I bought new front dampers/shock-absorbers and bellows from dafhobby.nl (I got them only 3 days after I ordered them
!) and installed them last week. This is how I did:
I started first with the left side because its damper had a problem (did not move up and down). The jack-and-crank holder (picture below), located over the left wheel, forced me to remove the two bolts (and their washers) of the bushing first, before removing the top castellated nut. Before doing it, I jacked up my DAF to prevent the damper from pushing upward while loosening the bolts of the bushing.
Then I could remove the safety pin and the castellated top nut. Since the damper was stuck, it was not necessary to block it by clamping its flat tip with pliers. I just put back one bolt of the bushing to prevent it from rotating. Even if the damper was stuck, I could use a hammer and a drift to push down the rod of the damper. And allthough the hole left in the inner part of the wing/fender (after the bushing is removed) is large enough to have the damper going through (see picture further), this step (pushing down the rod) remains necessary to remove the bellow from the damper.
OK, the bushing and the top cup were removed, as well as the bellow. I already loosened the gland nut of the damper (using adjustable pliers and some effort). The guide (i.e. the sleeve between the inner of the strut and the damper that protrudes from the strut when the gland nut is removed) was not threaded and could be easy taken out with the pliers. Then the damper could be easily lifted in one piece (nothing tied it to the bottom of the strut). In conclusion, this damper system was NOT the original mounting as described in the manuals. It was installed by a previous owner and is very close to what Swissdave shows in his topic in the Essex Daf forum.
There was a considerable quantity of oil that leaked from the damper. I don't know how this happened (it was also the same mess on the right damper). I was prepared to apply the procedure described in the manual for the original dampers and I had a syringe (bought for one euro in a pharmacy
) connected to a piece of hose (taken from an old washing machine water supply hose). This helped me to pump out the oil remaining in the bottom of the strut, but I could not remove all the oil.
The new damper (I noticed they are made in France. Strange to import back to France items that were exported to the Netherlands, well this is EU
!) was inserted into the strut (just left it loose at the bottom of the strut), from the hole in the wing . I then tightened the new gland nut (38 mm) provided with the damper. This also tightens the damper into the strut.
The bellow I removed was very stiff. I had to cut it to remove the bottom cup that was installed in the new bellow (easy to do, the new bellow is much softer). By the way, used english tea boxes make nice bins to temporary store small parts that have been removed
:
I inserted the new bellow into the damper and pulled its rod upward. Then the delicate part was to slowly jack down my DAF until the tip of the rod was more or less at the level of the bushing. I then installed back the bushing (I had no indication of the needed torque for the two bolts, but I think it is important to tight them up. I applied 4 m*kg). I decided to not install back the jack-and-crank holder, in order to check easily the top nut in the future. Moreover, the rod (that shall be used with the crank to move the jack and to remove the hubcap) is missing in my DAF and I have anyway an hydraulic jack and some tools in my boot in case of flat tyre
. I put back the top cup and I tightened the new top nut (provided with the damper). It is a "Nylstop" nut and has no safety pin. I clamped the flat tip of the damper while tightening the nut until I could see the thread of the rod protruding (not sure if it is OK). I put back the wheel and the left side was done.
I thought the right side would be easier, but the castellated top nut was rusted and impossible to loosen, even after I soaked it in WD40 and waited for a day. I used a brutal method, drilling holes at the edge of the nut and then using a flat screwdriver as a wedge to separate the nut bits:
No other surprise on the right side, I proceeded as I did before on the left side (again with the painful and dirty oil pumping part
). To save time, I didn't remove the wheel that time. Having the wheel removed just makes a little easier the positioning of the (free) strut when removing or inserting the damper.
Job done ! So far, my DAF is more pleasant to drive now.