Fiat Panda Suspension Strut Replacement

In this mechanical adventure, we replace the tired front suspension struts on the Panda for some shiny new Koni's.
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[@Daytonafox1]

Very good video showing everything and covering small things like orientations which most videos do not mention. Great work.

[@MechitBetter]

Thank you! That’s much appreciated 👍

[@Papa_Kilo]

Im just changing mine after only 45,000 miles. Naturally its chucking it down. Excellent idea of grinding the socket for the top nut 👍

[@MechitBetter]

Naturally! Hopefully it all went well enough, and that your suspension is much better now 👍

[@bonkeydollocks1879]

One of the best "how to'" I've seen I reckon. Chuffed. 😷👍🏼

[@MechitBetter]

Cheers! That’s great to hear 😀👍

[@bonkeydollocks1879]

@@MechitBetter I'm doing mine next week.... 😲

[@MechitBetter]

Good luck to you. It’s not too complicated if you take your time 👍

[@bonkeydollocks1879]

@@MechitBetter just thought I would let you know how I got on..... 1) the two bolt heads on the bolts that hold the shock absorber to the knuckle were corroded and the bolt heads just rounded off so I had to use a blowtorch on them along with mole grips to get them off, took absolutely ages. 2) the top shock mounting nut was so tight when I put the allen key in to stop the strut centre from spinning it stripped the allen key centre on the strut so I had to get two mole grips on the chrome strut to stop it from spinning then it was still so tight it was turning the chrome strut I ended up trying heat with a blow tourch/freeze spray but still not worked so I had to chisel it off.. 3)and the next obstacle was the anti roll bar link nuts siezed. They were that tight it again stripped the allen keys round (yes correct size used) I had to hacksaw the link in two, pull the plastic cups off the chrome ball joints, mole grip the chrome ball socket and undo the nuts that way 4)the final obstacle was the big nut holding the top strut mount was so seized it stripped the allen key round again so I had to resort to the double mole grip onto the chrome strut method and shock it off initially with a cold chisel. All of this took me 4 hours in total. CAN ALL THE PEOPLE IN THE WORLD WHO REASSEMBLE STUFF LIKE THIS PLEASE USE COPPER SLIP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 😷

[@kenquid8091]

Good job lads, well done. Hope the pasties were good. You deserve 'em.

[@tonybernardo6969]

Great video, well done guys, my panda is booked in to a garage to get the same job done, next time I'll get a set of spring compressors and have a go myself, thanks guys, keep them coming please :)

[@MechitBetter]

No worries Tony. Thanks for watching! 👍

[@Dave5843-d9m]

Get yourself some angle ended ring spanners top nut is 19mm. The special step nut is 27mm.

[@Dave5843-d9m]

You were really lucky with that drop link. If the original part was fitted dry (without anti-seize paste), you’ll find an angle grinder is the best way to split the nut.

[@markholyoak9790]

great video guys and thank you for making it on the panda I look forward to the next video on the panda

[@MechitBetter]

Thanks Mark. We’ll see what breaks next ha!

[@lexlayabout5757]

You are lucky. The later Panda (2012+) is very similar but to reach the top of the struts you have to remove a large black plastic exterior panel that is between the bonnet and the windscreen. And BTW, you could use a cranked ring spanner for that top nut. 19mm or 3/4" - exactly the same.

[@Dave5843-d9m]

The top nut is easy to remove with a cheap cranked ring spanner from Lidl or Aldi. Except when it was fitted by a gorilla. Mine had to be drilled vertically down the threads. It wrecks both but gets it loose and both get replaced with the new shock. A cheap rattle gun (£50 from Lidl) makes life easy. The stepped nut has to be tightened to “kin tight” AutoDoc do mention it on their video. The M10 bottom pinch bolts are best coated end to end with a high solids paste. Copper grease won’t do. Ditto the M8 bottom ball joint bolt. Also notorious for rust. My top spring seat was totally rusted. I scraped it clean and coated with chain saw bar oil. It soon gels so won’t make a mess.

[@lexlayabout5757]

Several comments that the nuts at the top are hard to undo. That allen key in the dinky plastic holder @9:08 would never have done mine. I had an L type allen key with a foot long pipe on it, worried I'd break the key. It got harder as I undid the nut because of corrosion there, so I backed off and carefully cleaned the thread grooves with a triangular needle file.

[@dgm082]

The hook is to hold the Ram in closed position. And it is used only for packaging reasons. And for the top mounts you Could have used a nuckle saver ring spanner But Very Good Video for DIY.

[@MechitBetter]

Thanks David. We’d assumed that’s what the hook was for, but it wasn’t mentioned in the packaging anywhere which seemed a bit remiss on their part. Thanks for your tip about the spanner too. We’re always happy to bodge something up if it saves us a bit of cash 😀

[@garyyoung315]

Really good thank you. But I found if you release the top nut before removing completely the strut you don't need to make a special socket as the strut can't turn as still fixed. Then it is easy to completely undo when ready to remove.

[@bonkeydollocks1879]

I don't think the complete strut spins around its the shiny silver damper rod that spins

[@dorianbarcelo6190]

Super boulot, merci pour les explications Great job, thanks a lot!

[@MechitBetter]

Merci! You’re welcome 👍

[@steven-vn9ui]

The thin rod with the ends bent over is to keep the strut compressed in the packaging (as you demonstrated it expands if left alone due to pressurised gas inside)

[@MechitBetter]

Ah excellent! Thanks for letting us know. That’s been bugging me since we changed the struts 😁

[@steven-vn9ui]

@@MechitBetter Sweet! nice to close the book on that little mystery.

