cfraser16 0 1 Cars Posted June 1, 2014 Hi all, I bought my 1990 1.9 Gti back in September with the aim of putting it back to standard and restoring it a bit. I have spent quite a bit of time working on the interior and feel I need to get stuck in with the things that will make the big differences! I am looking for a bit of advice with regards to the suspension - the car sits very low and is pretty unforgiving over anything more than a small dimple in the road. From all that I have read I would imagine the rear beam needs redone and I want to return the springs and shocks on the front to standard. So the help I am looking for is this: - which parts will I require to return the suspension to standard set up? (I know front springs, full set of shocks...) - where should I get replacement parts? - how much should I expect to pay? - should I attempt to refurbish the rear beam myself? - any advice on where I might send the beam for a refurb if I don't do it myself? - what specialist tools will I need? I bought this as a first car and while I have a mechanical engineering back ground I haven't really had much hands on experience before so any help would be much appreciated and apologies if my questions seem a bit daft! Thanks! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mrfirepro 127 1 Cars Posted June 2, 2014 Hi, I was in a similar position to you six months ago and have done all the work myself, give it a go and if you get stuck there are some really helpful members on here. I'm a novice, compared to most but here are my answers Standard set up - as you suggest for the front, when you rebuild the rear beam you can set it to whatever height you want. Replacement parts - the best advice I was given was to use OEM where available, there are plenty of threads on here which details the parts needed for the rear beam. The only parts I used that were not OEM were the rear beam shafts (got them from ebay, neat autos) Prices - iirc the total costs of rear beam parts was about £350 (assuming you replace everything, including shafts) DIY - yes, yes and yes, give it a go, be methodical and if you run into trouble (as I did) there are plenty here who will help. Buy refurbished beam - There is a member on here who sells refurbished beam, I forget his name but others will remind you. Tools - Look up Tom Fenton on here he makes a torsion bar puller tool that makes the job Sooooooo much easier. http://205gti-nfp.co.uk/?page_id=60 Most of all read the refurbish guide here http://www.205gtidrivers.com/articles.html/_/articles-guides/brakes-suspension-steering/rear-beam-refurbishment-guide-r66 Good luck Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ANDYGON 6 Posted June 2, 2014 Hi, Buy refurbished beam - There is a member on here who sells refurbished beam, I forget his name but others will remind you. Tools - Look up Tom Fenton on here he makes a torsion bar puller tool that makes the job Sooooooo much easier. http://205gti-nfp.co.uk/?page_id=60 Most of all read the refurbish guide here http://www.205gtidrivers.com/articles.html/_/articles-guides/brakes-suspension-steering/rear-beam-refurbishment-guide-r66 Good luck I think I noticed Alastairh is rebuilding beams and does them on eBay. I'm certainly interested! Best of luck Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
