Browser
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 posted on 8/10/13 at 06:24 PM |
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Expensive daily driver day
Saturday we drove down to Hampshire for a golden wedding party and I noticed the Sedona's rear brakes scraunching a little when applied. Sure
enough, checking revealed the edge lip of the disc being scuffed by the pad backing on one side so much careful braking later we arrived home. New
pads fitted (very little friction material left on that one side, perils of a dealer service agreement, you stop checking this sort of thing yourself)
then the Punto to Formula 1 Autocentre for a new pair of Pirelli P1's before tomorrow's MOT. "Bad news" says the tyre fitter,
"d'you want to come and look?". Duly go and look and find the end 100mm-ish of the nearside front spring has corroded through and
snapped off, so cancel the MOT, order a new spring and start taking the strut off tonight ready. And it hasn't even had it's MOT yet so
I'm crossing everything in hope!
Footnote, this is the third powder=coated coil suspension spring I've had fail on three different cars. Seems to be the same fail mode each
time, the coating fails near the bottom, letting water (salty in winter) capiliary up against the spring and rot it through, made worse by the rest of
the spring being uncorroded so it doesn't lose any of it's strength and loading the corroding section until it goes. I wish the
manufacturers wouldn't bother, they never used to 
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coyoteboy
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| posted on 8/10/13 at 08:03 PM |
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Ive been wondering if the materials they use have changed. The springs they put on my 1991 celica are still in perfectly good condition despite being
22 years old and rusty and my old peugeot 205 went to its grave with original springs. The springs on my 2001 peugeot failed at 8 years old (tip
snapped off), my other half's renault had them fail at about 10 years and ive seen countless modern cars with failed springs.
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morcus
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| posted on 8/10/13 at 08:23 PM |
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I had a simillar one the other month where I went in to have the brakes checked and it turned out I didn't have any on the back. And when I say
I didn't have any, I'n not talking warn pads or disks, both calipers has corroded, one was seized open, the other the pipe had gone. It
shows someone upstairs has a sense of humour as it cost almost exactly the amount of money I was given as a bonus by work.
In a White Room, With Black Curtains, By the Station.
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coyoteboy
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| posted on 8/10/13 at 08:39 PM |
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quote:
one was seized open, the other the pipe had gone
How do you not notice this?
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Browser
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| posted on 8/10/13 at 08:59 PM |
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And just to add to teh fun, tryong to undo the spring seat retaining nut the allen key I was using to hold the strut piston rod still has just snapped
off flush with the top of the strut piston rod, so unless I can get it out somehow I'm looking at a new strut as well!!!!!!!
Any helpful tips for extracting snapped-off allen key tips?
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loggyboy
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| posted on 8/10/13 at 09:04 PM |
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Capillary up a 8mm wide spring..?. I think the word is splash! Lol
Ive had one snap on 19k mile c4, father in law had one go on a 2yr old A class and 2 go on mother in laws 6yr old smart car.
Mistral Motorsport
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Browser
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| posted on 8/10/13 at 09:34 PM |
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I meant capiliary up between the failed powder coat and the spring, though spalsh would do it too.
Got he broken allen key end out, sawed round the top of the strut piston rod approx 2mm down from the top to expose the end of the snapped piece,
managed to grab it with pliers and it's out. Now need to go and buy a high-quality (read much stronger) allen key!
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Dusty
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| posted on 8/10/13 at 11:38 PM |
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Recovered daughters Fabia from Oxford to Plymouth as the oil light was on. She had taken it to a garage to be tested who said engine needed to come
out and be stripped and ££££. £180 down for the recovery and it was the oil light switch on the block that had failed. 5 minutes and £11 to change.
Living life with gritted teeth.
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me!
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| posted on 9/10/13 at 07:09 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Browser
I meant capiliary up between the failed powder coat and the spring, though spalsh would do it too.
