Spring coil failure
Discussion
Last night the front left spring coil failed slipping all the way down past the guard plate. It felt like I went over a massive pothole. No damage was done to the tyre and managed to get home from the countryside driving fairly slowly just to be sure. The car is sitting fairly low over the tyre, with just 1-2cm of clearance space.
The plan is to get both front coils replaced at a garage near work (thats +8 more miles to drive, not that I have much choice). Should I be aware of any other invisible damage (shock absorbers or else?), and what sort of price range would I expect? Thanks.
The plan is to get both front coils replaced at a garage near work (thats +8 more miles to drive, not that I have much choice). Should I be aware of any other invisible damage (shock absorbers or else?), and what sort of price range would I expect? Thanks.
No idea on cost because prices vary from garage to garage.
If it's dropped that far then I'd consider getting it recovered, I've seen plenty of times where the broken end of the coil spring damages the brake hose leaving little in the way of brakes. Even other items like anti roll bar links can be bent or ABS wiring damaged too.
If it's dropped that far then I'd consider getting it recovered, I've seen plenty of times where the broken end of the coil spring damages the brake hose leaving little in the way of brakes. Even other items like anti roll bar links can be bent or ABS wiring damaged too.
cambiker71 said:
No idea on cost because prices vary from garage to garage.
If it's dropped that far then I'd consider getting it recovered, I've seen plenty of times where the broken end of the coil spring damages the brake hose leaving little in the way of brakes. Even other items like anti roll bar links can be bent or ABS wiring damaged too.
I am not sure about "broken end". It seems like it slipped down all in one piece all I can see?If it's dropped that far then I'd consider getting it recovered, I've seen plenty of times where the broken end of the coil spring damages the brake hose leaving little in the way of brakes. Even other items like anti roll bar links can be bent or ABS wiring damaged too.
dtr said:
cambiker71 said:
No idea on cost because prices vary from garage to garage.
If it's dropped that far then I'd consider getting it recovered, I've seen plenty of times where the broken end of the coil spring damages the brake hose leaving little in the way of brakes. Even other items like anti roll bar links can be bent or ABS wiring damaged too.
I am not sure about "broken end". It seems like it slipped down all in one piece all I can see?If it's dropped that far then I'd consider getting it recovered, I've seen plenty of times where the broken end of the coil spring damages the brake hose leaving little in the way of brakes. Even other items like anti roll bar links can be bent or ABS wiring damaged too.
Leave early for work tomorrow and slowly drive a mile then ring your breakdown company and get it recovered to the garage near your work.(unless you have home start, in which case call them from home)
cambiker71 said:
I'm only guessing but usually the bottom coil will have broken off which is the locating coil, that's why it's slipped over the spring plate. If you're really unlucky the side of the coil spring will be just about touching the tyre and will rub through the sidewall leading to a blow out too.
Leave early for work tomorrow and slowly drive a mile then ring your breakdown company and get it recovered to the garage near your work.(unless you have home start, in which case call them from home)
All good points. There are 2 garages just 1 mile from me, hopefully one can do it first thing in the morning in an hour or two...Leave early for work tomorrow and slowly drive a mile then ring your breakdown company and get it recovered to the garage near your work.(unless you have home start, in which case call them from home)
I wonder if the plate, or whatever was holding the plate in place has failed. I couldn't get clear enough view myself.
cambiker71 said:
No idea on cost because prices vary from garage to garage.
If it's dropped that far then I'd consider getting it recovered, I've seen plenty of times where the broken end of the coil spring damages the brake hose leaving little in the way of brakes. Even other items like anti roll bar links can be bent or ABS wiring damaged too.
I'v seen broken springs impale the tyre !!If it's dropped that far then I'd consider getting it recovered, I've seen plenty of times where the broken end of the coil spring damages the brake hose leaving little in the way of brakes. Even other items like anti roll bar links can be bent or ABS wiring damaged too.
Usually french cars where the lower spring platform is just flat, so no real retention ability whatsoever
As for cost...no mention of type of car etc, so no chance of guessing
As is so often the case the vehical in question is super secret so must be from Q branch i assume ? aston or lotus ???
I've had a few Ka in where the spring has snapped and punctured the tyre, and clios where it took the brake pipe out and an astra where it missed everything cos it stayed seated.
Some cars are easy to get the strut out (bolt in) some are harder cos the slide into the hub and rust in place, i did a sierra last week took me an hour to get the strut out the hub where as the civic took me 10 mins from on the car to in the vice.
I've had a few Ka in where the spring has snapped and punctured the tyre, and clios where it took the brake pipe out and an astra where it missed everything cos it stayed seated.
Some cars are easy to get the strut out (bolt in) some are harder cos the slide into the hub and rust in place, i did a sierra last week took me an hour to get the strut out the hub where as the civic took me 10 mins from on the car to in the vice.
