DIY Disclaimer: I hold no responsibility should anything goes wrong when you decided to follow my guide. It’s strictly meant as a reference for knowledge sharing purposes.
Parts that I bought:
Shock absorber rear (Bilstein): 33 52 6 771 725: $220 x 2
Shock absorber rubber mounting rear FEBI: 33 52 6 768 544: $75 x 2
Guide support, upper FEBI: 33 52 6 771 737: $30 x 2
Guide support, lower FEBI: 33 52 6 771 738: $30 x 2
Damper: 33 52 6 767 334:: $45 x 2
The car is turning 10 years old next month and has clocked almost 130k km since rolling out of factory.
Front absorbers were replaced in Jun 2016 because leaks. Now its the rear absorbers’ turn. Check out the leaks in the following photos:
I also noticed some fine hairline cracks on the bottom absorber mount, hence decided to replace them too.
The tricky part about this DIY is the bottom mount fasterning bolt. There are the E-Torx type which I do not have the tool to open them. Check out the following photo, refer to the yellow arrows.
I went online and ordered the following:
But before the item arrives, I ran out of patience and do it my way by using the following, size 10mm 1/2’ socket..
The following is the replacement set, ready for the be installed.
Step 1 is actually go under the car and try loosen the E-Torx and the bottom absorber nut. Once that is done, we more on to the upper nut as show in the following photo. A size 17” ring spanner with a 6mm hex bit on a 3/8” ratchet.
Viola!
Reverse the process and tadaa!!
I did use a jack to give me more room in the wheel well because I did not remove the wheels. The car is supported by the springs which we did not remove, that is why we can remove the absorber without removing the wheels.
Time spent: a good 2 hours of workout.
More photos after the jump..
The black and silver part below which are represented by item 5 and 4 above were not repalced. Item 3, the damper comes in a completed set with the black plastic sleeve.
The following is the used top guide support (Upper), item 7 in the diagram. If you ask me, I would suggest re-use them because the material is still not compromised despite the worn marks.
The photo below you can see (diagram item 6) the top guide support (lower) is compromised, syggest replacement.
See, bad shape..
What about bottom mount? I think can still use because the part is very sturdy destipe the hairline cracks but since I bought, I replaced them too.
