Right im going to be doing my front suspension soon and have had my eye on these for a while,
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/110878300...X:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649#ht_2591wt_1112

BILSTEIN being a good make I feel at a very good price, I already have one front spring and will be hopefully ordering another the same during the week.

Found the top mounts at a good price from shop4parts.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FIAT-STIL...odel:Stilo&hash=item359a68fba7#ht_1609wt_1229

Think i will buy these as well as they have never been done and i always find the drop links have to be cut off so it wouldn't be a bad idea to have a pair to hand.

Can anybody recommend a cheap pair of coil spring compressers please or would it be better to get a garage to do them.

I used a set od draper spring compressor tools when I did the front ones on my JTD when they broke on me ...not a job I enjoyed doing mainly because the idea of the spring taking a leap from the compressor tool and did it wearing a motorcycle helmet and trying to wrap the shock and spring in a heavy duty blanket as you not want to be in the way of one of them springs if they take a leap for freedom..given the choice would rather have a garage do it with the more safe tools they have ..but saying that I did manage it with the draper compressor tool and guess having done them once would do again but still wear as much safety kit as possible when doing them.

AS mhowse has pointed out this can be a dangerous task. All cheap spring compressors are pretty much not that great. In truth you have to spend a bit to get a good product. It's usually the claw ends that slip off, or as mentioned above something breaks.

If you choose to do this yourself there are little things you can do to minimise the risks. Apart from all the safety measures, lube the threads of compressors, make sure spring is dry from any oil & rub off any loose rust or flaking paint. A second pair of hands are always welcome, & of course common sense, being able to recognise all the bad signs if things are going pear shape.

what a bunch of fairies

funny you should mention this muppet as i have just replaced all my shocks yesterday as i felt they were getting a little tired, i got my bilsteins from this company http://www.motorsportworld.co.uk/frame-detail.asp?PAGE=/bilstein-shocks.htm they were the cheapest i could find on the net, shocks arrived in 6 working days no problems.

spring compressors are perfectly safe as long as you are sensible, replacing the shocks is **** easy replacing springs is slightly harder, i have two sets of compressors one from halfords which i wasn't able to use yesterday as they are two long and some of these http://www.google.co.uk/products/ca...a=X&ei=i0oMULjyFbOr0AX9_fzICg&ved=0CH0Q8wIwAA which were perfect and did the job easy.

one thing to make sure is when you reatatch the stut to your car make sure you line up the little hole in the rubber top mount with the hole in the turret.

took me 3.5 hours to replace all four shocks would have got it done slightly quicker but i forgot to fit one of the small rubber covers that sits between the shock and spring so had to take that one off again.

easy job 2 x 17mm bolts on the bottom of the shock to separate it from the hub 1 x 17mm bolt on the drop link and then the 1 x 19mm bolt on the turret which you just undo and the whole strut drops out of the arch.

one thing which is very handy to have while you're replacing the shock is a vice to stick the whole strut in while you attach the spring compressors.

if you find the drop link a pain to get out of the way use a trolly jack to move the hub up and down and get the drop link bolt to line up perfectly then it just pops out.

I do hate it when a person dislikes a post and doesn't say why?????

What's the point???

Anyway back to Yampug, They are cheaper on eBay than what you have paid but only because the postage is free on the ones I have seen.
How are you finding them, Big improvement on standard or not do you think???

They are certainly what I'm going to buy anyway and its nice to see you have bought the same as i intend too. Im guessing you bought the same for the back as well??
What springs did you buy???

Muppet1 said:

I do hate it when a person dislikes a post and doesn't say why?????

What's the point???

Anyway back to Yampug, They are cheaper on eBay than what you have paid but only because the postage is free on the ones I have seen.
How are you finding them, Big improvement on standard or not do you think???

They are certainly what I'm going to buy anyway and its nice to see you have bought the same as i intend too. Im guessing you bought the same for the back as well??
What springs did you buy???

