how ridiculous is this, just failed my MOT, front passenger side coil spring broken and one water jet broken, been quoted 2x £160 for both front coils and £60 to replace water jet, Arnold Shark! £380. Gonna do it myself, £23.99 for water jet and £33 for a pair of springs with discount code, whole job done myself for £57. Video has helped thanks alot!

Hi - I've been watching your vids for about 6 months now but never commented. So.......just wanted to say thanks really. You're a very polite and conscientious young man....your father must be very proud. I'm not into Vauxhall or Fords but still love the vids, I like motorbikes (Japanese) so I couldn't believe when a trike and an old Yamaha came along!!! You even use nice music and scenes of nature! I reckon your subs will continue to rocket, well done.

Just a mandatory tip, the peg on the bearing must be left aligned with the peg on the strut that fits the slot of the hub. If not, the spring load on the bearing will not be uniform. You can get the bearing to develop friction.

Good video, helped a lot. Just a some more tips, #1 you can loosen the abs sensor connector so there is no chance to hit it when forcing the hub downwards with a hammer. #2 To give the damper some more play in the hub I screwed the damper hub bolt from the other way and seated against a metal plate, in this way the hub expands and there is basically no force needed to lower the hub from the damper. #3 Add some heat to the hub bolt area to don't make it snap, especially if the car has been driven on salty roads. But be careful not to put too much heat on the damper.

One of the best guides I’ve ever seen on anything. Well done.

Great Video as always mate, I have a drift I made from the inner piece of a hydraulic ram from a bin lorry for knocking the strut out of the hub. Some Volkswagen are the same, makes it sooo much easier!

We all forget stuff every now and then... 😋 Thank you for sharing!

Brilliant video, we’ve all missed the odd dust cover

Great video, the best bit is, you have no bumpy roads near you, where do you live, cant be in the UK, keep up the good work

Always replace shocks in pairs buddy. Even if the other side is still serviceable, it won't be as good as the new one and will likely be under more load now and will wear out soon 👌 keep up the good work

Good job well done. It's a pain when you start doing something and it leads to another and another... not to mention the expense. You can hold the strut in a bench vise when doing it and you won't be fighting with it so much.

Superb video. Doing both springs and top mounts/bearings on my ST tomorrow

done both front struts today, thanks for the video. Great help

Awesome video. Going to be doing this on the other halfs focus cmax next week so great help cheers

Thanks for the video, helps to work out if I want to crawl around and replace the struts myself (broken top mount is my problem). Your video is easy to follow & listen to.

Hey Mate.. I changed both Struts on my 2006 Ford Focus watching this vid. Thanks for your help.

It's all in the details! Eurocar parts should sponsor you.

Good vid, I did same job on sisters Focus, but I replaced both sides, good practice to replace suspension components in pair, just like brake components.

Great tutorial video esp learning by your small mistakes. I could feel your pain! I gotta do my partner's front springs tomorrow so thank you😁

top video,youve saved me a fair bit of time seeing how it comes apart :)

I am in the middle of changing a wheel bearing on my mk2 Focus which involves taking the knuckle off as you have done here. However the pinch bolt across the strut was so knackered that it was rounding off when I tried a breaker bar. It eventually came off but these things apparently are known for being sods. I now have to find a new bolt. And the wheel bearing is similar to your Fiesta in that it’s not meant to be user serviceable and needs a high pressure press to get it out and put the new one in.

Thanks for showing us your handy work 👍just bought an estate focus and I've this to do plus other stuff will follow your lead Ant from Wales . I've subd

Nice work. I've done front springs on my 10 reg fiesta. A bit of a common fault.

Finally I heard you swear. I was starting to think you were a choir boy.

Yeah get the other side done too to keep it even. Looks mint now. Taking off method is the same as I did with mine its a pain when everything is seased.

Thank you, I've the same problem with my Focus that side too! Is it a design fault that the passenger side wears before the drivers side?? I had a look at mine today planning ahead, I'm glad you showed how to get the cover off and access to the 3 top strut mounting bolts.

I think you always replace in pairs per axle. Especially for front axle alignment is a must after job get done

Great Video.Thanks for posting.

i watched in horror as you hammered the hub off, i was sure the abs wire/sensor was a goner, nice work though, you done a rear spring on the focus yet? that's my next job this weekend.

Currently working on a c max and it's been a total pain in the arse . The 15mm is more like 14.5mm so even with a good quality 6 sided socket it rounded .a 9" grinder was employed to remove the drop link but still having no luck with the pinch bolts

Useful video - got this job to do on a relative's car - hope everything comes apart as easily as on yours :) Can't help but be amused about your sage advice about safety issues then showing you wearing canvas deck shoes while compressing the spring ....... practice what you preach ;)

You mentioned the tab on the strut bearing that should line up with the end of the spring nice one, hardly anyone mentions or knows about that =b

You make that sway bar link look so easy to crack

So if all the bearings fall out they definitely need replacing? Or can you just clean them up and use them? Thanks

Just subscribed Good videos bud

Nice job mate

I feel your pain with the boot cover, I put the spring on upside down then put it all back together..AHHH!

Great Video! Keep up the good work! Just an observation, but your front brake pads looked abit low? Or was that just me? 🤔

شكرا على كل ما قدمت👍👍👍👍👍

The new shock/damper is a gas damper, they will always extend like that (hence the retainer holding it down for storage in the box) - oil dampers won't do this and can eventually settle back down into the strut if held upright, but they will be a lot harder to move in and out than your old one. So don't think you have a faulty damper if it doesn't extend like your new one. And yes, you should always do both the springs across an axle at the same time, even if the other looks good - this is more important with the dampers (shocks). New springs will be "stronger" and will cause it to ride higher until it settles a bit (another reason for doing both at the same time). The drop links between the strut and the anti-roll bar ("sway bar" is an American term and some people in the UK may not know what you mean if call it by this) are also a common failure point and can cause noises. But in this case, it could have been the damper/shock causing noises and not just the broken spring.

