4200 shock absorber removal.

[atreyu1]

I may need to remove the near side front shock absorber from my 2003 4200 CC. Could someone please tell me whether or not the spring is held in place on the shock absorber by a retainer of some sort or does it require the use of a spring compressor?

 

[Oneball]

The shock absorber and spring can be removed from the car as a complete unit. Unbolt the top, unbolt the bottom and remove the ball joint carrier from the top arm.

If you want to the remove the spring from the shock I’d recommend using compressors.

 

[atreyu1]

Thanks for that, it's what I thought. So if I need to remove the shock absorber I can do so with confidence.

 

[Oneball]

For the 3200 the book says to mark the square aluminium top of the shock so you put it back the right way. I’m guessing it’s directionally sensitive.

 

[FIFTY]

there is a how to on the google drive:

https://drive.google.com/drive/fold...WEtYTE3My00Y2EzLWI2OWMtNGQ0NWE3NTFlODhk?hl=en

 

[voicey]

You don't need to split the ball joint on the upper arm - it risks damaging the boot. Just undo the fasteners for the camber shims to give you the room to move the hub out of the way.

 

[atreyu1]

Thanks for all the replies. The reason I need to remove the shock absorber is because in the course of removing the front headlight leveling potentiometer I sheared both retaining studs. The plan now is to drill and tap the subframe? 5mm to allow me to fit a new potentiometer. Access to the forward mounting position is fairly unobstructed but it's impossible to drill a hole for the rear mounting even with a right angle drill. So the only way to gain access is to remove the shock absorber. All straightforward stuff but I thought it best to check first.