I did Koni Red's on my car, set to almost "full" stiffness, at the 133kmile mark
(2004 Jetta Wagon). It really woke the car up, although it settled down a bit
after a month or two. I did notice that my car no longer rides like a Buick: it
was starting to really bounce on the highway, and kinda float in general at
speed. I did lower control arm bushings also, as they were starting to crack;
the mechanic said the rest of of it looked good and didn't need replacing. I
had the car aligned also, and the bill came out to about $1300.

The general opinion seems to be that the OEM struts are only good for 40k. Take
that for what it's worth.

Shawn Upton, KB1CKT




________________________________
From: Tim <gotmoldohio@...>
To: VW-TDI@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Saturday, January 10, 2009 9:25:56 AM
Subject: [VW-TDI] Re: TDI Struts


My 2001 TDI has 124,000 on it. Other than this mileage, how would I
know I need new struts? Will replacing them make the car ride
smoother? I realize they can affect tire wear--In the last 20,000
I've seen no abnormal tire wear problems. There is no oil leaking on
the outside of the struts that I can see either.

On a related topic, if I replaced all wearable parts in the front end
(struts, ball joints, bushings, etc.), would the car ride and handle
like new? How much would all of that likely cost, assuming I used the
Bilstein struts recommended?

Thanks for comments or experiences.

TIM/




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