How to fit GSF Budget Lowering Springs, with photos

This is the start of my little project to lower my Mk1 on a budget  :mrgreen:

I originally fitted new suspension 4 years ago, supplied by GSF I think the guy in the stores had one too many drinks the night before, as for the last 4 years I've put up with a 4x4 stance that literally made her stand taller than any other mk1   , though I've got to admit the ride was superbly soft  8)  :mrgreen: .

Here's a photo of how high she was sitting…….  8O



Firstly, I purchased the lowering spring kit from GSF online for ?55……….




………… apparently it will lower the standard GTI by 20mm, which should lower mine by quite a bit as it was way too tall to start with, here are the ride height I started with…..

Front



Rear



First thing was to jack up one side of the Golf and remove the road wheels, then out with two 17mm spanners and unbolt the stub axle from the bottom of the strut, there are two bolts and the top one has a eccentric washer on it for adjusting camber..



Also unclip the brake flexi hose from the strut



Then go umder the bonnet, armed with a 13mm spanner and undo the the two nuts situated front and rear of the suspension top mount



Then get a pair of spring compressors and use as it says on the tin…..



With the spring being compressed, set about undoing the nut that holds the top mount, you'll need a 22mm spanner that can fit in a recess….



Then depending on your layout, you'll need either a small spanner or an allen key to stop the shock absorber spinning while undoing the nut….



With the nut removed, then lift off the Top Mount……..



Then remove the spring cup……..



Be gone with you spring……..  



Then your left with this…….



Pull the shroud off…….



Then get some grips and undo the nut that holds the shock absorber…..



Once the nut is undone, lift out the shock absorber……  :cheer:



Hhhhhmmmmm, looks a bit grubby……. :?



Here's the old spring lay next to the one replacing it from the kit, wow! big difference…… 8O  8O





Decided to scrape off the strut and give it some Hammerite…….



Now its the rear spring, first fit the spring compressors……..



Remove the rubber bush….



Undo the nut you'll need a 15mm spanner……..



Remove the spacer……….



Then remove the spring top plate……



The spring then lifts off, here's the rear spring sat next to the replacement for comparison………



Here's the rear suspension rebuilt with a lick of hammerite……..



And the front strut……….



And here's the front height difference just after letting the jack down, it should settle down a little bit more……….



and the rear………..

phewww...just think i went through all that...............

Text now added to photos , will add more later in the week  :wink:

Could be used as one of the technical guides   .  Lots of information there.

gammy shows us how to use a ruler :mrgreen:

must admit the 4x4 offroad look was in need of sorting warren did you get before and after shots of the whole car? if not use the method in your signature im sure it wont take to long :wink:

bens_cab said

gammy shows us how to use a ruler :mrgreen:

must admit the 4x4 offroad look was in need of sorting warren did you get before and after shots of the whole car? if not use the method in your signature im sure it wont take to long :wink:

I haven't done the nearside yet, so going to see what additional photos need adding, ie the undoing of the nuts for the rear shock/springs, then add a bit more info in between the gaps, then take an "after" photo.
Also, when I'm finished, I'm going to be honest about the handling/ride comfort and whether I recommend them as a good purchase……..proof is in the eating  :wink:

Stay tuned :lmao:  :lmao:

so how was the handling and performance???

murfy said

so how was the handling and performance???

I'll let you know tomorrow, waiting for the paint to dry sort of stopped me finishing it last weekend  :y:  :mrgreen:

looking forward to the shots of how it sits i must admit....

O.K, I got round to finishing it this morning  :cheer:

I took it for a test drive and was please to find it still had a nice ride to it, no banging or harshness that rattles the dashboard, a lot firmer than the soft suspension that was fitted but without feeling like a brick  :mrgreen:

My opinion……..?54 well spent and a lot better stance too  :dance:  :dance:  :dance:

Here's a photo taken in August and 4x4 look  8O



And now with the GSF Budget lowering Kit……..
 :wink:

Looks great Mr G.  :clap:

Looks much better money well spent  :y: And ready for next sunday :mrgreen:

any bolts left over?  :wink:
Bert

What's the ride like?

Hairyarse said

What's the ride like?

I'm very pleased with the ride Andy, it's firmer than before, but without being hard or banging the car when going over bumps, good value for money in my opinion :wink:

hmmmm. i'm still undecided as to whether to go down this route or the coil overs route. gives us a report in a weeks time mate.

Bert said

any bolts left over?  :wink:
Bert

No bolts left over  :dance: , though I did forget to put the rubber shroud back on one of the front shock absorbers   , it fell off the workbench while dismantling and then I forgot about it while reassembling  :roll: …there's a split in the shroud anyway, so i'll get a new one and fit it next time :mrgreen: