Blown Bilstein front dampers

[Earnest Electric]

G'day T6ers,

I'm a bit disappointed with my ute tonight and thought I'd pose a couple of questions. It's a trayback dual cab. 2015 build, 2016 year model, 2017 delivery.

Do you think there might have been evidence of leaks on these front struts 2600km (1625mi) earlier? It was serviced Nov 29th by the esteemed local VW dealer known for their fearlessness in invoicing, who missed an obvious grease leak from the RHR driveshaft boot.

(Bear in mind this garage has fully refunded a service before, because they were caught out NOT changing brake fluid, charging for a pollen filter that wasn't fitted, plus other cockups)

I'm a trained auto electrician in another life and my expertise says that dampers might, but generally don't, fail overnight.

In order to pump oil all over the driveshaft, upright, brakes & inside the wheel/trye, it says to me the passenger side has been failing for quite some time.

Appears the drivers side is now leaking too... and the vehicle has only done 94688km (59180mi) I'm the second owner and I believe this suspension has been fitted from new.

It's standard height and I've been running softer/taller 16" BFG AT tyres for maybe 10 000km. Previously just had factory 17" and while it carries tools it doesn't get flogged on rough roads. Mainly tarmac with a little farming.

These struts would be 5 years old so do I buy more Bilsteins? Are they significantly better than VW parts? I can get Konis for similar money.

Should I be looking for anything else tricky? These are standard clamp type struts and standard springs in the picture?

Either way in not impressed with the life span so far.

Cheers

 

[Earnest Electric]

Apparently Steve from CRS Performance is the legend I should be tagging for this?

 

[Fluff34567]

Aware you might be limited for choice but any other service points around ? If its a B14 then it's a cheapo version using the bilstein name.

They get fitted in UK but they are shite.

Any particular reason you wouldn't go back to the original suspension including a possible height increase? I ask as you can normally get pretty new or brand new suspension struts for nearly nothing from people that swapped out for a lowering kit but no guarantees. Or go aftermarket - think koni recently released a kit specifically for the t6 but think its for full van configuration and not the body tray version??

 

[.50]

Those aren't B14 dampers, I suspect they are a heavy duty, B6 damper for vehicles with standard height and bad road suspension, which, given the OP,s geographical location, plus the fitting of AT tyres, would have been fitted as an upgrade to the factory dampers.


The problem with the B6 is that it is a stiffer damper, so will be working really hard over rougher surfaces, which has maybe led to its shorter service life.

Bilstein do a B4 damper also for vehicles with bad road suspension which would give a softer ride, the only thing is that the B4 is a twin tube type damper and due to their design, fade much quicker when worked hard compared to the mono tube design of the B6.

I guess, ultimately, if your suspension is working hard all the time, it's bound to have a shorter service life.

 

[DXX]

IMO given the working environment of the damper it isn’t going to make much difference how much money you spend. Dragging dirt into an oil seal is inevitably going to result in a leak. The amount spent just creates a bit more grief. Fancy paint and stickers doesn’t improve reliability.

 

[CRS Performance]

G'day T6ers,

I'm a bit disappointed with my ute tonight and thought I'd pose a couple of questions. It's a trayback dual cab. 2015 build, 2016 year model, 2017 delivery.

Do you think there might have been evidence of leaks on these front struts 2600km (1625mi) earlier? It was serviced Nov 29th by the esteemed local VW dealer known for their fearlessness in invoicing, who missed an obvious grease leak from the RHR driveshaft boot.

(Bear in mind this garage has fully refunded a service before, because they were caught out NOT changing brake fluid, charging for a pollen filter that wasn't fitted, plus other cockups)

I'm a trained auto electrician in another life and my expertise says that dampers might, but generally don't, fail overnight.

In order to pump oil all over the driveshaft, upright, brakes & inside the wheel/trye, it says to me the passenger side has been failing for quite some time.

Appears the drivers side is now leaking too... and the vehicle has only done 94688km (59180mi) I'm the second owner and I believe this suspension has been fitted from new.

It's standard height and I've been running softer/taller 16" BFG AT tyres for maybe 10 000km. Previously just had factory 17" and while it carries tools it doesn't get flogged on rough roads. Mainly tarmac with a little farming.

These struts would be 5 years old so do I buy more Bilsteins? Are they significantly better than VW parts? I can get Konis for similar money.

Should I be looking for anything else tricky? These are standard clamp type struts and standard springs in the picture?

Either way in not impressed with the life span so far.

Cheers

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OK the KONI dampers are way better than the B6 shocks you have , apart from durable the comfort will be better
Be careful though with those tyres i would go with the 87 2645 and 82 2542 on the back the special actives are fabulous but wont take the pounding from those bigger wheels and tyres . \They are available from Toperformance in Victoria
steve

 

[Earnest Electric]

Thanks for the advice Steve,

Turns out I had a voucher and an ebay deal which worked out to be $757 (£411) delivered for a pair of special active struts.

I even quizzed them beforehand, the part number was 8705-1392? Yes that's correct...

Lo and behold the delivery was very fast and the struts are 87-2645..! At least it wasn't the $1138 quoted by the local shop.

I'm just curious now as to what I should adjust them to before fitment? I might ring Toperformance on Monday anyway.

My last set of Konis were externally adjusted in a Falcon ute so they could be fiddled easily. These VW ones won't be so.

I don't have the budget for the rears just now but I'll keep a closer eye on them.

Is there anything else worth doing while it's apart? Strut tops, bushings, ball joints should all be OK at 95 000km/60 000mi I was assuming...

I found the ride is much better with the extra wall height in these 225/70 16" tyres, though a mate of mine locally runs the same BFG KO2 (225/60?) on 17" rims. Similar overall diameter but I don't know about weight of the wheel/tyre combo.

I went away from the Dunlop Sport things on Devonports because I'd had a few punctures with sharp flinty stones... they were at least quiet though.

Thanks again for the help

OK the KONI dampers are way better than the B6 shocks you have , apart from durable the comfort will be better
Be careful though with those tyres i would go with the 87 2645 and 82 2542 on the back the special actives are fabulous but wont take the pounding from those bigger wheels and tyres . \They are available from Toperformance in Victoria
steve

 

[CRS Performance]

I would give them a go at the out of the box setting. We normally only adjust them harder for customers wanting a more sporty ride

 

[s3swiss]

One of my t5 bilstein shocks failed. On removal it had an obvious nick in the tube probably from a stone. That then tore the seal so the shock failed. As I couldn’t get just a single replacement shock I ended up getting a full new platform set (not bilstein). This time I fitted “shock socks” as used by off roaders. Keeps the tube protected and doesn’t interfere with the spring action.