arse! suspension collapse! - spring fitting question update

[scooters]

Family trip to my mums across Edinburgh...drove off to go home horrible noise from front nearside ...swear...pull over....unload car...jack car up torch on...bollocks sheared spring!

 

Family home in taxi now waiting for rac.

 

So..anyone got a 2ndhand strut assembly for a 2000 legacy?

 

 

Ps..this doesn't happen with B X s!

[dollywobbler]

bollocks sheared spring!

Ps..this doesn't happen with B X s!

 

Er, no. But you can have complete hydraulic failure and lose the suspension, steering and brakes all in one go! (mind you, that's never happened to me yet...)

 

That does indeed sound ARSE.

[maxpower]

let's hope you don't get the rac guy i had out on friday.... fuggin useless he was..... stevie wonder would have made a better mechanic than him

[scooters]

Rac man just been..Paul from Edinburgh depot..he and Keith are the best ones I've had here...(trust a shitter to know his rescue men well)

 

Now waiting for a beavertail...frustrating as you call diagnosis in saying car is immobile is a 4wd and will need a flatbed but engineer still has to come out to confirm so 2 hour wait becomes 3 hour wait..

 

Spring break is a trauma one..spring is quite new ..thanks to Edinburgh city council and their criminally deep potholes due to spending all the cash on a stupid tram no one wants but everyone will have to use as every fecking road will have reverted to a 18th c turnpike!!!!!

 

 

Grrrrrr

 

Mind you...the way the missus tends to treat it as a tracked vehicle so not happy with her either

[scooters]

bollocks sheared spring!

Ps..this doesn't happen with B X s!

 

Er, no. But you can have complete hydraulic failure and lose the suspension, steering and brakes all in one go! (mind you, that's never happened to me yet...)

 

That does indeed sound ARSE.

 

Happened to my old man on Sutton Bank in Yorkshire...going down the hill in a 1974 DS Safari with 3 under 5 ves in the back. Rather scary...I remember it vividly

 

 

Only time I've ever heard of a total hydraulic failure

[Mr_Bo11ox]

springs do go rusty after a while, then the rust spots become stress raisers and they bust! Sadly thats just another of the many ways an old banger can spice up your day.

[messerschmitt owner]

springs do go rusty after a while, then the rust spots become stress raisers and they bust! Sadly thats just another of the many ways an old banger can spice up your day.

doesn't need to be an old banger - 18 months old my smart was when the first spring broke - four years when the second one did it.

[dollywobbler]

Aye. If anything, older springs are stronger. Corsas (the second generation one we got here) are good at snapping springs, as are some big Mercs. Building down to cost or just the sheer number of speed humps around these days?

[Richard]

Chevettes were famous for broken springs and our Chevette did indeed have one.

[DSdriver]

It does seem to be a 21st century disease. Never used to hear about it in the old days.

[Justin Case]

Aye. If anything, older springs are stronger. Corsas (the second generation one we got here) are good at snapping springs, as are some big Mercs. Building down to cost or just the sheer number of speed humps around these days?

 

The former as usual; penny pinching manufacturers just cut off the ends of coil springs instead of chamfering them to fit level in the spring pan. this means that localised stresses are set up in the point (rather than area ) of contact, which will eventually cause the spring to fail (snap). Never mind, it adds about 2p to the profits and probably won't happen to the first owner while the guarantee still lasts, so who cares?

[Albert Ross]

Strange that, I run 51 year old leaf springs. Aside from a little abrasion wear, they're good as new.

[pompei]

I didn't know that my CRX had been running with a cracked coil spring until it went in for MoT

[scooters]

well RAC contractor turned up with the beavertail, we loaded up and got home - he told me I was the fourth car today he had rescued in Edinburgh with suspension damage including one brand new Volvo estate that had destroyed both near side struts so badly that the rear one had shorn into the boot of the car - chap hit a 8 inch deep pothole. The roads in Edinburgh are terrible.

 

Anyway, after he went I jacked the car up onto stands to take the pressure off the suspension - the spring is shorn about 6 inches along from the end of the top end - as alfisti says - a stress point indeed.

 

Subaru springs are pretty thick bits of kit - looking at the break I can see possibly 12-24 hours of oxidation on 60% of the frature with bright metal on the other 40% so I suspect Mrs S wellied it on a pothole somtime yesrerday and the strain of parking in a deep gully on a cobbled street this evening finally did for it - just as well it happened there and not on the open road at speed! As I said these springs are about 2 years old so trauma damage is obvious.

 

So tomorrom I'll need to replace the spring - as this is the family car do you think I am better off replacing both front springs with new ones, putting in new shocks whilst I do it or sourcing a 2nd hand strut assembly from the bay or that place in Galashiels? I suspect I'll probably have to splash out on new parts - the only tool I don't have is a spring compressor so will have to swing past halfrauds to get summat suitable...whilst I'm at it I might as well do the front brake pads, air filter, oil change, HT leads, plugs and dizzy cap as well as both alternator and powersteering/aircon belt which are squeaking more than a frenchburd's fleas...hey! It's only MONEY afterall!

