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Top mount replacement

Started by Ex passatman, September 28, 2023, 08:24:28 PM

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Just had to have both top mounts replaced for the MOT I was quite shocked when I saw the state of them.I don't know if all the wet weather has had any bearing as they seem to have deteriorated quite rapidly.Mind you I keep forgetting at 19 the old girls getting quite elderly now (bit like me)Luckily the surrounding area was ok so should be good for a bit longer (hopefully like me)

Well done for sorting out your top mounts. If you tackled the work yourself, can you please give us an idea of what you did to overcome the corrosion in the top mount cup, in order to dismantle it, and also what was required to remove the pinch bolt at the bottom of the strut. Sorry for the late post and thanks!   

Sorry can't help much there,my mechanic just took a few pics to show how bad they were.I just thought it was a good idea to bring to folks attention to check them as they are not visible until you dismantle all the stuff that obscures them.He did say they were a bit of a bugger to do.

I've done loads of these over the years and never encountered an issue, spray them liberally in a release oil about a week before then use an impact driver straight onto the top of them (big extension, bonnet 50% open), they always seem to just go doing it that way.
03 Ford Galaxy 1.9 TDI 115 Ghia in Spruce Green Metallic
With cream leather interior, Full Bodykit, Remapped at 145bhp, Lowered on 18's
17 Volkswagen Touareg 3.0 V6 Diesel in Slate Blue
262Bhp AWD and Factory fresh...for now!
58 Ford Transit 2.2 TDI 115 in Frozen White
With retrofitted everything except another slidey door! :)
LAUNCH X431 Pad PRO - Scanning & Coding for all makes and models done in Wiltshire in exchange for winegums! :)

Thanks for the encouragement, Mirez! Looking at the middle photo which I think is of the vacant turret after removal of the strut, it looks to me as though the windscreen wiper mechanism has been removed completely, but the black plastic scuttle remains in place. Can you (or anybody else) confirm that is the full extent of the dismantling required, to get access? Thanks.

The scuttle plate comes out before the wiper mechanism, what you see in the background of the middle photo is the cabin filter and housing (change it whilst you have it all apart).

There isn't anything else to take apart, you'll have as much access to the nut as possible at this point.

One pointer is to make sure you hammer the socket onto the nut, literally smash it on with a hammer to make sure you fully engage it past all the rust.
03 Ford Galaxy 1.9 TDI 115 Ghia in Spruce Green Metallic
With cream leather interior, Full Bodykit, Remapped at 145bhp, Lowered on 18's
17 Volkswagen Touareg 3.0 V6 Diesel in Slate Blue
262Bhp AWD and Factory fresh...for now!
58 Ford Transit 2.2 TDI 115 in Frozen White
With retrofitted everything except another slidey door! :)
LAUNCH X431 Pad PRO - Scanning & Coding for all makes and models done in Wiltshire in exchange for winegums! :)

Apologies to rant on about top mounts and front suspension, but I have read several posts from over the years about corroded top 'stop cups' and the nuts inside them, and also about the threaded pinch bolt at the bottom of the front strut which corrodes into the threaded clamp on the hub, and which shears off and then has to be drilled out. I recall a number of forum members saying that they have found circular plastic headlight covers which fit well over the stop cup, others suggesting stretching a rubber glove over the cup - and others recounting how they had replaced the threaded clamp bolt with a bolt and a nut. Well, blow me down - I recently stumbled quite by accident over an exploded diagram of the front suspension of the Golf mk4/Beetle 04, Polo, Fabia, TT, and that diagram shows very clearly a plastic cap for sealing over the top cup and a nut and bolt for the hub clamp.