The S2 is dead, long live the S2

[Rikki Kitto]

Tonight's job, see if ya can all guess

[K Simmonds]

New strut inserts, am going to guess Bilstien B6 or 8's.

[Rikki Kitto]

B6's been in there ages now more pics

[Rikki Kitto]

Look how squashed the old top mount was on the right these washers are such a clever idea well done Lago Blue

[Rikki Kitto]

Was talking to the spanner man about drilling the drain hole in the bottom of the strut but as things have been ok for the 20 years I've hade the car and the inside of the strut is clean and well sealed we decided not to do it.

[Tractor Dave]

I like the option of a little gear oil in the housing.

[K Simmonds]

I like the option of a little gear oil in the housing.

Me too, I've always have used a bit of gear oil since I found out there was supposed to a fluid in there, The manual say's to use use neet antifreeze. But gear oil makes more sense. I have once used WD40 but upon reflection thats a silly idea,

Being a man I didn't read the isntructions with my B8's on my RS2 and used EP90 as normal and they're fine.

I have a couple of sets of mount savers like that, only mine have a ring made of a softer material as well, I'm going to fit one set to the front of my B3 when I install the S2 springs from John and fit the others to my RS2.

Damper wise as my B3 is a budget project I may leave the original shocks in place if they feel okay as I don't have 50mm front dampers in stock got a couple of pairs of good 55mm rears though. I'll probably replace the bump stops with poly ones as I have them on the shelf. If I need to replace the front Bilstien B4's will do the job just fine.

[Rikki Kitto]

He's a BMW man and said his older cars have same front suspension he just does the same bit of oil in there

[Rikki Kitto]

Well just had the brakes upgraded with tandem booster of a VW Phaeton and custom boost pipe, spanner man took her out for a spin n nearly writ her off front braided Hel brake line failed. Think the home made bracket holding it in place caused stress over the years n made it weak then under the new booster pressure POPlucky he's a great driver this happened at 70mph approaching a roundabout Good save brother

[Lago Blue]

Hi Rikki,

As you appear to been about ready to re-assemble your B6s into the struts, I'm glad to see you likely did whilst it was in the vertical position. I'm confident you'll enjoy the Strut-Stops.

Just a couple of notes referring to your post (#288) above with the top-mounts (new beside old), the Strut-Stops mod (which prevent the top-mount collapse seen in his photo) and the discussion that followed.

a). For those who may be less familiar with this mod and following along to your thread, the pictured Strut-Stops being only 1/3rd metal, prevent top-mounts from going metal-to-metal in terms of being able to transmit shock-loads from below; to the chassis. There are other benefits including an end to having to replace top-mounts. For further see at link.

https://www.s2forum.com/forum/member...t-strut-mounts

b). To whom it might interest, the original warning to incorporate the strut drain / vent-hole mod mentioned earlier in this thread, came directly from Bilstein; particularly for their yellow Bilstein B8 mono-tube type dampers when used in the UrQ MacPherson strut. As an aside, all Audi B2, 3 and 4 owners of other damper types and brands may also benefit from this same mod (see more at the last link in this post below). One used to be able to more easily find reference to this mod in Audi B2, 3, 4 and UrS forums and in concurrent BMW and Volvo forums (see link below which describes an alternate drilling location). Bilstein later went further in 2012 and incorporated a vent / drain into their 46mm Universal Motorsport Struts as a distinct feature.

https://turbobricks.com/index.php?threads/bilstein-drilling.237184/

c). The unmentioned issue (here with used B6/8s) which the drain / vent-hole mod prevents, is hydraulic-locking of the dampers. This results in their internal rupture if its' symptoms (whose onset is subtle at first) are left untreated. This mod is preventative in that those symptoms can't then develop. Ironically, said rupture then partially fills the MacP strut with oil (and lightens your wallet!). As the Bilstien B6/8 specific top cap-nut's replaceable seals age-harden and wear, faster with more mileage, rain and damp, coastal climates, damaged chrome and damaged or missing boots, the encased and un-vented dampers in un-modded struts become susceptible. This mod has proven to be a zero-cost and 100% effective measure in preventing hydro-locking of the yellow B6/8s; without any apparent risk or downside. Bilstein goes further and warns against using any liquids to surround their mono-tube style dampers when installed in MacP struts. Unfortunately, because the hydro-locking issue usually doesn't occur until some time and distance down the road, and perhaps the pot-hole that strikes the final blow is blamed; while root cause often remains undiagnosed. Unfortunately, some who are familiar with this mod, yet forgo this vaccination based on their luck so far. For further explanation and photos see at link.

https://www.s2forum.com/forum/techni...58#post2021258

[Rikki Kitto]

Thanks for the in depth and informative write up as always Bud. I did try to convince my spanner man of the benefits of drilling a little hole but as I wasn't there to do it he felt a smear of gear oil which is what he does to his Beemers would suffice

[Rikki Kitto]

Our bike mechanic found this in his garage and asked if it was off my S2is it

[Rikki Kitto]

Well peeps today is a the end of an era, finally caved in to the S2's demands for love and attention and the missus saying" you could of bought a new car the amount of money you spent on that" I reckon I've done well, had the car 23 years and the missus has been going on for the last 10

So she is on her way to her new home this morning, the car not the missus. I'll still be on here because of course this is the best forum even though I'll be a bit of an imposter driving and RS3.

Peace love n stuff, thanks from all you guys for lots of help guidance and advice over the years

There'll be some odd bits coming up for sale soon as I find them keep ya eyes open on the for sale bit

[Rikki Kitto]

New owner didn't hang about I was presently surprised with the Dyno figures plenty of life in the old girl

[Rikki Kitto]

New owner didn't hang about I was presently surprised with the Dyno figures plenty of life in the old girl