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Thread: How to refurbish bilstein struts

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    Spanner Monkey petrolhead's Avatar

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    How to refurbish bilstein struts

    I have the legendary 2.8i Bilstein struts and last MOT Tom noted that there was some play in the middle. Basically the bushes which the damper slides through were worn
    I phoned around and none of the specialists I called would recon them. GAZ could do a conversion to their dampers at around £350 for the pair. But me being me I decided to do them myself. I accept no responsility if you follow this and it goes wrong. This is how I did it......
    These were the struts as they came off the car. Although they are not adjustable (who needs to adjust perfection) Bilsteins dampers are second to none on quality. Independent specialists I spoke to rated them top for performance and durability. On the outside these were a sorry state, unknown age and bought second hand from Speedshack a decade ago, see below.......

    the first challenge is the retaining ring, this thing is on really B*STARD tight :evil: . You can see it here holding in the rubber wiper seal at the top.

    I drilled a 10mm hole here...

    Then heat it....

    So that a screw driver could be applied at a far better angle to knock the retaining ring off....
    The hole then serves as a good drainage hole and helps prevent the bottom of the cup rotting out. :wink:
    At the bottom of the strut there is a locking nut which threads over the end of the damper rod which pokes out the bottom. A factory adhesive holds it in place. If the nut is stubborn or you at risk of damaging the thread on the rod then f*ck the nut (I don't say that often in a thread). Here you can see I have drilled it ready to split and remove.....

    The rod can then be screwed all the way in with a flat head screw driver and the damper can then be pulled out and checked for wear.....

    Check the hard chrome plating, mine measured 39.99mm to 40.00mm and seemed in excellent condition. They were stamped 300/70 which is a hard tarmac spec and they took 5secs to rebound from fully compressed. If they shoot up then they are probably worn out. Rally design do them for £93 each.
    A specialist told me that the bushes (2 per strut) are a nightmare to get out. I used an jig-saw and file very carefully to cut the inside of the upper most and split it. You might have to do both sides. Take your time to try and minimise cutting the inside of the strut.....



    and then extract it once it is split, swear aggressively at it then chuck it in the bin. Use a long screw driver and hammer to push the lower bush 2" further down, you see why in a bit.....

    At this stage I sent them away to get shot blasted and dull Nickel plated (Collins Chemical Blacking Ltd). This cost £45 each but painting them is obviously cheaper and more original. I specified that the stub axle and interior remained unplated and they came back like this.....

    New phosphor bronze bushes and wiper seals can be bought from COMPBRAKE at around £25. Only problem is that they are 45mm OD and my strut is 44.0mm ID. They are quite thin so distort when they are clamped in the lathe. So after having a word with Steve & Aaron at Vulcan/HT and coming up with an engineering solution they are now set up to machine them down to your spec. If possible bring the strut to them and go for a light interference fit
    With the bushes back, make sure there are not any lumps or bumps inside the strut and freeze your bushes! Must.... resist.....ice ....cream:

    You can get a mate to warm the strut and oil the strut (pwhoar) so that the bushes can be lightly tapped in. If it is immediately apparent that it is too hard to get in stop, sand it down and start again! I use this old bearing race to tap it down:

    Remember pushing the old lower bush 2" down? This locates your new lower bush and stops it going to far down the strut. PUt the second one in the same way but position it just below where the wiper seal goes.
    See if the damper fits in, it should slide in smoothly, if not the bushes are probably under too much compression. I had this problem so I used progressively finer grades of sand paper to gently hone them out evenly all round. Again, take your time until you have a perfect fit. Flush the strut out thoroughly after.....

    I'll let the pics do most of the talking. I chose Lithium grease from the can because there is much less chance of dirt inclusion ......

    Carefully screw the damper rod out through the bottom of the strut....

    Waterproof adhesive for the locking bolt as they left the factory

    New M10 fine pitch stainless bolt, some Bilsteins have different thread so check.

