Do the suspension legs seperate from the hub?

30th October 2007, 08:06

As title...
If i was to put uprated shocks on, how do i go about attatching it to the hub? It looks as though the hub is pressed into the shock housing...

30th October 2007, 09:52

To change the shocks you dont need to touch the hub itsellf as that part is irrelevant to changing them.

You'll need to take off the whole strut, do you this you'll need to:

Take off the front wheel/s and have the front of the car up on axle stands

Get someone to apply the brakes whilst you undo the big driveshaft nut thats located in the middle of the hub, tis about 32mm socket

Then undo the nut on the track rod end which goes through the strut leg, this is about an 18mm socket (maybe 17mm)

Then below that one is the drop link nut which you'll need a 17mm socket and an allen jkey attachment to undo that on most droplinks.

Next is to undo the bolt behind the hub which is the ball joint on the end of your wishbone, the ball joint then needs popping out which is a bugger to do, would certainly recomment a ball joint splitter/remover to do that to make it easy.

The caliper needs taking off also, undo 2 big bolts on the back of it and it should just slide off the disk, rest it on a tin of paint or something so that it doesnt drop/sag and put strain on the hose.

You then also need to undo the top 3 nuts in the engine bay which are 13mm and on each strut turret, get someone else to hold the bottom part of the suspension leg then as itll drop sharply and you dont want it smacking on the pavement. It should be pulled outwards from the bottom so that the driveshaft thread slides out of the centre of the hub.

.................................................. .....................................

With the suspension leg now out you need to compress the spring preferably using spring compressors as they are safe, theyre only £10 to buy if you dont have any.

The nut at the top of the leg needs to be undone then, ive seen this range from a 17mm to a 19mm nut, and you'll also need a star/torx bit to put into the centre of the thread to allow the nut to come free. These are tight as a camels arse in a sandstorm so get a friend to help you.

With this undone the top parts of the suspension leg will all slide off, keep note of how they all fit on.

Take off the spring and the shock protector bit and you'll be left with the bottom half of the suspension leg with the shock clearly poking out of the top.

It is held in by a gold coloured collar which has 3 indents in the top of it, there is a special tool to undo these easily, but if you use a hammer and screwdriver to knock it round that'll work too.

If for whatever reason its stuck and you have to remove it by cutting it off (as a worse case scenario) these collars are about £3 each from Citroen, not cheap, but manageable.

With that off the shock just slides out, pop your new one in and then reverse the process to get it all back together again.

Ensure that you torque everything up properly, it is essential and shouldnt just tighten up anyhow.

30th October 2007, 09:59

Cheers for that mate!

However the hub IS relevant because the seat for ball joint on the hub itself is elongated, thereofre i need a new hub, and i need to know whether i can buy just a hub, or do i have to buy the whole leg.

While im at it i was thinking of putting some KONI's on it also...

30th October 2007, 10:00

Excellent Willsy couldn't have said it better myself , give yourself a pat on the back.

30th October 2007, 10:03

you just want to replace the hub (part number 3) aswel as the shocks?

30th October 2007, 10:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by Coonper

Cheers for that mate!

However the hub IS relevant because the seat for ball joint on the hub itself is elongated, thereofre i need a new hub, and i need to know whether i can buy just a hub, or do i have to buy the whole leg.

While im at it i was thinking of putting some KONI's on it also...

Thats not the hub , the hub is the part that the disc and wheel bolts onto , you need the strut itself ( it quite a common problem)
cheers Aid

30th October 2007, 10:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by tif992ss

Excellent Willsy couldn't have said it better myself , give yourself a pat on the back.

Thankyou *takes a bow*

30th October 2007, 10:07

Which bit from the diagram do you need?

30th October 2007, 10:09

If the ball joints rounded the hole , it would be number 1 i think

30th October 2007, 10:15

If its number 1 then theyre very expensive to buy new:

Part number 3644C7
description FRT SWIVEL PIN
price inc VAT £407.18 GBP

Part number 3645C8
description FRT SWIVEL PIN
price inc VAT £407.18 GBP

2 part numbers there for your drivers or passenger side one.

Far too expensive IMO, sure Aid can sort a good one out for you

30th October 2007, 10:40

(1) 3644C7 FRT SWIVEL PIN left 407.18 GBP

(1) 3645C8 FRT SWIVEL PIN right 407.18 GBP

(2) 352092 WISHBONE FRONT left 146.25 GBP

(2) 352093 WISHBONE FRONT right 146.21 GBP

(3) 330749 WHEEL HUB 144.77 GBP

(4) 335017 HUB BEARING 59.26 GBP

(5) 697813 STOP-RING 2.02 GBP

(6) 352352 WISHBONE BUSH 23.76 GBP

(7) 364036 ARM BALL-JOINT 24.08 GBP

(7) E459502 SUSP JOINT 18.29 GBP

(8) 353503 PROTECTOR 0.71 GBP

(9) 352241 ARM SCREW 2.00 GBP

(10) 352243 BALL-JT SCREW 0.86 GBP

(11) 520909 SHOCK ABSBR NUT 4.22 GBP

(12) 329714 SELF LOCKG NUT 3.58 GBP

(70) 694909 PLAIN WASHER 0.48 GBP

(71) 517314 PLAIN WASHER 0.56 GBP

(72) 362230 SELF LOCKG NUT 0.67 GBP

(73) 693971 SELF LOCKG NUT 1.37 GBP

30th October 2007, 10:42

All the prices for the above parts are inclusive of VAT. should help you a fair bit

30th October 2007, 11:04

Thanks mate! Where are the prices from?
Will a mk1 VTR complete strut fit my mk2 vtr??

Need to know, cus ive been offered a set for £60!!!

30th October 2007, 12:51

They'll be exactly the same mate

VTR and VTS ones are identical apart from the hub bearing may be different depending on your driveshaft type, these are only £15 to replace anyway with a bit of labour to get them pressed in.

Those prices are official Citroen nes from their parts database. I can access it online which is pretty damn handy

if you need anything else let me know

30th October 2007, 13:41

Cheers mate! Well thats the main problem dealt with! I now have 2 suspension struts in good nic for 60 quid delivered!

You are 100% sure they are exactly the same?!?!?! Dont want a mish-mash of different parts you see! Find rep when you have replied

30th October 2007, 13:44

Yep part number 1 is exactly the same for the VTR and VTS

Its just Part B (the hub bearing) that might be slightly different. A garage can get you the bearing for £15 give or take a few £2 at trade price so ignor the £59.26 Citroen price for that one

30th October 2007, 13:54

No, no, no! lol
I have a MK2 VTR and i have bought MK1 VTR struts. Are they gonna fit, and are the bearings the same?