Struts 101: An Easy How-To W/ Pics Inside
 

Well, it was finally time to give myself a Christmas present and put in the
long-awaited Boge Turbo Gas struts. I managed to pick up a brand new set
with all the extras from an AudiWorld member very reasonably (his 100 5
speed got totaled before he could install them) so with 70k on the clock I
reckoned it was time.
Since I was visiting Phoenix for the holidays I hooked up with fellow
contributor AZ100 who decided to change his fronts as well. His car had over
130k so they were toast....

To do the front struts are really pretty simple and the only tools needed
are the following from our experience:

- 22mm combo wrench
-1/2 capable ratchet with a 17mm socket
-6 or 7 mm hex socket for the strut shaft (to hold it in place)Size will depend on the manufacturer of your inserts. Boge is a 7mm and Koni was a 6mm
-the very useful (!!) Audi / VW 2069 strut tool that opens the strut tube
from the top (Recommended!!) (or a pipe wrench will work if you can jack the car up
slightly..)

I've put pics in order of how things were disassembled and reassembly is a
matter of being careful to put everything in order (and replacing the worn
bump stops, strut mounts, etc.) Apparently the strut bearings are replaced
from underneath and I did not do this since it would make the procedure a
lot more work.What's great about doing the struts is that everything is done
from the engine bay if you have the right tools. I have new bearings for a
later time.
The car rides great now, nice and firm but controlled and the suspension
feels much tighter now. I still have to replace a frozen tie-rod so I can
align the front but all in all I saved some dough and feel great having
gotten it accomplished with AZ100's help.
Happy Trails!

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/87884/step1.jpg">

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/87884/step2.jpg">

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/87884/step3.jpg">

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/87884/step4.jpg">

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/87884/step5.jpg">

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/87884/step6.jpg">

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/87884/step7.jpg">

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/87884/step8.jpg">

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/87884/step9.jpg">

Awsome, I just got some Boge Turbos for christmas too.
 

Not having very good luck getting the passenger strut out of the sleeve though... Drivers side took about 20 minutes total and now I've been working on the passenger side for at least 3 or 4 hours. I am done for tonight!!! Right now I just want to get a whole new assembley and start over.

I've got 170k on mine so they aren't really buffering ANYTHING.

Thorn, I had the same problem......
 

Me and islingtoaudi worked on that bitch forever, and it wouldn't come out for anything. A couple of days later, I finally freed it. Try this:

Put the mount back on, dont worry about the bump stop and cover and all that ****. Just the mount! Once you have the mont on and the insert nut back on, Jack up the car on the side your working on. Whan the car lifts and the suspension falls, the mount will hold the insert and the assembly will fall with the rest of the suspension. The force of gravity will free it for sure. Trust me. My **** was rusted and fused together, and it broke free.
Good Luck

Thanks for the advice, I'll give it a try.

add this to the FAQ

Great pics, nice job!

Thanks Gary. The battery died on the camera, would've liked more pics.

Re: Struts 101: An Easy How-To W/ Pics Inside
 

Impressive, I would have never guessed it was that easy. Everything looks like a straight forward tool I would have in my toolbox except the special audi strut tool. Any idea how much that would cost?

What about the rears on an A6Q? Same? Harder?

I used a pipe wrench instead of the special tool. Worked great!