    Wiper seal on, its incorrect here and needs turning the other way.

    Then retaining ring on again

    And re-assemble the rest for the finished article! Ready for another 20 years....
    Total Cost
    Bushes and seals £25
    Machining of bushes to fit £20
    Paint £15
    or Plating £90

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    Bodger

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    Re: How to refurbish bilstein struts

    Nice job done there.
    44 *40mm strut bushes can be found here..no need for any machining.

    http://www.grp4fabrications.com/prod...roducts_id=499

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    Re: How to refurbish bilstein struts

    good stuff, wish i had got them!

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    World Champion Decade Plus User alladdin's Avatar

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    Re: How to refurbish bilstein struts

    good thread, just one point..... they arnt 2.8 billys they are proper escort billys. hence 300/70 rating and m10 thread (fine if i recall ?). 2.8 similar but thread is m6 fine.

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    Re: How to refurbish bilstein struts

    The gp1 legs, painted green and wedged from the factory and very rare too

    My boss has a pair converted to coilovers gathering dust in a corner!

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    Re: How to refurbish bilstein struts

    Nice "how to"

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    Thumbs up Re: How to refurbish bilstein struts

    Ah, thank you guys. I really thought they were 2.8i billys as that is what they were sold to me as. Were the Escort Billys a special motorsport item? What is the background behind them?

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    Re: How to refurbish bilstein struts

    Yes they were part of the gp1 upgrade pack as far as i have ever read, think it was mk2 only which would tie in with the metric lock nut?!

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    Re: How to refurbish bilstein struts

    Thank you for that, and a sticky too! Double thanks

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    Re: How to refurbish bilstein struts

    Quote Originally Posted by dangerousdave View Post
    Yes they were part of the gp1 upgrade pack as far as i have ever read, think it was mk2 only which would tie in with the metric lock nut?!
    i remember they used to be sold as "world cup bilsteins" which were wedged. they may well have been available for late mk1 ?

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    Re: How to refurbish bilstein struts

    Quite possibly, its all before my time so im just going from what i have read!!

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    Re: How to refurbish bilstein struts

    Quote Originally Posted by alladdin View Post
    i remember they used to be sold as "world cup bilsteins" which were wedged. they may well have been available for late mk1 ?
    A bit hazy on this, but I'm pretty sure the World Cup Billie was only available in 260/60, then with the MK2 Escort, they produced the Group 1 with an option of 260/60 (forest) and 300/70 (tarmac). You could retro fit the 300/70 into the World Cup.

    Back in the 80's, I was given a free a set of World Cup Billies (the guy had used them for years and just wanted rid of them), and we used them on our rally car for 15 years without doing anything to them. Now that's quality !!

    Great thread.

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    Re: How to refurbish bilstein struts

    2.8i strut - fitted to capri's. Used the basic strut design of the others but with a lesser spec insert and not gusseted.
    World cup where for world cup cars (1970) - or at least that is what the name implies! Why call them that if they were ot developed for it?
    Gp1 - fixed platform version of the gp4 strut
    Gp4 - adjustable height spring platform but otherwise the same as the others

    Although this is only my understanding so may not be true...

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    Re: How to refurbish bilstein struts

    hi, does anyone know where i can get this part from as myn didnt have any on?


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    Re: How to refurbish bilstein struts

    Quote Originally Posted by cjay2004 View Post
    hi, does anyone know where i can get this part from as myn didnt have any on?

    Gartrac do them thats where iam getting mine from

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    Re: How to refurbish bilstein struts

    Quote Originally Posted by alladdin View Post
    good thread, just one point..... they arnt 2.8 billys they are proper escort billys. hence 300/70 rating and m10 thread (fine if i recall ?). 2.8 similar but thread is m6 fine.
    2.8 billys actually have an m7 thread. not m6 fine

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    Thumbs up Re: How to refurbish bilstein struts

    Nice 'how to' Petrolhead. I'm planning on doing mine which are World Cup struts as yours but with 260/60 inserts.
    Two questions--First how far down in the strut did your lower bush end up, I seem to have two about 1.25" wide together at the top and one a further bush 2" down, then a small ring below that(which is very loose).
    I guess they are left over from previous attempts!
    Also my top seal is not retained by a ring but fits inside the strut, but as they are torn, I will be replacing them with the right ones from Gatrac, who also sell the bushes.

