[Vwdiesel] Re: [Audi-VW-Diesels] Struts and Strut Bearings

[Nate Wall]

I just called the tire place (NTB) and it all came
back to me why I loath auto repair places. I asked how
much it cost to replace the struts and strut bearings
on my '85 Jetta. Reply: $70 for each strut insert, $45
labor to replace each strut insert, $32 for each strut
bearing, and get this, $33 labor to replace each strut
bearing. That totals up to $360, plus any taxes and
shop fees and a $50 alignment, if I want it. I then
informed the young lady on the phone that there was no
extra labor involved in removing/installing the strut
bearings, explained how it was done/why, and asked why
there was a charge for it. The response I got was an
"Uhhhh" followed by a long silence,  followed by, "I
can ask my manager about that."

So, I'm gonna get the car inspected (past due annual
Virginia safety inspection)and point out the worn
struts and bearings (you can really move the struts in
the towers a bit with the weight off the wheels now)
to the inspector and hope he rejects it on that basis.
If that occurs, I'll go to NTB and attempt to get the
struts and bearings replaced free, except for the
alignment. Even if the car passes inspection, I'll
approach NTP for a free repair. Its interesting, NTB
no longer offers a lifetime warranty on these, but
they did in 1992 when it was done for the first time.
They were replaced free a few years later by them.

If that fails, I'll do them myself. Olympic Import
Parts (my favorite jobber) has KYBs for $60 each and
the bearings for $45 each, so that totals to $210,
plus I'll need a spring compressor and those two
special sockets, since I do not have air tools. I'll
buy them on the internet. Thanks for all your help
guys.

--Nate



asked the young lady why labor was charge
--- LBaird119 at aol.com wrote:
> > He did put brake
> >  fluid in the strut tubes before inserting the
> >  cartridges. He claimed this helped to dissipate
> heat
> >  generated from strut action. Made sense, but I'd
> use
> >  oil, since brake fluid absorbs water.
>
>   Yeah. So does everybody else!  Likely the reason
> he used brake fluid is
> it would cause the assembly to rust, which isn't
> covered by their warranty!
> Also and easy to dispose of used brake fluid
> (hazardous waste?)  They
> come with oil and anybody that does add anything
> uses oil.  Of course
> the original oil is because the tube is the actual
> strut tube, no insert.
>   It's just like Gary said.  Pretty darn easy.  We
> had the pneumatic
> compressor at VW and it was sure handy.  I've done
> many more than
> there though, with the clip and screw type that I
> borrowed (and never
> really returned?)  from my brother in law.  With a
> little tranny lube on
> the contact surfaces of the washer and nut and the
> impact wrench,
> it's almost as fast as the pneumatic piston type.
> :)  An alignment
> isn't as likely to be needed since they don't use
> the eccentric bolts
> on the A2 like on the A1.  Of course you can put
> them in for better
> alignment adjustment.  :)
>      Loren
> _______________________________________________
> vwdiesel mailing list
> vwdiesel at vwfans.com
> http://www.audifans.com/mailman/listinfo/vwdiesel


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