Mk7 Golf R Suspension Issue

[Nothing Original]

I turned to this forum a few years ago and you were brilliant so I am hoping you can help me again.

Does anyone have any technical knowledge of the suspension fitted to this car?

Warranty is about to expire and I have been told one of my shocks is "weeping". According to the dealership (who have allegedly checked with warranty) this is perfectly normal and actually the lubricant is how the suspension works didn't I know? There is even an internal bulletin I have been given telling me this is considered normal (it says "a minor oil film on the piston rod of the shock is not only unavoidable but also necessary for lubrication")..

Now I am no mechanic but to my limited knowledge a shock is a sealed unit and any kind of leakage no matter how small means there is a leak in the seal and therefore it is likely to fail at some point. The above statement smells of one huge fob off to me.......

They have suggested I get it checked again in 6 months time (of course you guessed correctly the warranty will of run out by then).

They are trying to tell me that this is some kind of special suspension not like normal suspension and that this is perfectly ok and will not effect the car in anyway - despite me having a vibration at speed on a motorway (and they also cannot tell me why if 1 is doing it and that is normal why the other 3 are not doing it!).

I have drafted an e-mail to them already but would appreciate anyone with any better understanding of the system used offering any advise to assist me making my reply watertight.

Or if anyone else has had this issue please do share your experiences.

Thank you in advance.

Edited by Nothing Original on Friday 18th January 09:27

[pdtdiarl]

That vibration is not caused by a busted shock absorber for sure, unless you have too much play on the shaft, that would "clunk" a lot.

If you see too much oil outside the shock, there is probably a leak, check the other side for comparison.

A wrecked shock will show a jumpy car on the side of the wrecked shock, thats all.

[Smiljan]

It is normal to have a light oil film / mist which is why the bulletin was produced.

Sounds like you have some other issue with the suspension that needs diagnosing properly.

http://www.theuniversalgroup.com/shock-absorber-in...

[Sheepshanks]

We had it on our mk6 and "misting" was mentioned at every MOT - the indie who looked after the car said VWs explanation was nonsense but they never got any worse between 3 and 7yrs old.

[rottenegg]

Nothing Original said:

Now I am no mechanic but to my limited knowledge a shock is a sealed unit and any kind of leakage no matter how small means there is a leak in the seal and therefore it is likely to fail at some point. The above statement smells of one huge fob off to me.......

It's not a fob off. Funny things oil seals. Not only do they need to keep oil in and dirt out, they do indeed also need lubrication, otherwise the 'stiction' of dry metal on rubber would wear them out very quickly. A sweat of oil around a piston rod is as perfectly normal as a sweat of oil around a crank seal. It would be completely impractical to squirt an external lubricant onto the dampers, so the oil inside it is used instead.

As to why one is sweating and the other 3 aren't, maybe your daily commute has more tight right handers than lefties, for example. Dampers can actually bend under hard cornering, which accelerates seal wear.

As for VW's explanation. Put yourself in their shoes. You are in a small minority of people who actually know what a damper is, hence the blanket answer. No offence to you, but the ignorant masses can only cope with the word 'normal', not technical explanations.