It is time for new front struts on PJ (1997 Jetta GT). I am replacing the Konis STRT with the same thing. I have H&R Sport Springs on the car and am thinking about 1" spacers to lose some of that low life while I have the car apart. Do spacers sit under the spring? Do they sit over the spring? Inquiring minds want to know.
I wait with fearful anticipation to use my HF spring compressor once again.
It depends on the spacer...usually there are rubber isolators above and below the spring. The spacers I'm used to seeing sit above the strut between the body and the upper strut mount, though.
Hopefully you're not considering those twist-in sprin spacers; they're generally bad news and put a lot of stress on the spring.
Pics of what you have in mind?
The strut bearing and spring perch seem to be common between late-Mk3 and Mk4, so this may apply: SOP for lifting the front of a Mk4 (other than swapping springs) is to add a spacer between the strut bearing and the upper spring perch ('tophat'). VW has a factory 10mm spacer (#40 in diagram below, and IIRC these can be stacked but that gets stupidly expensive), or there are taller spacers usually sold as a front & rear lift kit (e.g. metalnerd, VWliftkits), or DIY. Simply replacing the rubber upper strut mounts will add some lift if the old ones were really squished.
Mk3 and Mk4 rear suspension is completely different so I can't help there.
Dimensions for DIY-ing a Mk4 2in lift, I think from someone on a TDI forum. Other people say they have used pipe or pipe fittings...
Just be aware that you can get yourself into coil bind by using spring spacers. That's where the spring is fully compressed before you reach the end of your shock travel. You hit a big bump, the spring becomes a solid block of steel, you hear a big BANG and the bump is very hard. If you're unluckly, you also eventually rip the spring perch off the strut and your suspension collapses like a stancebro's dream. So don't do that.
Not a problem if you're putting the spacer above the upper perch and below the strut top as above, though. That method avoids coil bind problems but if you're short on compression travel due to a too-short spring, it will be unchanged.
Best solution is a spring of the correct length, but that can be tough to source especially with a platform that is often more about low than go.
I guess going back to stock isn't something you want to do?
I was looking at these sorts of things.
I would go back to stock but I scrapped the stock springs years ago.
Ah ha! This may be what I was talking about.
Ramped spring isolators.
It's been a long while since I have seen an oem mk3 strut setup but I think they had donuts like that stock or if not mk3 they were on b4 passats. At the very least I remember throwing them away off of something around that vintage and vag.
Those kind you need to take apart the spring from the strut to put them in. They make ones that you bolt on top of the already built strut as well. At least they do for lifting as I have put a couple on some SUVs.
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