Who needs fancy coilovers?
- Thread starter MikeHiow
- Start date
lol
I'm old enough to remember that all 80/90's Vauxhalls used to need rear coil springs every MOT they used to chew through them and it didn't really matter if it was a Nova/Corsa, Astra or Cavalier.
But they are much easier to change than the Mondeo ones, the rears take so much effort to get the strut back onto the ledge on the subframe and the fronts are a pain either by the lower pinch bolt or if you have to take the whole strut off, usually the CV joint is siezed into the hub.
Everything seems much worse when its freezing cold too.
Bizzarely the n/s/f spring broke on our Fiesta ST on tuesday. Luckily I was only 250m from home so managed to crawl back without shreadding the tyre too much.
On a plus side, now ordered a set of Eibachs that will lower it about 25-30cm all around. As they are from the local Ford dealer the wife is none the wiser
On a plus side, now ordered a set of Eibachs that will lower it about 25-30cm all around. As they are from the local Ford dealer the wife is none the wiser
You do not need to remove CV joint to take the strut from a Mondeo.
Removal and refitting of the strut was a doddle.
If that lower pinch bolt is siezed and all attempts to remove it fail, you do need to take the hole strut off, inc hub to change the spring, which means taking the cv joint/drieshaft out. Unfortunately had to do this a few times, unless of course you are talking about the rear ones.....
If i made a note of every component that was rusty on each car I MOT'd you'd have a 5 page advisory stapled to almost every MOT. Most springs unless reasonably new are rusty, this has no bearing on whether it is going to break.
Except Vauxhalls, they are country miles ahead in the broken spring score board. Not uncommon to see a Vectra with all 4 springs with a coil broken off the top or the bottom. Such poor quality sprung steel yet they feel they can charge a premium for it. A spring for a Vectra C SRi is almost 3x the price of one for a Landrover, yet the landrover one is almost 2x the size and less likely to break within 1 year. Go figure.
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Yeah, however it was the actually spring plate on the strut that was rusty. Both had daylight coming through them. There was more gaps than material. Just incompetent on the tester behalf I'm afraid!
Yeah, however it was the actually spring plate on the strut that was rusty. Both had daylight coming through them. There was more gaps than material. Just incompetent on the tester behalf I'm afraid!
My apoligies, I misread your post. The shock being corroded to that extent is pretty uncommon, infact I don't think i've seen one that bad for a long time, so the fact that it was missed doesn't surprise me.
In my last job (factors) the local Vauxhall dealership used to replace broken springs with pattern parts from us as they were way cheaper than OE parts (and quite possible better).
Deleted member 66701
Deleted member 66701
Would you believe it - the exact same fault has just occurred on my wifes Mk III Mondeo Ghia X - snapped in exactly the same place - as the spring narrows to sit on the cup.
Got a replacement spring from the local motor factors for £15 (in stock thankfully) and just changed it in an hour on the driveway (so glad it not cold any more). Top mount was still ok so left it. Glad I left all the bolts to soak in wd40 overnight as some of them were TIGHT! Didn't touch the pinch bolt as they have a habit of snapping (then it's a mare of a job) - just lowered the whole arm.
If we're playing the 'I've got a snapped spring' game, the Octavia currently has on on the drivers side rear. Snapped about 30 minutes after its MOT before Christmas!
Going to replace it on Monday when I get a set of compressors from my mate.
Going to replace it on Monday when I get a set of compressors from my mate.
Too anyone doing it DIY just be careful with a compressed spring as it will happily send a few ribs into your lung if it lets go.
If your using a claw set make sure the spring doesn't start slipping off the hooks or starts sliding the compressor around the spring.
Also some modern springs are 'banana springs' making fitting with claw adjusters all but impossible. If the spring you're fitting looks bent while not under load see if a local garage will let you use a proper compressor to fit it onto the shock absorber.
If your using a claw set make sure the spring doesn't start slipping off the hooks or starts sliding the compressor around the spring.
Also some modern springs are 'banana springs' making fitting with claw adjusters all but impossible. If the spring you're fitting looks bent while not under load see if a local garage will let you use a proper compressor to fit it onto the shock absorber.