98 Skoda Octavia mk1 suspension adventures

[proper nymph]

This is a continuation from my last post about my suspension work.

I did all my suspension but my left ball joint because the old one is stuck and the shocks and struts but before that I want to give the previously on dbz real quick

Last time when mangling the left ball joint nut I found my caliber looking like this

So I went and got new ones and they were not cheap this pack is like 20$

Hopefully that will be the end of that tho

Now to the main issue I want to do the struts and shocks next but there are a few questions I want answers for

My car doesn't really bounce or nose dive at all but when I went to get a list for the shot stuff form the suspension form the alignment shop they did list all 4

And btf I'm pretty sure they are the cars original meaning they are 26yo and I did see a lot of oil and sludge marks on the back suspensions

And I do mean a lot a big wet spot

Or well dry spot that sludged over the years

I heard the struts at least can be serviced tho they can be refilled and reused but the info I found online contradicts that

[supple crater]

Nah they are sealed

They cannot be repaired, I mean unless you’re in one of those countries where lack of money drives necessity, then I totally get it.

You usually replace in pairs. So if you feel you need to replace them, do them in pairs. Or let it ride. Unless you’re going through tires quickly or the ride is horrible I wouldn’t sweat it on such an old car.

[proper nymph]

I want them for the alignment

I don't want to change them few months later and have to realign again I would rather do it now

[proper nymph]

i asked for them today and they are cheap enough for me to get and if the struts have the springs in them it seems like a real time saver worth the cost

but I have definitely heard of shops repressurzing them with oil to keep using the old ones

specially struts

im on the edge of buying them ngl I def can do it but if I can save a few bucks and have a shop redo the old one for me I wouldn't say no the car only has 120k km (75k miles) on it even tho it is psuhing 27 yo so they are not really that abused from roads

only from time which i would image made the rubber seals leak and shit

[supple crater]

Would be best to install new

[proper nymph]

I see that rebuilding them is totally a thing but they only replace the front seals and put any hydraulic oil they get there hands on they don't replace the bushings because I imagine they are not sold and then they pressurize them randomly it seems?

I don't think what ever a rebuilt will do will make it handle well just not die as fast

Also there no way this isn't like a weeks work per Sturt they can't be done unless you are a shit shop

Well new shocks it is

Especially that they last so long this is like a 10 years investment for how little I use my car

I won't put the 195k km range they have in less than that if I ever came close to it even

If I'm going to barely ride my car and still have to fix it I would at least want it to ride gooooood

This isn't like the bushing where I get the same performance

[supple crater]

True true

[proper nymph]

Ok for the struts it's all strut cartilage assemblies so I will have to mess with the spring no matter what

[proper nymph]

What I'm lost on next is what to buy so for both shocks and struts I got 2 quotes for struts my options are

• 98$ denckermann that apparently polish?
• 132$ original oems

The small difference in price makes me more confident to get the aftermarket but I couldn't really find any form wisdom on the parts it's self but denckermann doesn't seem like a loved brand or anything

It's a budget brand and from what could be hallucinated AI reviews they seem to cut corners

I'm still leaning towards them but I thought I would ask first I don't want to get stung on them

[proper nymph]

For the shocks it's even worse I get

• 118$ original oems
• 50$ what the store claims is an excellent Chinesium alternative

It's a brick and mortar store

[supple crater]

Honestly buying budget for this car isn’t bad. Your not trying to make it new and you barely drive it

[supple crater]

And do you mean springs or shocks?

shocks and struts are the same thing.

[proper nymph]

Idk the nomenclature for them but when I say strut I always mean the macpherson style front struts of a fwd like mine

While shocks are just the shock absorber

The back of my car has them separate from the back spring like what I imagine is the case for most sedan fwd like my car

The prices are for a set of 2

So the first are the 2 front ones and the second are the 2 back ones

Springs and the top assembly are not included for the front struts

[proper nymph]

I mean if I'm paying anyway I would love make it feel like it's brand new but like won't the cheaper part still do that?

