Replacing the front shock absorbers of a VAZ 2107 with your own hands

FRONT SHOCK ABSORBER VAZ 2107

The suspension design of any car uses shock absorbers to increase the comfort and safety of movement. Since VAZ 2107 shock absorbers, like other suspension elements, are subject to constant loads and fail over time, you need to know how faults manifest themselves and be able to replace the part if necessary.

PURPOSE

The normal and correct operation of the front suspension of the “seven”, and the rear one too, is ensured by the main structural elements - a spring and a shock absorber. The spring softens the shocks of the body while the car is moving. When hitting any kind of obstacle (potholes, bumps), the wheel comes off the road, and thanks to the elastic element it returns to work. When the wheel hits the surface, the body presses down with its entire mass, and the spring should make this contact as soft as possible. The work of the shock absorber is aimed at dampening vibrations of the elastic element as quickly as possible when the body rocks. The part is completely sealed and, when fully operational, is capable of absorbing about 80% of impact energy. The shock absorbers of the front suspension of the VAZ 2107 are attached with the lower eye through the bracket to the lower suspension arm. The damper rod is fixed through the support glass using a nut.

Important elements of the front suspension are springs and shock absorbers

TABLE: PARAMETERS OF STANDARD FRONT SHOCK ABSORBERS FOR VAZ 2107

DEVICE

The front end of the VAZ 2107 comes from the factory with oil-filled twin-pipe shock absorbers. Structurally, in addition to the flask, piston and rod, they have another cylinder with a flask containing liquid and a piston element. During operation, the liquid is compressed by the piston, which causes it to flow through the valve into the outer cylinder. As a result, the air is further compressed. During rebound, due to the opening of the valves on the piston, the liquid flows back into the inner cylinder. This design of shock absorbers, although simple, has certain disadvantages. Since liquid from one flask to another passes through valves under high air pressure, aeration occurs, during which the liquid mixes with air, causing its properties to deteriorate. In addition, due to two flasks, the damper is cooled worse, which reduces its efficiency.

Design of shock absorbers of the front and rear suspensions: 1 - lower eye; 2 — compression valve body; 3 — compression valve discs; 4 — throttle disk of the compression valve; 5 — compression valve spring; 6 — compression valve cage; 7 — compression valve plate; 8 — recoil valve nut; 9 — recoil valve spring; 10 — shock absorber piston; 11 — recoil valve plate; 12 — recoil valve discs; 13 — piston ring; 14 — recoil valve nut washer; 15 — throttle disk of the recoil valve; 16 — bypass valve plate; 17 — bypass valve spring; 18 — restrictive plate; 19 - reservoir; 20 - rod; 21 - cylinder; 22 — casing; 23 — rod guide bushing; 24 — sealing ring of the tank; 25 — rod seal race; 26 — rod seal; 27 — gasket of the rod protective ring; 28 — rod protective ring; 29 — tank nut; 30 — upper shock absorber eye; 31 — nut securing the upper end of the front suspension shock absorber; 32 — spring washer; 33 — shock absorber mounting pad washer; 34 — pillows; 35 — spacer sleeve; 36 — front suspension shock absorber casing; 37 — rod buffer; 38 - rubber-metal hinge

Features of repair of shock absorber mounts

The designers of VAZ cars of the classic family did not provide for the possibility of serious loads when designing the design of the upper mounts for the rear dampers. Therefore, many car enthusiasts encounter problems when installing rear struts on the upper mounts.

The upper mounts are metal studs secured to the body cross member at the rear of the car. Over time, metal fatigue appears at the fastening points due to the constant loads from the operation of the dampers, so the metal studs often crack and break off, or the fastenings themselves fail.

To solve problems with the upper fastenings, owners of classic Lada cars often resort to replacing the studs with new ones. To do this, holes are cut out at the locations of the fasteners using a grinder and the old studs are removed.

After that, new steel pins and washers are installed in the mounting holes, and the fastening points are securely welded with a welding machine.

You can safely install new shock absorbers on new mounts and not worry about the reliability of the mounts.

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SHOCK ABSORBER FAULTS

Any car malfunction always manifests itself in the form of extraneous noise, unusual behavior of the vehicle or other signs. Problems with shock absorbers also have certain symptoms, and if they are detected, you should not delay replacing the dampers.

OIL LEAKING

The most common sign that a shock absorber has become unusable is a fluid leak. Leaks on the body indicate a loss of seal in the oil reservoir. As a result, not only leaks occur, but also air leaks. In this case, the damper rod has free movement, i.e. it moves without any effort, and the part loses its functionality. If signs of smudges have just appeared on the shock absorber, it will serve a little longer, but you should not leave it without attention and it is better to replace it in the near future.

The main malfunction of shock absorbers is leakage of working fluid

BODY ROLLING

Since springs and shock absorbers work together to dampen vibrations that occur when driving over bumps, contact with the road may be lost if the damper fails. In this case, shaking increases, the body sways, and the level of comfort decreases. The car becomes rolly, and when it hits obstacles it sways for some time. The easiest way to check the shock absorbers of your “seven” is to press the wing, try to rock the body, and then release it. If the car continues to swing on the springs for some time, then this is a clear sign of a faulty damper.

