Mine only ever catches on strange road cambers or with a full back seat. I have 500 springs and 50 tyres. It's a rare event so not worrying about it.

KYB are a big stock supplier to manufacturers. I fitted these on my 100HP and there were no troubles fitting. The car was fine after too.

Before and after on my 100hp, Bilstein B6 19-235646

mikelawrencenz said:

Before and after on my 100hp, Bilstein B6 19-235646

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Is that the Eibach pro springs also? Any good?

I have this exact setup ready to go on.

Used 500 rear springs are cheap enough to try and chuck them if you don't like them. I used a spring top rubber mount at both ends to slightly raise the ride height. The 50 tyre only ever catches on the left rear with four people in the car. It looks like it's the tyre shoulder so the only fix would be to go back to 45 tyres.

Using a rubber mount under the spring also preserves the spring pan metal so worth having just for that.

ravydavy said:

Is that the Eibach pro springs also? Any good?

I have this exact setup ready to go on.

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Not eibach spring, just a freshen up with red spray paint

KYB are fine and Monro. Bilstein fit the wrong sized bush so they rattle like hell. Totally unacceptable!!!! Bilstein are the best ride quality by far though. If I work out a fix for the rattle I will let you know. Thinking if making a sleeve and have an idea of how to do so cheaply.

My 100HP at 85K miles the dampers were just beginning to fail. Well worth changing and a simple job front and back easy to do all 4 corners in half a day. Front pinch bolts can be stuck so buy new bolts all round. Soak with penetrating oil for a few days before doing the job.

The Panda Nut said:

Bilstein are the best ride quality by far though. If I work out a fix for the rattle I will let you know. Thinking if making a sleeve and have an idea of how to do so cheaply.

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Measure the inside and outside diameters you need. You will be very likely to find tubes on eBay that can be cut to the correct length. Brass, stainless or mild steel will do the job.

IIRC the top bolts are 10mm the bottoms are 12mm. Choose some tubes with the correct wall thickness and cut to length. Don't forget to fit the tops first as they are prone to going cross thread. The self cleaning tip can really chew the chassis threads if you are not careful.

The Panda Nut said:

KYB are fine and Monro. Bilstein fit the wrong sized bush so they rattle like hell. Totally unacceptable!!!! Bilstein are the best ride quality by far though. If I work out a fix for the rattle I will let you know. Thinking if making a sleeve and have an idea of how to do so cheaply.

My 100HP at 85K miles the dampers were just beginning to fail. Well worth changing and a simple job front and back easy to do all 4 corners in half a day. Front pinch bolts can be stuck so buy new bolts all round. Soak with penetrating oil for a few days before doing the job.

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Which bush do the Bilstein have wrong?

I though it was the Koni that had the wrong size.

ravydavy said:

Which bush do the Bilstein have wrong?

I though it was the Koni that had the wrong size.

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Both the small bolt (top) and the large one (bottom are 2.5 mm too big) I have tried packing them out but its not working. I am now looking for tube sleeving. Failing this I am going to build the bolt up with weld and have them machined to the correct size. Its bloody annoying though.

KYB used on my Panda 100 were fine. Bushes however failed inside 3 years.

The Panda Nut said:

Both the small bolt (top) and the large one (bottom are 2.5 mm too big) I have tried packing them out but its not working. I am now looking for tube sleeving. Failing this I am going to build the bolt up with weld and have them machined to the correct size. Its bloody annoying though.

KYB used on my Panda 100 were fine. Bushes however failed inside 3 years.

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Thanks. Is this on the rear shocks?

The bolts are 10mm so you need some 1/2" OD tube with 1.5mm wall thickness and drill it out to 10mm bore. Then cut to length with a pipe cutter and deburr. Job done.


DO NOT get stainless tube unless you have special drills and lots of flowing coolant.

This looks just the job 12.7mm OD x 1.2mm wall = 10.3 bore.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ERW-Round-Mild-Steel-TUBE-Pipe-9-Diameters-Bandsaw-Cut-Lengths-Trade-Supplier/292010905656?var=591008602580&hash=item43fd34d038:m:mhR-r-EoP_1tCju5bl_zzJQ

Call them to see if thicker wall tubes are available with the same OD.

