Bilstein Dampers Upside Down

[Guest robyp25]

the dampers on my 205 appear to be up side down. says top with an arrow... this points down. Looking at the dampers, the gaiter could fill up with mud etc. if they were the other way up, any ideas guys? will post a pic after tea....

[welshpug 1,655]

always wondered about that but they can;t fit the other way round

[rallysteve 22]

Are these the yellow rear ones? If so mine are the same, they only fit upside down because of the bush sizes. They also have the plastic covers on that show up as down Glad to know they can be fitted that way without trouble.

Steve

[205Rallee 59]

My MOT man wanted to fail my car last week because of this! "The arrow points to the top and the Bilstein writing is upside down". I offered to take one off there and then and try and refit it the other way around. Two of their MOT testers didn't really believe me and said it was a fail but passed it anyway...

[Guest robyp25]

cool wasn't sure if there was a reason for it, just seemed wrong (there is alot of unusual things i'm finding) . but haven't tried them the other way... cheers

[pug_ham 244 3 Cars]

haven't tried them the other way... cheers

Save yourself the time, they won't fit the other way round because the upper & lower bolts are different sizes.

 

Graham.

[Batfink 201]

Its probably a generic cover they use. Most dampers are the other way round. The thicker mono tube shaft is stronger so its no doubt able to cope

[johnsimister 10]

A gas-filled monotube damper, such as some Bilsteins, is able to function either way up so some installations have it mounted upside down, compared with conventional dampers, to reduce unsprung weight. A Lotus Elise series 2 is an example of a production car with upside-down Bilsteins.

 

John

[Guest robyp25]

thanks guys, i've stripped down my rear beam today, and its buggered. it looks like i may need a new cross member, i see they are quite pricey anyone know if you can get a reconditioned one? or if mine may be salvageable? one side looks okay, other doesn't...