To check the shock absorbers, you need to swing the body by the fender or bumper

BODY ROLL

One symptom that indicates problems with the suspension shock absorbers is body roll when cornering. This behavior of the car negatively affects safety, since the quality of braking, as well as vehicle control, suffers. If liquid has leaked from the damper, it will be quite difficult to keep the car turning, which is especially dangerous in winter. When the mileage of the products in question is more than 60 thousand km, which also depends on the quality of the parts themselves and the operating conditions of the vehicle, handling may noticeably deteriorate. But since the process does not occur at one moment, but gradually, the driver practically does not notice this and rolls can be perceived as a normal phenomenon.

NOISE IN THE SUSPENSION

Extraneous sounds in the suspension, uncharacteristic of its operation, indicate the need to check and service this mechanism. When dampers and their bushings wear out, the ability to effectively support the weight of the machine is lost. In addition, so-called shock absorber breakdowns often occur.

Suspension breakdowns are metal elements touching each other, which leads to a knocking sound.

UNEVEN OR INCREASED TIRE WEAR

If it has been noticed that the tire tread has uneven wear or wears off too quickly, then this is a clear sign of problems with the suspension. With faulty shock absorbers, the wheel moves vertically with a much greater amplitude, which leads to uneven tire wear. When driving, extraneous noise appears on such wheels.

If your tires wear unevenly, one of the likely causes is problems with the shock absorbers.

DIVE WHEN BRAKING

Among car owners there is such a thing as “the car bites.” If the dampers fail, the front of the car will dive during braking, and the rear will sag when accelerating. This is explained by the fact that parts that have become unusable do not cope with their function, that is, they do not support the weight of the machine.

BREAKING ATTACHMENT

One of the infrequent breakdowns of the front shock absorbers is the breakage of the lower eye. The reasons for this phenomenon may be different:

• installation of low-quality parts;
• making changes to the standard suspension design.

Sometimes it happens that the fastening of the rod along with the glass breaks off. This phenomenon is accompanied by a knocking sound while driving. It is quite easy to identify a breakdown by opening the hood and looking at the place where the upper part of the shock absorber is attached.

When the upper shock absorber mounting cup breaks, a knocking sound appears in the suspension

The problem is resolved by welding. Some Zhiguli owners reinforce this part of the body with additional metal elements.

CHECKING SHOCK ABSORBERS ON THE STAND

The most accurate method for diagnosing shock absorbers is to test the car suspension on a vibration stand. Using such equipment, the properties of each damper are checked separately. At the end of the diagnostics, the device will display a diagram based on the results of measurements of axial vibrations. By comparing the diagram with the permissible vibration value of a working damper, you can understand the condition of the parts.

VIDEO: DIAGNOSTICS OF CAR DAMPERS AT THE STAND

SEQUENCE OF ACTION:

• we lift the VAZ 2107 car with a jack from the replacement side (we hang the rear wheel), not forgetting to tighten the hand brake;
• spray WD-40 on the mounting threads and go drink tea. After 15 minutes, the Teflon lubricant penetrates inside, which makes unscrewing easier.
• We begin to unscrew the bottom bolt, holding it on one side and using a ratchet on the other, and then knock the bolt out with a hammer through the plastic plate so as not to damage the thread.
• The bottom edge now dangles freely
• Now we calmly unscrew the upper fastening bolt with a wrench, and, using a pry bar, pry the cylinder to the side and remove it.

  

Now we move the jack to the second half and repeat the same steps.
You can use whatever you want - oil or gas, but be sure to use the same ones in a pair. This is how the rear shock absorbers are replaced. Front shock absorbers are replaced if the same symptoms occur: knocking and “breakdowns” when the front wheel gets into a hole, or the front suspension gets oily.

The tool you need are keys 6, 13, 17.

SEQUENCE OF ACTIONS IN THE FRONT:

We hang the wheel in front in the same way, then open the hood. There is access to the rod of the front shock absorbers of the VAZ 2107.

• Unscrew the nut using a 17 wrench and holding it with a 6 wrench.
• Then, from below, under the car, we turn out the bracket using a 13-mm open-end wrench and turn it out, and then remove it together with the shock absorber:

  

• Now we repeat all the steps on the other side, remove the second shock absorber, and then in the reverse order, just install new ones. For some car owners, on the contrary, it is easier to change one side first, so as not to jack the VAZ 2107 four times.

Replacement should ideally be carried out immediately at the front and rear to ensure maximum smoothness, but some “stingy” enthusiasts argue that such a replacement is more expensive.

Sources

• vaz.ru/remont/zamena-amortizatorov.html
• bumper.guru/klassicheskie-modeli-vaz/hodovaya-chast/peredniy-amortizator-vaz-2107.html
• zen.yandex.ru/media/uremont/zamena-perednih-amortizatorov-vaz2107—kak-zamenit-svoimi-rukami-5dfce19598fe7900ad9390b2?utm_source=serp
• drive2.ru/l/4951825/
• zen.yandex.ru/media/vaganov/zamena-perednih-amortizatorov-vaz2107-svoimi-rukami-5caa553a78ee6d00af774091

Repair or replacement? What you can do with your own hands

In fact, this is not such a simple task. Before carrying out work, you should carefully study the material and follow safety precautions. First of all, you need to determine whether your shock absorber is collapsible or not. The monolithic body cannot be repaired; opening it with a grinder and welding it is unacceptable.

If there is a nut or retaining ring where the rod enters the pipe, such a shock absorber strut can be serviced and repaired.

This is what a repairable rack looks like