Got he broken allen key end out, sawed round the top of the strut piston rod approx 2mm down from the top to expose the end of the snapped piece,
managed to grab it with pliers and it's out. Now need to go and buy a high-quality (read much stronger) allen key!
Use an impact gun to get the nut off if you have one (electric or air, doesn't matter). I never had much success with hexs in the end of struts!
If it still spins pliers with a rag in the jaws on the damper shaft is usually enough to get the nut off in my experience. Good luck!
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ChrisW
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| posted on 9/10/13 at 10:37 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by me!
Use an impact gun to get the nut off if you have one (electric or air, doesn't matter). I never had much success with hexs in the end of struts!
If it still spins pliers with a rag in the jaws on the damper shaft is usually enough to get the nut off in my experience. Good luck!
I second that. An impact gun makes this job a lot easier!
Chris
My gaff my rules
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britishtrident
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| posted on 9/10/13 at 11:57 AM |
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I usually start slacken the nut off with the weight still on the wheels.
Once off the car you can inert a pair of mole grips a grip the strut in the area covered by the bump stop.
This type of failure has become more common due to the spring designers cutting down the on the material used, cheaper steel, thinner
cross-section wire. To get the same spring rate with thinner wire requires less coils so each coil flexes more and hence is more likely to fail.
[I] “ What use our work, Bennet, if we cannot care for those we love? .”
― From BBC TV/Amazon's Ripper Street.
[/I]
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RichardK
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| posted on 9/10/13 at 12:36 PM |
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And I doubt the installation of speed humps everywhere hasn't helped either!
Cheers
Rich
Gallery updated 11/01/2011
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Browser
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| posted on 9/10/13 at 02:59 PM |
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Thanks for the tip gents, a little winding with the windy-gun and off she came. I'd love to say that re-fitting was a reverse of removal,
unfortunately I haven't got there yet as my usual rock-solid supplier in P'boro has ordered a spring for a 1.9D, not a 1.9 JTD and they
have different part numbers so I daren't take the chance
Correct srping shouldbe here by 19:00 tonight so I'll be able to get busy as soon as Mrs Browser returns home from her rehearsal as she's
collecting the spring for me on her way there.
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adithorp
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| posted on 9/10/13 at 03:41 PM |
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I 'd agree with BT as to why they fail so often and the number of speed humps adds to that... Keeps us in work though 
We see quite a few fail within days of having had them in for service and MOT when they were OK but being jacked up and down possibly weakens an
already pitted/cracked spring.
You should really fit a pair though... You wouldn't buy one new shoe would you?
"A witty saying proves nothing" Voltaire
http://jpsc.org.uk/forum/
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Browser
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| posted on 9/10/13 at 05:18 PM |
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No, but being skinter than a very skint thing this month dictates only the one for now.
The fail is exactly the same as the other two I've had i.e. it's not a straight fracture accross the coil wire but at a diagonal?
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adithorp
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| posted on 9/10/13 at 05:46 PM |
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Yeah thats normal. Can't remember seeing one break square.
"A witty saying proves nothing" Voltaire
http://jpsc.org.uk/forum/
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Browser
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| posted on 10/10/13 at 01:45 PM |
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This keeps getting better. Strut now back on and OK, decided to check where the re-appeared oil leak was coming from (previously discovered a loose
oil filter), taking the plastic undertray off revealed three separate locations, the oil filter/cooler (again), the turbo-to-intercooler hose (coated
on the outside with oil) and the bottom of the gearbox bellhousing.
Oil filter removed, cooler unscrewed, new centre seal on cooler, mating faces cleaned and filter re-fitted and we'll see.
Turbo hose removed, oil inside it, the compressor volute and the intercooler so it looks like we've got a failed/failing oil seal in the turbo,
wonderful!!!!
Haven't got to the gearbox yet but am concerned as when we bought the car the dealer had to replace the clutch as the gearbox input shaft oil
seal had failed, contaminating the friction plate, so I dearly hope this isn't happening again.
I think said car is giving us a message i.e. sell meeeeeee!
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