Rabbit Bilstein Sport inserts for front of 128 wagon

[Rupunzell]

BIlstien "struts" are inverted design. The damper is mounted upside down or the working bits connected to the chassis. This reduce unsprung weight and is good for damper performance.

Due to this deign, the piston which carries much of the loads must have a bearing to guide it and a seal. Look carefully at the stock Bilstien strut housing collar and note it has more than just a seal, it has a precision guide bearing. This will need to be replicated into the stock exxe gland nut or there will be a problem of strut piston rod possibly binding or dirt getting into the strut housing which will cause other problems.

If there is no bearing inside the gland nut, that bearing will be in the strut housing. In either case, the seal is important as it prevents dirt from slowly grinding up the piston.

Got this design of Bilstien damper on the SAAB NG900 and was considering using them for the exxe, these are larger than the VW Rabbit dampers, and offers more possibility for changes by Bilstien.. They are larger and this presents more problems trying to install the into the exxe.


Bernice

 

[karhawk]

Bernice you mean this bearing/seal?

 

[Rupunzell]

Yes, that is the one.. Needs to be fitted on axis to the stock strut housing..


Bernice

Bernice you mean this bearing/seal?

 

[karhawk]

hack job homemade glan nut tool from an old strut tube.

I drilled and tapped the seal/bearing , I ran the drill into the tube slightly for the set screws, making sure to clear all metal shavings before final install. The set screws are 1/4"X20X3/8".

 

[Rupunzell]

The Bilstien seal/bearing unit is threaded into the stock strut housing with
a set screw to prevent it from turning or is the Bilstien seal/bearing unit held in place by the set screws?


Bernice

I drilled and tapped the seal/bearing , I ran the drill into the tube slightly for the set screws.

 

[karhawk]

Yes the Bilstein seal fits over factory Fiat tube after slight clearancing. I drilled and tapped it.

 

[karhawk]

Ready to go on, I painted the Bilstein blue covers with plastic/vinyl paint.
I am not worried about these bottoming out and these inserts have internal dampers so I will cutoff the 128 units. I bought new rubber upper mounts from Vicks, great price made in Turkey!

 

[Rupunzell]

Looks good. Curious to know how this works out..


Bernice

 

[Jeff Stich]

Nice!

Lookin' good! Where did you source the Bilstein inserts from & at what cost? I've seen prices all over the map on these, & they're not cheap.

 

[karhawk]

They weren't cheap, 123$ ea? It's the better part of a weekend for me labor wise. I went in with a game plan. I finished one side today and finish up tomorrow.

http://www.ajusa.com/

 

[karhawk]

Both sides done, here is the finished stance:

I need to lower the rear a bit more now.

I'll post my driving impressions soon and can't wait to feel that butter smooth steering you get with "Plaia pivots">

 

[karhawk]

I did a short drive this morning, wow big difference! Nicely controlled and firm without being harsh. I haven't pushed it yet but the weak point on my setup are the nexen 185-60-13 tires which will give way before the suspension does.

 

[karhawk]

I drove 50 miles today on the new shocks, I would rate them +1 from stock, nice and flat in the corners with a very light touch on the freeway. About as hard as I would go on a street car.

I'd do it again for a cost effective new suspension, about 250$ for struts
and 50$ for the tubes, maybe 20$ hardware.

 

[Jeff Stich]

Awesome.

Sounds good! I've tried the rear X1/9 KYB's (too harsh) & Koni's (poor rebound), just wasn't satisfied. I am currently riding on heavy-duty Mulholland 128 inserts in 128 front strut tubes with X1/9 rear springs, which work ok up to medium-sized bumps, anything bigger (or any fast bumps) & they'll bottom out - not the struts' fault, they're just working on the bottom level of their designed travel limit. I've considered finding/buying a pair of NOS stock X1/9 rear struts to try, just never got around to it. Another option was oil-filled KYB inserts (RockAuto), which supposedly aren't as harsh as the gas-filled type more commonly available.

I've been waiting for your "drive-time" feedback report on how these Bilsteins worked out - sounds like they're a good solution for 128 owners! :headbang:

Now to start saving up those nickels & dimes...