The whole mission for me for this car is that I took it for basiclly free as a lemon I'm trying to make it not suck again

For the struts I really think the denckermanns struts will be just as good ngl

It's the shocks that I'm on edge for

[supple crater]

Exactly so get the budget parts. Unless your set and stone on spending more money but I don’t believe it’s needed

[proper nymph]

I might have too now

The caliber bracket where the pin sits is striped

It bites a little bit it's no where near the 45nm it's supposed to torque to

[supple crater]

Better safe then sorry

[proper nymph]

Yeah but how to do that

Replacing the knuckle is a huge hassle

I think I will have to drill it to boar it a bit and then add a metal threaded insert or machine a custom pin or something

Either that or go for the nuclear option and use red or gray loctite

Red might as well be gray loctite with the brakes because how much they are going to heat and cool down

[supple crater]

You can add a ‘heli coil’ or some kind of threaded insert.

[supple crater]

The bracket doesn’t just come off? It’s part of the knuckle? Send me a picture please

[proper nymph]

The bracket is one piece on my car it doesn't come apart

It comes out the rotor whole

It screws into the knuckle with these pin things that's why they are not load bearing

the load is one the metal housing of the bracket and metal housing of the pin and rotor which is held up by the studs

[supple crater]

Interesting

[oak sapphire]

GG @supple crater, you just advanced to level 43! Chat more to level up and earn top roles!

[supple crater]

So the threads that the bolts go into are on the knuckle?

[proper nymph]

Yeah

[supple crater]

Ahh so yeah you should fix those threads then

Some kind of threaded insert. Problem is, you will have to buy the tool and kit to do this knuckle. Might be in your best interest to take it to a shop and have them do it

[proper nymph]

The bottom pin is also torqued to SO much I think the moron who did it torqued as if it was a caliber bracket bolt

I twisted my hex bit

[supple crater]

Might have wow. Need some heat to loosen it up

Would hate to replace the knuckle. Would need new wheel bearings and all.

[supple crater]

Also you’re using 1/4 drive? Should beef it up to 3/8 if you have it

[proper nymph]

Yes

I have a 1/2 I can buy a 3/8 if needed it

I might because this asshole is hex 7

Because of course it had to fuckin 7

This is so intentional btw my car is full of annoying sizes 18mm bolts torx everywhere

[proper nymph]

Also it does not I would be very surprised if it has

[supple crater]

1/2 is fine if you have the tools for it.

[proper nymph]

7mm hex is sooooo hard to get

[oak sapphire]

GG @proper nymph, you just advanced to level 10! Chat more to level up and earn top roles!

[proper nymph]

I checked like 3 hardware shops and none had it

Not even an Allen

[proper nymph]

Amazon has some really expensive kits that have it

I'm checking my options for now

[proper nymph]

All my torque wrench is a 1/2 so I would like to get something for that

I might just jam something in there and call it a day ngl @supple crater

It's not load bearing

[supple crater]

Run with it!

[proper nymph]

We will see

[proper nymph]

A cheap ish 7mm hex thing finally

I have struck gold!!!

Getting this was way harder than what it needed to be

And tbf for its price it's pretty good its real high quality steel

[proper nymph]

I just outed myself for how low I know about material science it written on it what it is it's S2 toolsteal

I really thought it was stainless it had the chromium shine and heft of steel

[proper nymph]

okay before I go to fuck shit up some more I did some homework this called a floating caliber design
@supple crater

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1y17pDLC0E0

it's kinda shit but simple

I guess braking a car like mine isn't that big of a deal

and the pin doesn't need to be tight just slippery enough the spec is 30Nm not in the 40s

and in autodoc's video on it the guy literally goes like hand tight

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDXVlWMj8C0

before that is done tho the rotor scew in mine is snaped off

and I would like to get that out

[raven oracle]

which engine?

[proper nymph]

aee

[raven oracle]

im from Czech republic tho

i can check prices for parts

[proper nymph]

sure?

won't say no to a baseline

I aint importing tho

[raven oracle]

where do you live?

https://www.mroauto.cz/cs/katalog/tecdoc/osobni/skoda/octavia-i-1u2/1-6/brzdove-oblozeni/sada-brzdovych-desticek-kotoucova-brzda/brembo/p85020/106/1904/7907/100030/30380661/153267 14$ for brake pads 😄

[proper nymph]

I don't want anything for the brakes it's a continuation from the prev thread ideally I don't want to replace the knuckle but I might have to

[proper nymph]

what Im looking for for prices are struts and shocks

[supple crater]

Struts and shocks are the same thing

[proper nymph]

front are rear

[supple crater]

Struts and springs you mean?

