So I go to Aerosus site and look up VW struts and Bentley struts which are supposed to be the same?? The price diff is crazy if so:

VW Phaeton (2002-2016) Front Left Air Suspension Strut with CDC VW Phaeton (2002-2016) Front Left Air Suspension Strut with CDC
In Stock

1


£395.10
VW Phaeton Front Right Air Suspension Strut with CDC VW Phaeton Front Right Air Suspension Strut with CDC
In Stock

1


£395.10
Bentley Continental GT Front Left Air Suspension Strut Bentley Continental GT Front Left Air Suspension Strut
In Stock

1


£643.50
Bentley Continental GT Front Right Air Suspension Strut Bentley Continental GT Front Right Air Suspension Strut
In Stock

1


£643.50


So what's the deal. I need a couple front struts but so hard to figure out best way to go without buying new from Bentley- Need some input. Also ran into these:

Redline 360- Struts with bilstein shocks- $1994

So need some help what's the best route to go? Are VW same as Bentley?? Do Speeds have different valving in shocks

 

Another option I found that I have not seen mentioned before:

https://www.miessler-automotive.com/...left-and-right

These are completely new struts and only approx $1500/pair shipped to USA-these are the only ones I have found that retain all the shock settings with a new shock. These are manufactured in Germany. Anyone use these?

 

Hi, What is the problem with yours? The air bag side can be replaced reasonably easily. I've just stripped mine down to replace the dust boots which requires removing and replacing the air bag, Chinese air bags are available reasonably priced. If i needed any, I'd probably give them a go.The most awkward part of the job was removing the terminals from the electrical conector for reuse, very fiddly even with a set of terminal tools. If/when i get a bit of spare time I'll try and get around to doing a little write up.
Regards Chris.

 

Left front is dropping over night, so guessing strut leaking. 2009 so likely due

 

Do soap test to try and find the leak, they can only leak from a few places, the top O ring which is on stem which holds the electrical cable, the bottom O ring, the air inlet and residual pressure valve and finally the air bag and its stap points. If the leak is not evident at any of the first three areas then it is most likely the air bag. I don't know how well equipped you are with tools but if you are at all handy it's not to big a job to change the bag or any O rings and absolutely dead easy to sort any air inlet leaks and saves junking the damper side of your strut.
Regards Chris.

 

What's the mileage on your 09 Continental gt?

 

40K Miles

 

I'm looking at buying an 09 Continental gt with 40000 miles I guess I'll have to budget for that repair

Your car have any other major issues at that mileage?

 

40K Miles. I have any tool I need, retired mechanic. I fully understand how to check out the system, but have been busy with other projects, but have been researching struts as most often it is the strut that is leaking, especially given the age.

My issue is I want to maintain all factory functions and I don't want somebody else's high mileage strut. If I have to replace I would prefer an all new strut, but not really excited about the cost of the OEM replacement, so was looking at other options.

1- What companies make a complete new strut with OEM shock functions?
-Has anyone used any of these assuming there are options?
2- If I have to go to reman option-is there anyone that will rebuild MY Struts and return same? While I'd prefer new, I'd rather have my 40K miles struts than some of unknown mileage.

3-has anyone used Meissler out of Germany? They say they have a completely new shock and air spring and are about $1500 shipped to USA

4- I read a lot about Aerosus struts, but am not clear on exactly what they offer??

5- Bilstein Struts-does anyone have any feedback/experience with these-more expensive, but Bilstein has a pretty good rep and maybe worth the extra $$?

@Johnny Hotspur GT ??

 

I don't think it's a mileage issue, more of a time issue. I suppose you could hunt around for 1 that has had the struts replaced. But more than likely something else comes up that needs repair. In my case I feel i can afford these types of cars because i can do most of the work on them myself. Some have driven over 100k with no strut issues, but as has been stated sometimes a car that's low mileage is more a risk for repairs because cars don't like just sitting. On the other hand low mileage cars often have pristine interiors and paint, so maybe some repairs isn't the worst thing. In my case it's due for spark plugs, it's running fine, but better to get it done before it's missing and running rough. While I'm in there, I plan on doing coil packs and cam cover gaskets as they are prone to seep after a period of time. I have also been doing a lot of reading of the forums to try and cover the common fault areas BEFORE they are a problem. I'm hoping that strategy will give me the least amount of issues at inopportune times. I'm thinking of doing all 4 struts, even tho the rears don't seem to be near the problem that the fronts are. It sure would be nice to have all new air springs and dampers seeing as they are the heart of the suspension on these cars. Good luck with your hunt, just have to choose what is most important to you.

 

I see you are doing your research on alternative struts as a lot don't retain the variable damping despite cliams they do, they just have a resistor to fool the control module, and as you point out a remanufactured strut may well have 100k+ miles on the damper so much better to have yours done. I can't remember the make but i recall reading a post where a guy ordered some struts from a company in Germany i think and then got stung for import duties as they were shipped direct from China! If you do go down the replacement route keep your original ones to rebuild yourself, before removal crack loose the 41mm top nut it's a lot easier to do while still in the car.
From what I've read the rears give a lot less trouble than the front and are also a lot easier to change. While you are looking at the rear if ever you get salt on the roads in the winter check and grease the eccentric bolts for the rear tracking both on the track control arm and the hub, they have a grove down the shaft which allows water to get in the bushing, great bit of design work? You are I'm sure doing the right thing in your proactive maintenance aproach.
Regards Chris.

 

Chris,
Are you thinking it's just better to replace the air spring myself? I don't think there is much more we can do than that as a DIY job is there? Do you have a recommendation of where to get top quality Air springs? Is there a DIY video or how to anywhere that a guy can check out before attempting to do themselves. I realize it's probably pretty straight forward, but always better if you can gets some tips/advice first!

Also, I'm not sure that something that comes from China is necessarily a bad product, a lot of things we get today come from China, and are a good product and many manufacturers use and have products made in China to their specs and quality.

 

I do worry that my dampers might have been compromised by the previous owner lowering the car with aftermarket sensor links. It rides better when put on the high setting, but it automatically lowers to normal(in my case very low) at highway speeds. I remember my 05 GT riding much better than my current 09 Speed. Maybe Bentley tuned the Speed for better handling and stiffer ride, but from memory it seems a much harder ride, but of course that was 8 or 9 years ago.

 

Here's strange thing- If I leave the car in the High mode(Close to normal height), it leaks very little over night, but If I leave in the lowered mode(pretty low due to lowering links), it drops a lot. Seems like it would be the other way around. Any clue why it does this?

 

Hi, I'm not dismissing the Chinese products some are very good it's just that the full stuts are a bit of a cop out in that they don't have variable damping as the original Bentley ones do. The air bags/springs are probably quite good and at the price they are, if/when i need some that will be the way i will probably go myself. As you say most of what we can buy now is made in China. With regards to you leak being less when on the high setting I'd imagine the bag perhaps would be in a more natural/better state versus the over folded crumpled up state when in the over lowered mode, just a theory or maybe just that the more air there is in the strut the longer it takes to leak especially with a slow leak. As you say with lowering links fitted your high setting might be reasonable close to a standard low setting. I'd certainly consider refitting some standard links just to see if you like the ride quality any better. I try and get a few photos to hopefully show you what to expect if you try and srip yours down.
Probably not much physical use to you as they are in Bulgaria! but there is a company who tests and repairs air suspension, the website is worth a look at and read. They hopefully overstate the poor ness of the Chinese air springs. https://air-tec.bg/en/services/shockabsorbers/
Regards Chris.