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Espace IV front coil spring replace

31K views 29 replies 16 participants last post by  Ben Detoy 
#1 ·
1st post so bear with me

I have a Espace IV and the front coil just commited suicide.
I had a mechanic look at it, after a while trying to find the top 2 bolts (which are NOT IN THE ENGINE BAY!!!) decided to go to renault and had them print out a method statement for the job. (AS THEY HAD NEVER DONE A FRONT ONE EITHER!!)

To get to the top bolts he needed to remove the speaker on the dashboard driver side then remove a pad that in turn released the coil and the new one was fitted.


Just thought i'd post this as the job took 3 1/2 hours in total, most of it trying to locate the illusive bolts, plus it was raining.

If your front coil goes then I hope this helps.

Adam
 
#4 ·
Thanks Anfield. You pointed me in the right direction there. Sadly not before I had removed various other bits :0(
Just as an extra tip, it is the grey triangular panel the speaker sits in that you need out. The technique appears to be to prise it up at the front edge nearest to the windscreen with your fingernails and work your way around.
It doesn't want to move at the rear edge (nearest to the driver) until this is done.
Then as stated, fish out the loose sounproofing pad to expose 2 bolts.
Good luck.
 
#9 ·
I can't remember the clips at all on the one I did but I certainly had to remove the 21mm nut inside the car. If you are worried about releasing the spring tension just undo the nut half way and you should find some vertical play in the strut that wasn't there before. If so there is no spring tension on it and you can safely remove the nut.
Sorry for the late reply, BT decided I didn't need an internet connection this week!
 
#10 ·
I'd advise on replacing these in pairs. I had one side snap in August this year and the other side snapped last week.

Replacing is fairly simple although the o/s top mount bolts had rusted on mine and were a real struggle to undo as I was in fear of slipping and smashing the screen.

Spring is fairly cheap £22 but the tyre it destroyed isn't (£80).

Makes be wonder how long till the rears snap?
 
#17 ·
I have the same problem. The strut mount is worn and the spring shudders as you turn do you think this is a mot failure?. Also finding it hard to find a new top strut mount and the garage was charging me £200 + the dreaded vat and 3 hrs labour they would not sell. E the part as its a dealer only part grrr. So anyone know best place to get the part with out the remortgage of the house. Cheers lads and ladets lol
 
#22 ·
UPDATE
Took mine to a Renault dealer in St Jean Du mont, was given a total price quote of €272 (£212), picked up today along with a nice tan and was given a bill for €255. The Renault intra-net quoted 1.5 hours to complete it.
One bit of advice if this happens to anyone, remove the wheel immediatly, tie the spring to the strut to prevent it moving round and fit the 185/70 space saver. This will give you another 20mm clearance and hopefully save a tyre replacement.
 
#23 ·
I have just replaced the front springs on my espace and thought I would post some pictures.
 

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#24 ·
Just thought I would add a bit more information to my previous post.
If you are upgrading your front springs rather than replacing snapped ones, there is no need to compress the springs before removing all the bolts from the top of the strut as there is a secondary locking nut that holds it all together which allows you to remove them from the car first.
Also the spanner that I used to undo the top bolt on the strut is a 21mm crows foot spanner which you can get from a good tool supplier or of the internet.
 
#25 ·
great post bioman. Those photos are a great help.
I have just received new springs, shocks, boots and bearing kits in the post today. The old bearings are well corroded. I figured there is no point reinstalling 9 yr old springs and shocks.

Was the 21mm hex nut hard to loosen?
Did you really need the back up allen key?
What size and length allen key was needed?
And was it necessary to take the top center dashbord off?
how far down was the 21mm nut? will a 75mm long sparkplug socket with a hex on the top fit?
 
#26 ·
Hi Jack

The 21mm nut isnt that hard to undo and if your old springs are still intact, all you need is an ordinary 21mm socket on an long extension bar.
If your springs have snapped there is no tension on the secondary locking nut so you have to hold the top of the shock absorber with the allen key otherwise it just keeps spinning around, but I think in your case because you are replacing the shocks you could stop it from spinning by putting some molegrips on the shock absorber under the wheel arch as it wont matter if you damage them.
It wasn't really necessary to remove the center of the dash, just the speaker grills will give you enough access.
I think the allen key was either a 6 or 7mm and its about 300 mm down from the top of the dash, an allen key 'T' bar would be ideal but i used a long allen key held in place with a ring spanner.
I hope it goes well for you, my springs where a pig to compress because my clamps where not really long enough and i could only clamp three coils but needed to clamp four to compress them enough.
 
#27 · (Edited)
Thread resurrection due lack of (or not finding) the information in other threads.

2005 Espace Mk IV. 2.0T

One YouTube the mechanic removed the window trims, speaker cover and side dash cover. I would also gaffa tape some plywood to the windscreen so the breaker bar or ratchet handle can't clout the glass.

I have a plonky-plonk jiggly rattle from the LHS front under the dash speaker. It sounds like a golf ball banging about inside a large bean can. It's pretty much constant while moving but doesn't get worse at speed, steering position makes no difference and speed bumps don't aggravate it. The spring is intact and there is no creak front the bearing when turning the steering.

The car passed MOT with advisory on the ARB drop link. I replaced it - no difference to the noise. Other suspension parts have been changed but the noise persists as ever. The front strut has not been taken off the car so I'm hoping it's the top bearing.

My question is can that bearing rattle in the ways described? It's always under load so it's hard to work out why its rattling so loosely.
 
#28 ·
Jack the side of the car up, just so the tyre is making contact with the floor,.
Get some one to turn the steering from side to side, put your hand on the suspension leg as high up from underneath as possible..
You will feel it, if its the top bearing,
 
#29 · (Edited)
Thanks I'll try that and compare sides.

Its a very odd noise not what I'd expect from a broken bearing. It's almost as if the speaker had fallen into the suspension tower.

Thanks for the tip will try that.

Edit
Ive just been going through You Tube to see if there's a "How To" for the strut. There is. Basically take off side screen pillar trims and remove side dash and speaker cover. Slacken the strut top nut while strut still in the car then remove the strut pretty much as on any other car. The bearing can be removed when the strut is taken off the car.
 
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