[raven oracle]

front and rear springs?

[proper nymph]

no no springs at all shock absorbers

[raven oracle]

gotcha

[proper nymph]

front and back shocks

[proper nymph]

im in egypt

[raven oracle]

whats the price of shock absorbers in Egypt?

[proper nymph]

.

[raven oracle]

33,88 $ https://www.mroauto.cz/cs/katalog/tecdoc/osobni/skoda/octavia-i-1u2/1-6/tlumic-perovani/tlumic-perovani/denckermann/dsb026g/106/1904/7907/100121/71242038/36575

why did you choose 1.6 MPI tho? It's the worst engine, it was my first car and i hated it...

https://www.mroauto.cz/cs/katalog/tecdoc/osobni/skoda/octavia-i-1u2/1-6/tlumic-perovani/tlumic-perovani/denckermann/dsb026g/106/1904/7907/100121/71242038/36575 59,46 $

[oak sapphire]

GG @raven oracle, you just advanced to level 2! Chat more to level up and earn top roles!

[raven oracle]

SACHS is fine. Got SACHS clutch on my Mazda

tbh i wouldnt be scared of Denckermann tho

[proper nymph]

beacuse I got for free

[raven oracle]

oh i see

[proper nymph]

if you think that's bad you don't know the half of it

so the reason this car is a lemon is because a originally it was a manual and the previous owner a family relative wanted it automatic

so he took the transmission from a wv polo but what he didn't account for is that the 1998 model doesn't have a crankshaft sensor it's has disrupter based system and didn't need for anything else

but the transmission needed that signal

he spoofed it but the trans ecu can tell that a constant signal like that is not good

so it's stuck in panic mode where it only shifts up to 3rd gear

and very roughly at times

[proper nymph]

you can imagine why he sold it cheap to get rid of it after 12 year of no use

and by cheap I mean almost nothing

I have the original transmtion tho and planning on putting that back and having it as a manual

[proper nymph]

ngl it grew on me it relatively light and very simple for what it is

and the original transmission was super light too

besides it's fun range is so low and has the iconic shit wv engine sound

it is a fun daily car

[raven oracle]

i see

[proper nymph]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsQEtnc4bYU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kca9YMmUlNo

[proper nymph]

not that i have a non daily car

im not really a car guy

I like my car and I like working on it that's all

[raven oracle]

yeah, i understand

just wanted to say, that even Czechs dont like Škoda at all

[proper nymph]

I get why they try to be the everything car and end up being passable on everything and not good at it

to get this back on track tho there are 2 things I need to finish up before the suspension
I need to

• fix the left caliber situation
• get out the snapped rotor screw since im working on the brakes anyways
  then I only need 2 things to finish my suspension
• replace the stuck left ball joint
• replace all the shocks on my car

then I can start working on the transmission

or well more accurately have someone work on it

[proper nymph]

The rotor screw it turning a bigger headache than what it needs to be

I had the car on the jack stand for days now I had 220v inverter I decided to break out to use a beffy corded drill on it

The plan was to drill it a little and use a screw extractor

But I could have just drilled out tbh I'm regretting now doing that

It was softer than I expected

But now to no one surprise the drill extractor broke in it

And it's a bigger mess than what it's started

Now im going to get a bunch of bits and drill the shit out of it till I get to the other side

As for the pin caliber the loctite threads seem to be holding up well I used it with the lower pin hoping all the rust on it would make it hold better and it did reach 20nm

So I'm rolling with that I just need some silicon grease for it

[proper nymph]

Aaaaaaaaaah

I drained my battery

So this was expected I didn't run the car in like a week it was low I warmed it up till it was at operating temp

And thought the battery would have changed enough to save a little on gas while using the drill

But now it's too low to start

Luckily for me electronics is my specialty

But unlucky for me that I left everything fuckin thing including my backpack in the car

So I don't even have a multimeter to measure it now

I decided to just hot wire it to an atx psu I have and leaving it charging for now

They aren't optimal to charge on too low voltage and even more unfortunate for me I do know this unit has a lower than normal 12v line

It's around 11.5~ to 11.7

But that should be enough to get it to start the car and then have it charge it

It's low low too it's slowing the fan on the atx psu it's pitch lowers noticeably

I'm surprised it doesn't trip the under voltage protection

But hey good for me that means I can leave it to charge it

[proper nymph]

It wasn't enough

It cranked like once

But now I got my shit so I can use bigger toys with burning the house down

Or more importantly the battery

Says hello to my little friend

This mf is trolling me it's at 12v that should be way more than enough to crank and start

Anyways can you believe this brick used to be a laptop charger?

