Technical Fitting front shocks punto mk2

[TONY55S]

Hi,just wanted to tell anybody thinking of fitting new front shocks to punto mk2 that they are really difficult to fit,i did it lst weekend and NEVER again.
i bought spring compressors but still the spring wont compress short enough,spent 6 hours wrestling one shock into position,i had to use car jack to force shock back up,with spring compressed to the limit,i was so sorry i didnt pay the 60 euro to have this job done in garage by mechanic,
the rear shocks are simple,no big spring to drive you CRAZY
TONY55S

 

[dave]

strange, i find them really easy to do

 

[Helz]

The worst bit of doing the Brava ones is getting all the rusted old bolts out!

 

[DaveMcT]

Its always easy with the right tools.

I have some fabbo spring compressors - well made with RH and LH threads for a quick action but almost always useless. The ends are too fat and the spring coils that can be compressed bind up too soon.

The bolts will come out with some heat such as welding onto the nuts to break the seizure.

 

[m20b25]

strange, i find them really easy to do

Comparable to changing shocks on a bicycle

If one wants a nightmare job on a set of shocks, I once was changing a strut on a Ducato when the spring compressor flew off right at my leg....

 

[bredsticz]

That's not an easy job if you need to heat bolts etc to get them out. Most of us don't even have the equipment to do that.

It is a pain in the ass job and I broke one of my spring compressors. The thread decided it was going to mangle itself up and jam the compressor onto the spring

 

[dumbledore]

The bottom bolts are difficult to take off and even more difficult if not approached properly. If you lift one wheel of the ground you will think there is no pressure on the two bolts. This is wrong. The anti roll bar will push the wishbone up thus putting pressure on the two bolts. Removing a rusted through bolts in this way will be hard. Now if you lift the other wheel too, the anti roll bar will stop pushing and there will be no pressure on the bolts. The bolts can then be pushed out by hand.

 

[TONY55S]

The bottom bolts are difficult to take off and even more difficult if not approached properly. If you lift one wheel of the ground you will think there is no pressure on the two bolts. This is wrong. The anti roll bar will push the wishbone up thus putting pressure on the two bolts. Removing a rusted through bolts in this way will be hard. Now if you lift the other wheel too, the anti roll bar will stop pushing and there will be no pressure on the bolts. The bolts can then be pushed out by hand.

hi,i had my car jacked up one side at a time,would there have been less pressure on the strut if i jacked both sides of car up,instead of only one side??

 

[TONY55S]

The worst bit of doing the Brava ones is getting all the rusted old bolts out!

yeah,the bolts get seized up,i sprayed mine with wd 4o,then tapped it continously not too hard with a hammer for 2 mins,then i sprayed bolts again,and turned the bolt with socket set,it barely moved,then kept tapping with hammer,and after 3 mins it started to move very slowly,guess some heat would have sped up the job

 

[bredsticz]

Yes, jack up both sides at one. It was the only way the strut was going back into place on mine.
Work with the entire front of the car in the air

 

[dumbledore]

hi,i had my car jacked up one side at a time,would there have been less pressure on the strut if i jacked both sides of car up,instead of only one side??

Yes, this is what I meant. Is common mistake not to do it. It makes life much easier. Unfortunatelly you need two jacks. You can use one jack and a stand I suppose. All cars need this approach not just the punto. I done a number of them and the punto is the easiest.

 

[DaveMcT]

That's not a good idea.

Get one decent trolley jack and 2 axle stands.

Chock both back wheels front and back. Then jack the car off the gearbox bell housing and put the axle stands under the bolts which hold the front subframe to the floorpan. Lower the car onto the stands and its safe.

You will be working with your legs under the car and you'll be tugging it about. 1 ton of car dropping onto your legs isnt going to do much for your John Wayne impressions.