Top mount and bearing fitment with limited resources

[barnesautos]

This is a how I did it without any spring compressors or clamps . As an experienced mechanic I'll tell you now - it's not recommended to do it this way unless your absolutely confident within your mechanical capabilities .

I won't bore you with the jack the car up and place it on axle stands ect , I'll get straight on with it.

Firstly with the wheels off the vehicle , support the suspension with a trolley jack and slightly raise it .

http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/...pics/D832DE03-E4A6-431A-B0E5-B2DEAA0A2962.jpg

Then the top suspension rubber / nut is ready for removal. Once that has been done it looks like this .

http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/...pics/1C3201D3-8D5B-49D7-9EB1-794E0EF9E2D9.jpg

Now jack up the suspension a bit to shorten the coil spring length , once your happy remove the nut

http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/...pics/53474530-6D46-444C-997E-DED29E04CE3E.jpg

And collar

http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/...pics/A68E4878-1041-4C64-926B-BCA526DC5775.jpg

Then install the nut only all the way down it's thread

http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/...pics/2369E879-5D2C-40E3-B37D-7897B1E53E63.jpg

Slowly release the jack pressure holding the suspension and the nut with start to travel downwards towards the bearing. The nut will stop at the bearing and the strut will become free . The top mount is now ready for removal.
Press down on the disc / wishbone with a suitable bar so the strut has sufficient clearance for the top mount to be pulled out over the bearing and out altogether.
Once you have done that it looks like this

http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/...pics/1DAD9598-5125-4205-9A46-D93D1A4369A3.jpg

Then I cut two pieces of wood

http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/...pics/51AB5880-DAA1-4366-967C-5D0C9DCD16F6.jpg

And then I positioned the two pieces of wood on top of the suspension strut but underneath the body to give me some working clearance , I then jacked up the Strut again and the pieces of wood were then sandwiched and the spring begins to compress.

http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/...pics/520797E2-F266-4C9F-A204-120225D571DA.jpg

This little working space I have achieved is just enough space to remove the bearing .

With the Strut still jacked up and the spring compressed , I then begin to remove the nut but only to the top of the thread.
I then pushed the centre pushrod downwards so the nut meets the bearing.
Undo the nut and take it off out the way.
Lift off the bearing

http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/...pics/903F0663-FA43-428F-80CC-DDCEA1643322.jpg

Then put the collar and nut on for safety reasons .

http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/...pics/AC30D237-5B92-409D-9CF6-046CCAFE645C.jpg

Now at this point if the bearing won't slide out down the back of the strut , you will have to lower the strut again to create space and the wood will drop out of the way.
Under no circumstances must you ever lower the strut without the nut not being on the thread.

Now the new bearing can be placed at and around the top of the strut and once again the jack is raised with the woods in place to that nice pressure we had before where the spring begins to compress. It looks like this now.

http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/...pics/59063050-9B51-4C75-B00A-B3D15146D6C7.jpg

The nut and collar are then removed , the nut is put back on the thread just a few turns and once again pushed down to now meet the top of the spring cup. Undo the nut and begin to use a magnet to place the bearing over the shaft of the stut.

http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/...pics/5C6A647C-2257-4CF3-A2CC-84FB0F0739B2.jpg

Now the bearing is on

http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/...pics/9754BB57-455A-4CB9-83D0-E756410C69A2.jpg

Then only put the nut on .

http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/...pics/1DAD9598-5125-4205-9A46-D93D1A4369A3.jpg

Then lower down the suspension strut slowly , so the nut now comes into contact with the new bearing.

Push down on the suspension strut and then begin to install the new bearing .
Once the new bearing is installed, the jack up the strut for the last time and the new rubber is positioned up under the body now.
Remove the nut for the last time
http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/...pics/2369E879-5D2C-40E3-B37D-7897B1E53E63.jpg

Then install the collar and nut for the last time and tighten


http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/...pics/1C3201D3-8D5B-49D7-9EB1-794E0EF9E2D9.jpg

Then put the rubber nut on top of the strut and tighten up.
Lower the strut now and that is it.

I hope you find this Informative , but I must point out - this is not a guide of how it should be done , it is merely a sharing of my experience in doing this sort of repair with limited resources .

 

[Budgie]

Great guide, but utterly pointless. Made it ten times harder than it needed to be.

On a 1*2, you don't need spring compressors at all.

Remove strut assy from car, spin nut off. Replace in reverse order. Done.

 

[MartinR]

Great guide, but utterly pointless. Made it ten times harder than it needed to be.

On a 1*2, you don't need spring compressors at all.

Remove strut assy from car, spin nut off. Replace in reverse order. Done.

This.

 

[Matt e]

Looks likes it a 1.2 by the calipers, which needs spring compressors

 

[barnesautos]

Sorry MartinR it wasn't model specific.
I take it into consideration that there are a lot of knowledgable people out there and have done this.
I just thought a guide of my experiences doing it this way in picture form would benefit people .
Matt e , yes it is a 1.2 16v model.