Hi could you do a video on the stereo you have in the focus

Attempting this on the weekend 🤞🏻

Just did this job 2 days ago on my focus , seems as though someone has cut off the top of the bump stop on yours ??/

Get a Clarke strong arm I’ve used mine so many times takes the risk out of changing springs completely.

Hi after watching your video, I decided to venture and change both front springs of my Berlingo as both are slightly broken at the ends. However during the process of replacing the front left spring coil and while removing it the hub pulled the driveshaft out a little bit and oil started to leak from the gearbox I lost about a Litre I think. I pushed the driveshaft back in which stopped the oil(or so i though) coming out from the gearbox where the shaft goes in. Any advice I would greatly appreciate. Many Thanks.

Very helpful video

When you remove the pinch bolt you can hammer a drift into the gap at the back to spread the knuckle, means you don’t have to hammer too much

I've just done the exact same job on my focus. But I replaced everything wishbone drop link damper damper spring and topmount plus bearings. Now I got a horrible springy boingy sound when turning.

Great Stuff

do you happen to know what the pinch bolt holding the front shock/strut in the knuckle is called. For mk2 focus. I'm struggling to find a replacement without a part number

Does the strut bearing make a poping a cluncking noise when going on pumbs

If you only did passenger side then that will be def be higher than the driver side. When replacing the spring and shock you should do it in pairs - so both fronts done together. I did my Focus couple of months ago due to broken spring and leaking shock, and front of the car now sits about 1 inch higher than it was before.

watching this in January makes me miss summer :(

I had a feeling as soon as you started the job that the strut mounts bearings might be pooched and i hoped you didn't do all that work and find out that they were fucked. I fixed a similar issue on a 14 reg Mondeo for my cousin. If the one side was like that the other can't get far behind. Might be an idea to get your tracking checked afterwards. Having the front suspension apart might have upset it!

good job , from france

Should always replace in pairs James, tut tut ;)

It’s sitting higher because one spring is more stronger than the other that’s why you should do them as pairs

I'm a Boqer123 fan too :D Awesome video lad :D

You should do a video on paint matching the greys on the focus

Do you happen to have the part number for the bumpstops? Rebuilding mine with all oem parts so would make it easier to order parts before hand. Thanks

Good job thank you

Did you change the top nut with a new one? I've got some new struts but they didn't come with new nuts

Just done this on my fiesta but for some reason the top hat isn't sitting straight despite the spring sitting in and being torqued correctly, is this normal?

I enjoy your video's but please tell me you changed both front struts.

thanks for good vid on strut just all vids every one take the pinch bolt out 15mm mine tight as hell rounded bolt and having to drill out all day just to remove

This is a strange non car related question, but what grade do you have on the side of your hair? Love the fiesta zetec s btw.

A bit late but what happened with the first spring did it break up when the clamps were on it? When you were compressing the second spring couldn’t you take it below top of the bolt to easily get the nut on? Maybe that’s why it seemed to be riding a bit higher? and was the music Art Tatum it was very nice cheers

Thank you sir

Great that you left in the broken bearings etc. It happens! Dust cover... doh!

got my focus Lowered on Eibachs but the front Left is sitting higher then the right , anybody know why ??

Does the strut come with a new shock absorber

Doh ! The dust cover

I would have disconnected the Abs sensor and when you fitted the new struts i would have fitted 2 new dust covers

It's siting higher has you have only done one side when you replace the driver side it will sit level then

My fiesta spring broke exactly the same way.

Some ford focus have spring for handeling suspension, what color had your spring before you change it?

if the springs are thicker, it will sit higher...nice vid!

My lover bolt on the shock is stuck bad 😢 wont get out

My God mate your struts were fd up hahahahah

My cars failed an mot because of the coil spring need to know the price of possible

Should I attempt this myself or keep driving my bouncy car.

Dust cover??

One problem there Mate no dust cover over the shocker dirt will get in 😊

👌🏼

Nice video only 1thing ,the strut needs to b timed,because the top bearing is at a angle,that little pin that u described is 1 of the timing marks the other is the wee tab just at the bottom of the spring , some top plates also have a mark on them to line it up, this lines the slope on the bearing in a neutral position , without doing this the steering will do all sorts of strange things ,just as a note a mondeos hase 4 timing marks on it strut components .

Are you coming back on KZfaq

not all struts self Return u know. I have a pair of £1800 Gax Gold Adjustable and never returned new from factory. if u drop em upside down and don't fully close there good.

top lad

Glad to hear you got it sorted. However, please don't drive with a camera on one hand. That's 6 penalty points and £200 fine - same as having a phone in your hand while driving.

i hit a pothole right after crsting a hill, looks like it broke then

Dont forget to replace the other front shock. You should never do just one. You will get uneven front suspension performance, and even uneven braking due to the imbalance in damping.

Are you from Norfolk? as am I if so! :D

Good job but unfortunately it says nothing about aligning the entire assembly. There are notches on the spring seat, the bearing and the mounting plate. These need to be centred during assembly and must face towards the engine when mounted. Otherwise, the suspension geometry will be affected.

James more tutorial videos please you learn me a lot more cars as well please James. I like your videos and you James Thanks David from Scotland thanks

You never told us what happened with fog lights. Or have you?

You forgot the dust shield

I love your safety boots .

So if i'm right. You have to change two the struts to match and two coils with bearings. That's turned into a £300 parts Job. FFS.

Did anyone else notice that the coolant lines are not attached to the heater? 😅

i always thought sway bar was the american term for what us folk call a drop link