 

grumble rubarbhrubarbwhingemoanmoan

[scooters]

reminds me though I must WRITE to the chap I bought it off last month accusing him of being a CHILD MURDERING BASTARD - he should have anticipated the faliure of the spring! he's sold me a DEATH TRAP! I mean, just as well it broke when I was parking - if that had happened on the open road it could have kiolled HUNDREDS

[scooters]

Strange that, I run 51 year old leaf springs. Aside from a little abrasion wear, they're good as new.

 

 

aye - never had this problem with the SHERPAZ!!

 

blooming new fangled Macpherson thingies!

 

BRING BACK THE CART!

[garbaldy]

springs do go rusty after a while, then the rust spots become stress raisers and they bust!.

 

yup they like to rust but bust due to the rust i dont know,

to be honest ive never had to replace a coil spring, even in the autox cars ive ran never managed to bust one yet and thats not for lack of trying bust a few leaf springs though mainly due to my load it to the rafters mentality

 

the spring on the right is from the front of my colly which is 15 years old and the original even at 160k miles,

the yellow one on the left is 8 months old and the paint flakes of when touched as its as rusty as the original underneath, its also been taken out to replace them again as they have sagged quite badly not bad for only 5k miles

guess modern springs are sh1t then.

[M'coli]

springs do go rusty after a while, then the rust spots become stress raisers and they bust!.

 

yup they like to rust but bust due to the rust i dont know

The rust will cause stress corrosion cracking, the spring fractures in a brittle manner, i.e. suddenly with little warning.

[garbaldy]

The rust will cause stress corrosion cracking, the spring fractures in a brittle manner, i.e. suddenly with little warning.

 

take it this just affects newer stock the

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

springs do go rusty after a while, then the rust spots become stress raisers and they bust! Sadly thats just another of the many ways an old banger can spice up your day.

doesn't need to be an old banger - 18 months old my smart was when the first spring broke - four years when the second one did it.

 

My sister's 54 plate Fiesta broke a spring. Set off on the quarter mile trip to the garage and the spring on the other side snapped immediately. The springs still looked 'new'.

[The Moog]

Saabs NG900 onwards had an issue with springs. Mainly seemed to be down to thinner steel / reducing cost.

[pandamonium]

Just cut the rest to match

[504GL]

Family trip to my mums across Edinburgh...drove off to go home horrible noise from front nearside ...swear...pull over....unload car...jack car up torch on...bollocks sheared spring!

 

Family home in taxi now waiting for rac.

 

So..anyone got a 2ndhand strut assembly for a 2000 legacy?

 

 

Ps..this doesn't happen with B X s!

 

If you don't have any luck, try www.uklegacy.com

 

My 406 did the same thing when it was laid up for 8 months with HGF. The spring broke while it was parked and I drove to the garage to have the head gasket sorted with smoke pouring off the tyre where the spring was shredding the sidewall. The steam from the HGF covered up the smoke coming off the tyre. Grrrrr.

[scooters]

started work on it at 8.00am

 

WD40, breaker bar - much swearing later I got the strut out....only mishap was a 19mm socket disintegrated on me - split in two - when I had full welly breaker bar on pressure causing my middle finger on my right hand to be crushed between bar and strut - huge swearing - latex glove full of blood - big bruise - bloody sore.

 

OK - so now I need a new spring -

 

question - do I need to replace both front springs at the same time? I am thinking yes but thought I would ask.

 

cheers

 

Rich

[Mr_Bo11ox]

I had a torsion bar snap on my Talbot Alp once, the car was just parked up, it snapped on a super cold night. not sure if the temp had anything to do with it. Took a long time to track down a replacement as well, (pre-internet)

[504GL]

started work on it at 8.00am

 

WD40, breaker bar - much swearing later I got the strut out....only mishap was a 19mm socket disintegrated on me - split in two - when I had full welly breaker bar on pressure causing my middle finger on my right hand to be crushed between bar and strut - huge swearing - latex glove full of blood - big bruise - bloody sore.

 

OK - so now I need a new spring -

 

question - do I need to replace both front springs at the same time? I am thinking yes but thought I would ask.

 

cheers

 

Rich

 

Personally I would change both springs if it were me.

[M'coli]

I'd replace both as preventive maintenance - although the unbroken one may outlast the car itself, I don't think I'd be tempted to try to find out!

[scooters]

thanks folks - appreciate advice - as it's the family wheelz I will spend the extra 50 quid on another spring - the good news is that the shocks and strut mountings all look pretty solid!

[504GL]

thanks folks - appreciate advice - as it's the family wheelz I will spend the extra 50 quid on another spring - the good news is that the shocks and strut mountings all look pretty solid!

 

As I said before the guys on www.uklegacy.com are really a great crowd and there are some suppliers on there who do quality parts for decent prices

 

I've ordered some stuff from Import Car Parts before and Mark did free shipping and the stuff was well priced too

 

http://www.uklegacy.com/forums/index.ph ... &p=322386&

 

http://www.importcarparts.co.uk

[DSdriver]

question - do I need to replace both front springs at the same time? I am thinking yes but thought I would ask.

 

erm... How many fingers have you got left?