Dismantling and Replacing Front Shock Absorbers

To replace the front shock absorbers, first lift the vehicle on a ramp and remove the front wheels. Then unscrew the lower support bolt. The car is factory-fitted with the bolt inserted from the rear, and to extract it, you will also need to loosen the arm as shown in the video. To avoid this operation in the future, you can reinsert the bolt from the opposite side. Now unscrew the bush of the arm, trying to lower the arm just enough to remove the bolt. If the bush does not come out, carefully use a hammer, trying not to completely remove the bush, as reinserting it will obviously require more effort. Remove the bolt and free the shock absorber. To gain more space, you can steer the wheel outward. Be careful not to damage the CV boot. Now, using a lever against the chassis, try to move the suspension arm downwards to release the shock absorber. Next, move to the upper mount by opening the bonnet, removing the seal from the engine compartment bulkhead and the plastic cover of the battery compartment. Locate the two caps as shown in the video that you will need to carefully remove to access the nuts. Once those are unscrewed, you can finally extract the shock absorber. Taking all necessary precautions with the appropriate tool or machinery, compress the spring. Unscrew the nut and remove the shock absorber. Keep the original washer, as usually, a thinner one is provided with replacement parts. If possible, always use the original nut. Now insert the new shock absorber with the boot and the bump stop inside the spring. Refit the nut, ensuring all parts are correctly positioned. Now reinsert the spring-shock absorber assembly under the wheel arch, starting with the upper mount and then moving to the lower one, repeating the same operations as during disassembly. With a jack, hold the wheel hub pushed upwards as if the car were on the ground, and at this point, tighten all the bolts. Refit the caps over the upper nuts, the battery compartment cover, the seal, and finally the wheel. The same operations should obviously be repeated on the opposite side. Car model: VW Passat Year: 2004
Necessary tools: spring compressor tool.