keep us modders modding!

I'm not the most patient person and I'm sure there are others here who are the same, so it would probably be of benefit.

[Jmac]

Mate you need to order the Spreader too or you will be disappointed, if you are ordering from overseas, grab it too cant stress it enough.
Cheers
Jmac

[gotboost?]

Yep, will do. I'm going to do the strut tops just a little later, so that will come in handy. Funds don't permit just yet. (1st wedding anniversary/rego/power bill) lol

[Jmac]

Its not only for the strut tops, if you are removing the struts at all you will need it
Cheers
Jmac

[gotboost?]

Yes, I know. However, seems like plenty of people have done it fine using just an allen key or socket adapter. Point is, I'm driving my Polo around with the arse end dropped and the front still high and look like a git. For now, I just want to get the fronts in.

However, when I go to do the strut tops later, I'll have the hub spreader tool on hand to make the job a little more pleasant.