It's 215w 12v charger that I modded to output 13.5v

For this specific purpose

I thought the battery would be too low to connect to it directly tho I usually use the small choke in the picture when it's too low since the charge gets rowdy when it pushing more than 15A

I should have just done this from the start

[proper nymph]

Ok I just disconnected it and it's at 12.9 hot

Will probably drop a bit but that's definitely enough to start now

I also got some hss drill bits

I Will not lose this war with a fuckin soft screw

[proper nymph]

I completely ruined the barring hole

Also I'm not as close as I thought I'm like 1/3 of the way there on the deep bit

I thought I would use the smaller one to help a little

But I wandered pretty bad

[proper nymph]

I might need some more help

So I took the nuclear option towards the left control arm ball joint and took an angel grinder to it

At first I thought I fucked up since it seemed like it friction welded all together

But I managed to get it out finally

I had to undo the axel which I wasn't fond of but I did it

And I thought it would be free from here but no

The ball joint is so jammed in knuckle I can't get it out

I hammered on it so hard I bent the stud loose

But joint just won't let go

[proper nymph]

Holy fuckin shit it's out

This fuckin piece of shit was harder than all the other work I did combined

I still want to ask you about my axel tho it doesn't look right

[proper nymph]

Actually when I set in the barring it has zero play

Idk if that's how I want it but it seems right

[proper nymph]

I wiped out the grease and added a zip tie so it doesn't leak again

The car felt goooooood riding on the way back

I was beginning to lose hope because it felt worse than what I started with plus the break thing happened

But today today felt like victory riding back home

It handled so smoothly on small bumps like they weren't even their

@supple crater I still have a question tho

Should I go to have my alignment now at least for the toe

Since everything down is done only the shocks are left

Especially that mine seems to not have any chamfer or caster adjustment from the struts it seems to be fixed I think

Also doesn't really seem to have screws to get it out for that matter

It looks just like this if you ignore the mount ad

<@&778389441706328154> maybe I should do this

I will add some context if anyone new decided to tap in Im doing my suspension I did everything except for the struts now

And I'm asking the question above only

[supple crater]

This is typical play. But the grease coming out is of a concern meaning it has broken down. You may want to replace the axle in the near future.

[supple crater]

So I’m not familiar with your car at all but the shop would know right away if the adjustment is possible.

[proper nymph]

Okay so struts before adjustment

https://youtu.be/AlpDWdiAgC0
I might do the back one myself but the front are so his this shit is cursed

[proper nymph]

This mf is an m9

https://vwsonline.co.uk/products/brake-caliper-slide-pin-251615219-as-fitted?srsltid=AfmBOopnBFLTABlo0jUXCv-IdCPEnlOKGf56xv3W_JWjNGdwQQJlH1RU

I'm going to have a vain burst this fuckin car uses iphone tactics

There no taps oh threadserts for it

I will have to tap the hole to m10 and tap the screw to m8

[proper nymph]

Got the good stuff

At least I hope

Mopro I heard flying reviews about so I have really high hopes for this

It really hurt to buy

Even tho for what its worth in engineering and metal alone it insane that it's that cheap

My total for everything suspension wise I got is around the 255$

[supple crater]

Sorry fam but the car will drive night and day

[supple crater]

Not too too bad

[proper nymph]

I mean I was already super impressed by the changes done by the bushings and ball joints and the tie rod alone it really felt good over small bumps

So I hope

[proper nymph]

I'm doing the back shocks rn

This thing ded

It has been dead a long time ago

Also the bump stop is gone

[proper nymph]

I wanted to ask if it's worth my time getting a new bumb stop before I close this thing up

I know they aren't that serious of you don't max out it rang driving like 150km on a speed bump

But it also holds the dust over which keeps the dust over it and keeps alive longer

But is it really worth not finishing it up now and going to get a new one

That if find it and don't have to get it from AliExpress and wait 2 weeks to a month for it

[proper nymph]

I really didn't want to wait but I decided with it

I want the dust cover to be installed properly on the shock it keep it there as long as possible

I know it probably won't matter much but it will probably keep it in it's mint condition a whole lot longer specially in a sandy beach against city like here

Holy shit that thing is supposed to be as big as the cover

Mine is gone

That didn't happen naturally

[proper nymph]

Got them no AliExpress wait for me

[supple crater]

The squeak 💀😂

[supple crater]

Good deal! Can’t wait to see them on

[proper nymph]

Just finished up the right side

[proper nymph]

And here is the left side

Didn't bother to clean the dust covers

[supple crater]

I maybe wrong but are these upside down?

