bad news. the front shocks don't fit into the wheel bearing housing. after a deeper search with I determined that a -factory equipped car has a different bearing housing, the bearing is 85mm instead of 80mm and the piece is aluminum VS cast iron. of course if replacing the housing, then the wheel bearing has to be replaced too.
I am looking into options now. the housing+bearing assemblies (left/right) have a decent price on the used market, but now I need to understand if other parts need to be replaced, like track control arm or guide joints.
had I know this from the start, I would have abandoned the project. now that I have everything installed but the shocks, it's almost mandatory to finish it... we'll see. I leave for work in one week and I'll be back in May. will probably postpone everything to the summer.
DAMN.
Damn you scared me
According to ETKA this depends on the front brake disc size rather than if the car has or not.
On Golf there's 2 different sizes.
5Q0 407 255 N (left) 5Q0 407 256 N (right) 80mm base size and is for disc brake PR code 1ZF
5Q0 407 255 Q and 5Q0 407 256 Q, 80mm base size and this is for disc brakes with PR codes 1ZE and 1ZP
5Q0 407 253 A and 5Q0 407 254 A 85mm base size and this is the same one as in cars. Disc brake PR codes 1LV, 1ZA, 1ZB and 1ZD
To make things ever worse, it looks like you need to upgrade your front disc brakes as well if you change the wheel bearing housing. The brake saddle is fixed to the housing and the fixing is different for different size disc brakes.
GTI, GTD and GTE already have correct size housing as they have bigger front disc brakes as well.
And what is also different between and non shocks is the rubber stop for shock absorber. Those you cannot move from your old struts.