Today was Christmas come early for the Polo
It started off with a bang as soon as it was delivered :funny:
The delivery driver called me to say he'd be there in two minutes: great.
*He had already delivered a parcel to me the day before and remembered my name*
I took the parcel without checking anything.
I opened it: an air fryer
I looked at the label, it was the right number but the ‘street name and surname’ wasn't right
Luckily, I had his number. He came back and we were able to exchange the parcels.
I'm definitely not angry with him. Having been a delivery driver a few years ago, I know that between street names and numbers, it's sometimes possible to get confused.
The famous springs ‘
6Q0511115CL’:

- PXL_20251218_101738198.jpg (3.23 MiB) Viewed 10512 times
Living on a steep street and wanting to play it safe, I headed to the countryside to find a dirt road to replace all that.

- PXL_20251218_133725807-2.jpg (4.12 MiB) Viewed 10512 times
To replace it, the rear axle needs to reach a certain height to allow the springs to come out.
To do this, you will need:
-A wooden plate
-The emergency jack
-Some dodgy jack stands
And then you pray very hard that everything goes well. I was not confortable.
Once the rear end is up in the air, remove the screws securing the two rear shock absorbers and install a second jack under the rear axle to adjust its height.
Here are a few photos to compare the springs:

- PXL_20251218_134618266.jpg (4.61 MiB) Viewed 10512 times

- PXL_20251218_133911336.jpg (4.54 MiB) Viewed 10512 times
After more than four years, the Eibachs looks super clean.
There is some slight rust on the lower part that is in contact with the lower plate support rear axle, but otherwise everything is fine.
Where I'm concerned is the height: to the naked eye, they look identical.
The two upper rubber bases showed no defects. A quick clean and reassembly.

- PXL_20251218_140149414.jpg (4.04 MiB) Viewed 10512 times

- PXL_20251218_140138264.jpg (3.34 MiB) Viewed 10512 times
Cleaning the hubs (no trace of rust).
Where I messed up was with the nuts on the screw that secures the lower part of the shock absorber to the rear axle.
These are self lock nuts and therefore need to be replaced systematically after removal.

- PXL_20251218_140217321.jpg (3.1 MiB) Viewed 10512 times

- PXL_20251218_140155445.jpg (3.15 MiB) Viewed 10512 times
I hadn't anticipated this, so I put a drop of blue Loctite on it.
In any case, I'll be back soon to work on the rear axle because...

- PXL_20251218_140635119.jpg (2.42 MiB) Viewed 10512 times
Yep, the bump stops are completely are completely shot.
They need to be replaced, as do the shock absorbers.
I'll take the opportunity to replace the metal base plates as well when I change the oil next Monday.
I brush them with a metalic brush but I would prefer a smooth/clean metal surface in contact with the brand new spring to avoid any paint damage and so: rust
I hope the 3 days job I will not cause too much damage to the paint...

- 5df0f7a1e94cc_xl.jpg (252.54 KiB) Viewed 10512 times
Now it's time to put the car back on its four wheels.
Horror!
The rear end won't come down, and it looks awful: higher than it was originally.
Finally, by releasing the handbrake and shifting out of first gear, the rear end settled down. Phew!
And here's the result:

- PXL_20251218_145032113.jpg (4.85 MiB) Viewed 10512 times
From Factory:

- z5hp.jpg (2.96 MiB) Viewed 10512 times
With Eibach Kit:

- PXL_20251217_095017712 (1).jpg (3.95 MiB) Viewed 10512 times
The result is somewhere in between. But I must admit that the look with the Eibachs was just perfect.
No idea if it will settle any further.
But I can already say that the rear suspension is much more comfortable. It feels like rediscovering the car.
On speed bumps, the rear end squashes down nicely and absorbs the impact. Whereas with the Eibachs... they just followed the curve.
Now I just need to find the right springs for the front axle, and I'll be good to go.