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good point they are slightly cheaper, wonder why i never noticed the ones you've seen maybe they didn't have the rear ones in stock or the rear ones made the overall price go up, not sure.

i thought about several different makes kyb, monroe, bilstein and shop4parts make and after reading lots of different reviews online bilstein were the most known and most recommended second up would have been monroe reflex which are supposed to be a bit stiffer but as i've always been happy with stilo i thought i'd go for same damping as oe shocks.

yep bilstein all round have used the springs that were already on the car fronts i replaced two years ago and rears last year. fronts were oe fiat and rears i think were kyb which make the rear sit slightly higher that oe but i'm happy with that as i fill boot up with tools so even with full load it looks normal height.

wouldn't bother with lowering springs multiwagon is designed for practicality in mind and lowering it defeats the object. you mention you already have one spring is that brand new? i'd be cautious of using odd springs as it may make your car ride a bit wonky. better to get a new matched pair.

i would say they are the same as when i got the car as new so that is an improvement on how my shocks were as they'd got a bit soggy. ride has improved much smoother handles better isn't as easy to get the car to lose traction if you chuck it into a roundabout or bend just seems to stick.

i'm happy with them.

if you're changing springs as well then you will need two pairs of spring compressors as uncompressed the stilo springs are quite long and one set of compressors won't squash the spring up enough to get it on the shock. for just swapping the shock one set is enough as you just clamp the spring slightly smaller than it is when fitted to the shock then stick it on the new shock already compressed.

thinking about it if your buying new top mounts plus new springs and shocks i wonder if it would be possible to just drop the whole lot off at a garage and ask them to fit the springs? might be cheaper than buying two sets of spring compressors and less hassle? and then just swap entire strut spring assembly which would be easy. i didn't have that option and i already had the compressors so just got on with it.

worked it out, that ebay store is 79.20 for fronts and 114.70 for rears = 193.90

company i used = 190.03 for both

Have you thought about Gaz Shocks at all?Just came across these:

http://www.balancemotorsport.co.uk/products.asp?recnumber=79050

Also notes that the part number means it is a coilover unit with a height/ dampening adjustment. And at £156 I think that's a really good price for them!

MarkThompson4 said:

Have you thought about Gaz Shocks at all?Just came across these:

http://www.balancemotorsport.co.uk/products.asp?recnumber=79050

Also notes that the part number means it is a coilover unit with a height/ dampening adjustment. And at £156 I think that's a really good price for them!

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I think thats per shock buddy

All this makes the Blistein and Spax combo (standard on the GP Schumacher), front and rear for £200 look like a Billy Bargain :devil:

I was leaning towards the safety side of this simply because the OP seemed a bit of a novice. Straight forward job. Rusted bolts/nuts may be your main problem.

Lets face it, there have been whole threads on how to change wiper blades on here... It's only easy when you know the answer,but! not directed at anyone in particular, as has been pointed out before, some should leave the bonnet firmly shut..

Peat said:

Have you considered KYB Excel-G gas shocks.

IMO as good as Bilstein but you are not paying for the name. I have used both and the is nothing to choose between them and they come out much cheaper. I have them fitted all round on the JTD at present.

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i thought about kyb but as i've got kyb rear springs fitted and they don't sit right compared to oe springs i was wondering if kyb could be trusted to make something as complicated as a shock.

jimboy said:

I was leaning towards the safety side of this simply because the OP seemed a bit of a novice. Straight forward job. Rusted bolts/nuts may be your main problem.

Lets face it, there have been whole threads on how to change wiper blades on here... It's only easy when you know the answer,but! not directed at anyone in particular, as has been pointed out before, some should leave the bonnet firmly shut..

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Who the hell are you calling a novice!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have done more spannering than I will ever care to remember on this car and every one of my past cars. There are not many jobs I wont do with a car and this may or may not be one but I always ask for advice and help for something I haven't done for about 20 years.

Muppet1 said:

Who the hell are you calling a novice!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have done more spannering than I will ever care to remember on this car and every one of my past cars. There are not many jobs I wont do with a car and this may or may not be one but I always ask for advice and help for something I haven't done for about 20 years.

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Calm down fella, fair play & all that. Obviously I've misread one of your posts saying you might get a garage to do the work for you.

Hi there

I bought these for my car not so long ago. They are great and I had no problem instaling it myself with a cheap spring compressor.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4-LOWERIN...arts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item1e6a5d6653

I would say get the bilsteins mate, they are not much more expensive.
And after fitting the B4 s matched with eibach springs they make the car feel so
Much better.