    Second question---I got two sets of secondhand inserts, the 260/60 originals which open from closed in 6secs and a second pair(unmarked for spec) which open in 4.5secs. Compressing any of them takes about the same force. Any idea which ones are in the best condition??

    Cheers!

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    Re: How to refurbish bilstein struts

    Good how to thread.

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    Re: How to refurbish bilstein struts

    Cheers Jules

    To Graham, I don't know how the rebound time is indicative of the internal condition. Mine looked very good so I timed the rebound rate for others to use as a reference. I'm guessing the quicker the I'm the higher the rebound rate. Therefore the 4.5secs would likely to be 300/70 imo but I may be wrong.

    I have about 2cm separating my bushes.
    Last edited by petrolhead; 11-01-2011 at 09:32.

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    Re: How to refurbish bilstein struts

    Typo, the above was supposed to say:

    I'm guessing the quicker the rebound time the higher the rebound rate.

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    Re: How to refurbish bilstein struts

    Nice How To. Mine seemed fine (rebound time of about 5 secs) but because they've been lurking about for a good ten years I thought I'd pull them apart anyway.

    Guess what, they're fine.

    Cheers anyway though, Jim
    One day, I might get to drive it again.

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    Re: How to refurbish bilstein struts

    Does the seal (bought from Gartrac) just sit inside the metal cap and if so how is it fixed onto the strut? My struts were partially disassembled so I ended up with the cap and old felt seal in a plastic bag. Thanks

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    Re: How to refurbish bilstein struts

    Hello Malcolm, its been a while but I am pretty sure that the retaining ring is NOT pushed all the way down on to the to of the strut (eg if the retaining ring is 10mm deep it is only pushed on 5mm creating the necessary gap for the seal to sit in between). This means that the rubber seal sits between the top edge of the strut and the underside of the retaining ring. Its difficult to explain without a diagram but I hope this makes sense.

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    Re: How to refurbish bilstein struts

    Good job...well done...

    Vauxhall Regatta Blue if you want them blue...

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    Re: How to refurbish bilstein struts

    Very good how to..!

    I've just done mine

    If anyone is interested I can get the bushes that fit straight in the cases and there 50mm deep therefore heavier duty! £6.50 each.

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    Re: How to refurbish bilstein struts

    Did you remember and fill the casings with some light oil???

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    Re: How to refurbish bilstein struts

    The rear ones can be painted Triumph Inca Yellow...that is a good match too

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    Re: How to refurbish bilstein struts

    I have just rebuilt my struts using this guide but i cut the lower bush out as it burred up badly when i tried to tap i down the bore. The only other problem i found were there are two tyres of top cap the same as metioned previously. So i have ordered some of gartrac as mine were the felt type seal and i'm now using the rubber type.

    Here is the difference in the cap size

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    Re: How to refurbish bilstein struts

    Mine used the felt seal originally... I changed to the rubber type only a few months ago, they were really tight to fit... And the lip on the seal has already broke away. Il be going back to the felt seal

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    Re: How to refurbish bilstein struts

    Anyone got a set for sale?
    James

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    Re: How to refurbish bilstein struts

    Quote Originally Posted by lee edwards View Post
    Very good how to..!

    I've just done mine

    If anyone is interested I can get the bushes that fit straight in the cases and there 50mm deep therefore heavier duty! £6.50 each.
    Hi
    Can you still get the billy bushes ?
    What price wirh postage
    cheers
    Terry
    07491166643

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