Removing and Replacing Front Shock Absorbers

Lift the vehicle on a hydraulic lift and remove the wheels. Using an 18 mm spanner, unscrew the fixing bolt of the drop link from the shock absorber and disconnect the brake wear sensor wire and the brake fluid pipe from their respective clips.

With two 21 mm spanners, unscrew the fixing bolts of the shock absorber to the hub support and free it from the support itself. Now, open the front bonnet and first remove the bracket supporting the fuel filter filling pump, then unscrew (with a 13 mm socket) the fixing bolts of the shock absorber support: to access one of the bolts, it is necessary to remove the plastic cover just below the windscreen and then extract the 4 plastic pressure clips and the wiper blades (14 mm nut). Now it is possible to remove the shock absorber (composed of damper and spring) and replace the damper: a specific tool is required to compress the spring and unscrew the fixing nut of the support to the damper shaft.

Then, position the spring on the new damper and compress it to allow the application of the support and tightening of the respective fixing nut. Finally, insert the new shock absorber into its housing, tightening the fixing bolts of the support to the chassis, those of the shock absorber to the hub support, and the fixing bolt of the drop link to the shock absorber; reassemble everything that was previously removed.