[@adriansandu2583]

Good job!

[@MechitBetter]

Thank Adrian 👍

[@Salvatore3333]

you guys are funny, taking things with a bit of humour does make a difference, I will be on the job on my turbo lover 2006 panda soon...the dog has done no work so far so fire him lol.

[@MechitBetter]

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed the video. We agree that laughing while you work makes any job easier. I’ve just fired the dog. She’s so lazy. She’s looking at me and sulking now!

[@Daytonafox1]

The pin on the new shock is purely a transport thing to keep shock still in one compressed position and to fit in the box.

[@CheekyCultured]

Which Haynes manual did you get for the 100hp? There isn't one exclusive to it. I've heard you need both the panda one for the non-mechanical stuff and the punto one for the mechanical stuff. Is that true? Cheers!

[@MechitBetter]

So far I just have the standard Panda one and it’s been fine. I haven’t done any major engine work though 👍

[@CheekyCultured]

@@MechitBetter in case you still got the car, it's not a bad idea to get one on the side! My car has done similar mileage as your one and I need a new clutch last month. The steering column, rear axle and transmission are the weak points on these cars I was told!👍

[@smithp573]

Really good video. Surprised by the general lack of videos on the 169 model Panda on KZbin considering what a popular car it was. Thank you for commenting on the Konis, I've often wondered if they helped enough to justify the effort, but I suppose when your struts are knackered anyway you have a good reason to upgrade. I test drove a 100HP back when they were new and just couldn't live with the ride, so I got a Multijet diesel version instead. That was also bad but in a different way. I don't suppose it matters now because the job is done but could you not have used your modded socket to hold the nut still, then put a long 5mm hex socket onto a torque wrench and tightened it to 65lb/ft by rotating the strut counterclockwise? Also, great that you emphasis the safety aspects particularly the spring compressors. They're a necessary evil and even though you can get ones now that are pretty safe I still hate them. Finally, a bit of humour is an excellent but of light relief but your sidekick could tone it down just a bit, unless he's trying to audition for kids TV? But I am admittedly a bit of a grumpy git.

[@MechitBetter]

Thanks Paul, for watching and for your suggestion regarding the torque wrench. Your method would work with a long hex bit. I’ll remember that for next time! 👍 it’s OK to be a grumpy git. We’re often the same. A little larking about keeps us sane during these jobs 😁

[@koczu998]

i have a question about this floating mount design. how much vertical play should i have ?

[@beau22maxi]

great video guys :)

[@MechitBetter]

Cheers! Hope it was helpful 👍

[@tomjenner2205]

Discovered your channel through the £500 adventure bike series, I've recently bought a project 89 CG 125 and found your videos both entertaining and very helpful! Turns out you own a HP too! What are the chances 🙂 love the colour!

[@MechitBetter]

You’ve obviously got excellent taste 👍 I’ve had my 100hp for 13 years now! Still think it’s brilliant 😁

[@anticat900]

Hello a great video which will help me on my panda. there is just one things that needs more detail, the 'thing' you put on top of the spring at 18 mins 40 seconds into the video? I think it is called a top mount, you say it is two parts connected together, I can buy a new top mount on ebay alright, but I'm not sure if there is a lower part or that is part of the top mount too? If so I' need to take this bit off the old spring, which will be extra work. Basically does the spring just sit on the back of the top mount or is there another piece of metal that goes on first to hold the spring in the right pace, then the top mount goes on?

[@mh-lm1ln]

when i did mine and i couldn’t get the machined spacer nut at the top off . I ended up having to cut it off. If you need to do this you will struggle to find fiat.replacement nuts , but ford ka part number 1680443 are identical and are cheaper and easy to find.

[@MechitBetter]

Top tip! Thanks for that 👍👍

[@spy2light525]

Good video .It's the same with fiat panda ?1.2 4x2 2003 60ps.?

[@MechitBetter]

Thanks! I’ve never worked on any model other than my 100HP but I think it’s probably the same. It might be worth having a look at your car and seeing if it looks the same before you start. Either way, it won’t be very different if it’s a macpherson strut like this one 👍

[@anticat900]

Hello, a really good video, I've got an identical 100hp and thinking of doing the same. Did new shocks help your cars ride and road noise? I've done the anti roll bar bushes, wishbones and drop links and new low noise tyres, but it still has a road noise roar and the car is absolutely terrible over bumps being completely rock hard. The front shocks are the last things to do and wondered what improvement you have had? PS also hate spring compressors, can easily lose a finger or worse with those things :-)

[@MechitBetter]

Cheers. Glad you liked it. I think the road noise is probably defined by the tyres, but the new shocks helped the ride a bit. As standard the 100HP is over-dampened so the new Konis do seem a bit more forgiving and pliant. It’s supposedly the rear shocks which are the worst though. Changing those from factory to Koni is supposed to transform the ride. Mine are still standard so can’t say from experience. Just what I’ve heard. I did however take out the rear bump stops which made things a lot quieter. I just think road noise is part of the 100hp experience. They’re big wide tyres for such a small car, and there’s not much sound deadening. Maybe that’s the way forward if you want to quieten things down a bit 👍

[@richardwallinger1683]

that bit of wire obviously holds the strut piston closed .to allow for packaging .

[@bikesmart5540]

Can you tell me, do the rubber boot, cushion and top plastic piece just sit loose on the shaft?