Sike the actual covers are black never mind

[proper nymph]

Yeah

This the best picture I could find showing it

[supple crater]

Yeah my bad

[proper nymph]

It's alright

I decided to do the front sturts at the shop next by my home as an ice breaker

But I'm still taking them out my self

Im just going to bring them the old and the new and ask them to switch it

[proper nymph]

One out

I hammered the other out too it's top nut that's stopping me from getting it out

It's a 21 I have it as a socket but not a wrench

I was able to get this one out with pliers and the allen 7 shaft

But the other side is way too stubborn for that so I got me a wrench

[proper nymph]

It's done

I m finally this close to finishing up the suspension

[proper nymph]

I gave them to the shop he said he going to get it done tonight

He also pulled my attention to something these are not stock

They are a lift kit to have the car be a little higher

They were installed by the previous owner to protect the cars from high bumps and uneven ground and shit here

I told him to remove them to stock

@supple crater idk if this was a mistake tho

I'm starting to second think it

My train of thought was, these definitely impact the alignment angles and definitely impact the spring response to worse

Also they are old and falling apart and stiff the shop told me if I want to have them I should replace them

I want the car stock I'm pretty sure that would give me the best handling

But on the other hand there definitely are super uneven ground here that I would notice that difference with

And my car would start to scratch more from underneath

But at the same time it is already not really brand new from underneath the fold welds are all mangled

I got stuck with it before once

Idk I hope I don't end up disliking it being stock

The spacers don't seem earth shatteringly thick so I hope the difference is negligible

[proper nymph]

The general consensus I found on these tho that they kinda suck and don't really work that well

[supple crater]

Not to sure. I can’t really see what it is in the picture?

See how it is. Keep the spacers and drive the car for a little bit and see if adding it changes anything or not

I think driving it with new suspension at “stock” height is crucial so you know how it is. Then install those if you want and go from there.

[proper nymph]

The spacers are all I ever drove with

I didn't know they were there even

[proper nymph]

Yes but then it's more work to add them again

I can do the easier on top of the struts spacers put from what I read just now they suck even more

Ig I would never know until I drive it

I just don't want to damage it from rough roads

[supple crater]

You should be ok. I doubt these made that much of a difference however, I would keep them.

[proper nymph]

Why would you keep them?

Don't they affect the suspension?

[proper nymph]

They are done

I'm getting a little bit of buyer remorse

Seeing the metal on them is a little cheaper and they are gas units and all

[proper nymph]

Ig I try them without them now

And if I don't like them I add other spacers

These will definitely ride better than the old ones they were also dry as hell

But they do feel worse and cheaper ngl

The mopro felt quality even tho it was cheaper

[proper nymph]

The right side have me hell entering them

But it worked out at the end thankfully

[proper nymph]

It's done!

I'm taking it tomorrow to do an alignment

I almost didn't finish it up all today the right side was really stubborn

But decided to go the extra mile to finish it up today

Pun very much intended

But that very much for this thread I'm closing it now

@supple crater @torn wind @raven oracle thank you very much for all your help this was quite intense this whole thing

I'm going to take a victory lap video tomorrow and update you on how she rides after the alignment

I really wanted to do that today but it's approaching 11pm now I might not have made it in time besides I don't want to be the guy that rolls 5min from closing to get it done also I'm hungry I had 2 boiled eggs and apple for breakfast and haven't ate or drank nothing till now

Also I want the video to be in daylight

Also I forget to video the old struts state

It's similar to the back it's bone dry

It's crazy how good they worked for how dry they are

Next on the chopping block is the big one which is the transmission swap to my old manual transmission

But that will probably be fully done by a shop I'm not doing that on my own