DaveMcT said:

The bolts are 10mm so you need some 1/2" OD tube with 1.5mm wall thickness and drill it out to 10mm bore. Then cut to length with a pipe cutter and deburr. Job done.


DO NOT get stainless tube unless you have special drills and lots of flowing coolant.

This looks just the job 12.7mm OD x 1.2mm wall = 10.3 bore.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ERW-Round-Mild-Steel-TUBE-Pipe-9-Diameters-Bandsaw-Cut-Lengths-Trade-Supplier/292010905656?var=591008602580&hash=item43fd34d038:m:mhR-r-EoP_1tCju5bl_zzJQ

Call them to see if thicker wall tubes are available with the same OD.

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Thanks Dave. The bottom bolt is 11mm thick with a 19mm head. Measuring the bolt its 11.1 in reality and the hold on the damper bush is 12. I am hoping 12 mm tube with a 0.5 wall will give 11 mm inside diameter. Its not plain sailing though . I have added a sleeve made of biscuit tin but it still rattles although a lot less. 11mm is a very odd size bolt and metric fine thread also. I cannot get anything in the bolt world to do the job so sleeving is it. Norfolks main fixing suppliers just say they cannot get 11mm bolts! MAD.

I am going to contact Bilstein tomorrow and point out the error and ask for help. We shall see if they oblige. I am likely going to throw these new dampers on the tip and revert to Fiats own! I do have the tube on order and will try that first as its the big bolts that are worst fit.

ravydavy said:

Thanks. Is this on the rear shocks?

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Yes rears are causing the problems. The Fronts are Monro and seem OK.

I can't measure mine but I'm pretty sure the bottom is M12 and the top is M10. The shank on the bottom may be a bit smaller diameter than the thread, but whatever you use it has to get over the threads. They are all high tensile so welding is not a good idea. The bottom pulls up very tight so the metal sleeve inside the rubber bush does not have to be a close tolerance. The top is more of an issue with its self cleaning bolt and hardened tip. I don't like them at all but finding corrosion proof high tensile bolts is a hassle.

I was going to check ePer as sometimes it gives bolt sizes but its throwing a wobbly (error 503.1)

I think you need to find some polybushes with the correct inside tube dia and outside rubber dia to fit the ends that you have. If they are not listed call Polybush and ask them. Their listing looks very thin for such a well known manufacturer.

The Panda Nut said:

Yes rears are causing the problems. The Fronts are Monro and seem OK.

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I’ve just swapped the rears for bilstein b6s and the holes where exactly the same size.

Cant say if Bilstein have changed them. They took about 3 months to arrive mind.

ravydavy said:

I’ve just swapped the rears for bilstein b6s and the holes where exactly the same size.

Cant say if Bilstein have changed them. They took about 3 months to arrive mind.

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AH thanks for this. I will investigate the bolts for the 100HP maybe there is a difference. Bushes made with biscuit tin have reduced the rattles and I am waiting for some stainless tubes that should sort it out. May be my dampers are just fitted with the wrong bushes. I will ring The Bilstein shop. Thanks.

The rear suspension bolts are exactly the same on all Pandas (169 and newer) and the 500 and Ford Ka.

If your dampers are rattling at the back you might have bolts that are not tightening properly. The metal sleeve inside the top bush should be trapped between bolt head and chassis. The self cleaning bolts are VERY easy to get cross threaded. If hat happens, they will go tight far too soon even risk shearing off if you are not careful.

Remove the damper. Make sure top bolt goes in properly. If it has not, you might need to clean the thread with a thread cutting die. Check the thread pitch.

Fit damper by top the bolt only be sure its not cross thread. Fit the bottom bolt afterwards as that cannot be cross-threaded.

Finally put jack under suspension arm to take the car's weight and slacken/re-tighten the shock mounting bolts. This makes sure the rubber bushes are not being over-twisted.