I have a Mk2 and didn't have to use this tool. The only tool I needed was a shorty socket to remove the bottom bolt. The coil spring is too close to the nut.
Speaking of the bottom bolt, these can be seized on there really well. I had a
very difficult time getting one of these off on my A3 when I upgraded to coilovers. One side came off okay but the other side I recall having to use a breaker and essentially lowering the car such that the
weight of the car was applying force to the breaker 😆 propped on one side with a wooden bench/platform and seeing the breaker bend quite a bit, before the bolt budged. Was a bit dicey an operation TBH lol. By the time I owned the TT and did suspension work on that, I had good cordless impact wrenches though, so not really a worry. YMMV on how "well seized" these are on anyone's given car but just a heads up--once again so long as you have a decent mid-torque impact you're probably not worried about these things.
As for the spring being in the way...just remove the spring. It takes all of like 30s to get that out the way by removing the bolt and dropping the arm and pulling the spring out (just remember to undo the level sensor before dropping the arm!). I mean I had to take these out anyway but they are very quick/easy to get out. The bolt on the arm may present the same difficulty as above though, but again something impact will zip off without the thought ever crossing your mind. Granted you're
supposed to replace these when removed and probably should if they're the ones the car was built with, but otherwise they can be reused a few times perfectly fine anyway.
Workshop manual states that just because there are some signs of leaking the shock could be perfectly fine.
This is absolutely correct (as you've shown in the S/M pages)...in theory. In
practice and reality what "some signs of leakage" means is highly subjective. I had one damper (LR) leaking what I'd say was lightly but much less than one of his pictures; and my other other one not leaking at all.
They were both still done for. The reality is his car is over 15 years old and those leaks are not what I'd say are "some signs" but major signs...those shocks are absolutely done for.
My thought on lines like this in the S/M are essentially like the guidelines for oil consumption (which are far higher than the average person would expect but what the manufacturer specifies). Why? Because it gets them out of doing expensive warranty repairs, lol. Some very light leakage when the car is 3-4 years old, okay maybe; but leakage like OP has and presuming those are the original dampers? Not. A. Chance! 😄
Just the same as a damper that's leaking doesn't necessarily mean it's bad; a damper isn't leaking also doesn't mean it's not bad or worn out. My fronts (and one rear) were not leaking at all, they were
very clearly done for. The car never drove quite right with the old tired ones and the
difference in the old and the new ones was simply
night and day.
Excellent info on work I'm about to undertake. I'll be sure and post up my experience when doing job. I've change suspension on others car but its been a few years and I'm not as confident as I use to be. Slow & steady, is my motto.
As a matter of interest this below is a couple pics of my rear shock leakage. I don't have any warning lights up on dash. Oil sludge evident on both casings which was picked up during my WOF inspection. Brakes need new pads which is on the list to do. Fronts including rotors were done approx 20k ago by PO.
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IMO these shocks are done for. As said that one on the right is way more leakage than I had on one of mine (which was probably more like the one on the left).
The lack of warning lights doesn't mean anything either. You can even set the mag ride to test mode and find the dampers all firm up like bricks as they should--they certainly did on my car...didn't mean a thing. In spite of all that, there's absolutely no doubt in my mind the dampers on my car (all four of them) were totally done for--not only past their prime but just finished altogether. The difference again being how much better the car drove after changing them out.
The only reliable way to actually
diagnose a magride shock is to use Audi's "test apparatus" which involves measuring angles of deflection under given loads and all this nonsense--entirely impractical/impossible for a DIYer and honestly an apparatus most stealerships do not even have. But the thinking that original shocks (magride or otherwise)...which are leaking...would still be good on a car this old, is simply unrealistic IMO. As I often say...driving around on 15yr old worn out shocks in a minivan or something is one thing, but doing the same on a performance car of any sort, is really just doing yourself an injustice. You are not wrong in any way for wanting/intending to change these out.
allen key to counterhold. Emphasis on the "7mm"thing becuase it's more likely you have a strut nut socket than a 7mm allen. 7mm allen keys are about as common as a 3 dollar bill, lol. No seriously they are very hard to come by unless you go specifically looking for them and get them as a specialty item. Almost all sets go from 6 to 8, and never include 7. There is also no common imperial equivalent, either. 7mm hex socket bits are quite common but allen keys...not so much. Why the heck they chose 7mm of all goddamn sizes, I have no idea, but is what it is. Thankfully impact solves this problem just the same. 
