Rear brake caliper carrier bolts

[golfvr6]

Pads and drums ?  
I take it the bolts came off alright then?
I've never had a problem getting them out on mk2s, but i've done 2 mk3s and they didn't want to move!
Did you do it all on your own?
How did you get the rear struts out?

[Veedubgt18v]

rear discs. i took off the caliper by undoing the two bolts and the handbrake. the bolts were tight but ok. then i took of the carrier. this was a b!tch but luckily the allen bolts were ok. then i undid the wheel bearing bolt removed the thrust washer and then pulled the disc off. drifted new bearing races into new discs then put bearings in put thrust washer in and bolted it up till i could only just move the wheel then backed it off till it didnt drag. put the split pin in and then the cover. reassembled caliper with new pads and repeted on other side.


shocks.

undid all top fixing while my bro held the beam under the car. then undid the bottom bolts, supported beam on trollry jack. took apart shocks put springs and new bump thingys on new shockers, put back in and tightened with the weight on. only help i had was my bro helping me locate the bolts to put the shocks onto the beam.
 then adjusted handbrake and put interior trim back. gonna do froints tomorrow

[golfvr6]

how did you get the struts off the car?
did you take the bottom bolt out of both shocks at the same time? or did you take one off at a time?

[golfvr6]

i got ya
so u dropped the whole axle in one go,
i was just interested as gettin the rear struts out is infact very difficult when only lowering the axle one side at a time.
3 hours is pretty good, the disks are fairly easy to replace if the carrier bolts come out!
renewing the discs at the same time as the bearings is always a good idea, as this will save time drifting the old bearings out of the old disc.

[Veedubgt18v]

i supported the bar then undid the bolts one at a time then lowered the bar till it was clear of the shocks. then i undid all the bolts uptop and my bro caught them down below

[golfvr6]

Did that work alright?
I was gonna do that the last time i done the job, but was worried i might strain the brake hoses  
Just one more question!
How come you paid me to service your car and change the cam belt 6 months ago?
You seem to know what you are doing  

[Veedubgt18v]

cos i was having back problems (again) and dint want to do it. plus i had the money.

the suspension thing works aslong as you dont let the beam drop cos it could snag the hoses i suppose or damage the bushings. the calipers etc are all attacehd to the trailing arm so its ok from that point of view.

it can be done one man but is easier and safer with two. you only need two people for about 10 mins tho, aslong as thebeam i supported its alright. also helps to have someone hold the shocks up so you can get a bolt on them uptop.

[Veedubgt18v]

yeah doing the shocks one side at a time is hard cos you have to force the beam down. i learnt this from my other golfs. i had never done the rear discs or pads before and was surprised how easy it was. quite a few bits to connect/remove/drift in etc tho

[Veedubgt18v]

i wouldnt let the beam swing free tho

[golfvr6]

If you want back problems try removing the suspension on an Audi   you know the red quattro i was working on the other week when you come round.
Or try working on the complete strut/wheel hub assembly like the ones found on early polos.