S0 What said:
As is so often the case the vehical in question is super secret so must be from Q branch i assume ? aston or lotus ???
I've had a few Ka in where the spring has snapped and punctured the tyre, and clios where it took the brake pipe out and an astra where it missed everything cos it stayed seated.
Some cars are easy to get the strut out (bolt in) some are harder cos the slide into the hub and rust in place, i did a sierra last week took me an hour to get the strut out the hub where as the civic took me 10 mins from on the car to in the vice.
LOLI've had a few Ka in where the spring has snapped and punctured the tyre, and clios where it took the brake pipe out and an astra where it missed everything cos it stayed seated.
Some cars are easy to get the strut out (bolt in) some are harder cos the slide into the hub and rust in place, i did a sierra last week took me an hour to get the strut out the hub where as the civic took me 10 mins from on the car to in the vice.
This awful money eating machine. I should have sold it last year.
Well, I have paid out a hefty sum like it was a lambo, and it only received a new pair of springs and connecting rubber... (just short of £400!!!! probably VW main dealer was cheaper)
But there is now a new problem. I now have a yellow steering wheel warning light on the dashboard, and it wasn't there when I got there. When I found it and complained, I was told to come back tomorrow. They admitted seeing it, but couldn't understand what it was. It seems to drive OK-ish after a mile, not really sure... I tried scanning with cheap ELM OBD kit and got NO codes. Weird.
Is it possible they knocked off some sensor wire or instead maybe wheels need aligning and full ECU reset? It would help to have some idea if they should sort it out as part of todays service, or if it is something else, or maybe best left to dealers, or someone with wheel tracking facility? Thanks.
But there is now a new problem. I now have a yellow steering wheel warning light on the dashboard, and it wasn't there when I got there. When I found it and complained, I was told to come back tomorrow. They admitted seeing it, but couldn't understand what it was. It seems to drive OK-ish after a mile, not really sure... I tried scanning with cheap ELM OBD kit and got NO codes. Weird.
Is it possible they knocked off some sensor wire or instead maybe wheels need aligning and full ECU reset? It would help to have some idea if they should sort it out as part of todays service, or if it is something else, or maybe best left to dealers, or someone with wheel tracking facility? Thanks.
Edited by dtr on Monday 9th February 18:21
dtr said:
I hope it is this. I am in fact now not 100% convinced they even did tracking. I will check that with them in the morning.
The yellow steering wheel does indeed mean the steering wheel angle sensor needs recalibrating. If I remember correctly, you need to drive at about 5mph and go from lock-stop to lock-stop and then back to centre and it should clear.RacerMike said:
The yellow steering wheel does indeed mean the steering wheel angle sensor needs recalibrating. If I remember correctly, you need to drive at about 5mph and go from lock-stop to lock-stop and then back to centre and it should clear.
I tried that a couple of times - no good. I left the car back in the garage and asked them to rectify this mess, namely tracking and the sensor. Hopefully they don't come up with yet another way to charge over the odds.dtr said:
I tried that a couple of times - no good. I left the car back in the garage and asked them to rectify this mess, namely tracking and the sensor. Hopefully they don't come up with yet another way to charge over the odds.
Hmm. Wonder if they've unwittingly disconnected it or knocked it or something. They're quite often at the end of the steering column by the rack. Best to leave it with them until it's fixed as you have done! On a related note.....the front coil on my Cayman snapped on Saturday. Thankfully didn't do anything other than make a loud 'twang' when I'd parked up! It's not an uncommon issue on many cars. My folks 9-3 did it twice, and it's so common on E46 M3s that BMW tested the car in later life with broken springs to prove to the TUV the car wasn't dangerous when being driven with them snapped!
RacerMike said:
Hmm. Wonder if they've unwittingly disconnected it or knocked it or something. They're quite often at the end of the steering column by the rack. Best to leave it with them until it's fixed as you have done!
On a related note.....the front coil on my Cayman snapped on Saturday. Thankfully didn't do anything other than make a loud 'twang' when I'd parked up! It's not an uncommon issue on many cars. My folks 9-3 did it twice, and it's so common on E46 M3s that BMW tested the car in later life with broken springs to prove to the TUV the car wasn't dangerous when being driven with them snapped!
They are now telling me the sensor is faulty (and good luck replacing steering rack which is NOT happening for that car). On a related note.....the front coil on my Cayman snapped on Saturday. Thankfully didn't do anything other than make a loud 'twang' when I'd parked up! It's not an uncommon issue on many cars. My folks 9-3 did it twice, and it's so common on E46 M3s that BMW tested the car in later life with broken springs to prove to the TUV the car wasn't dangerous when being driven with them snapped!
1. Are they telling porkies (it was never on before they had the car)?
2. Is this an MOT failure?
dtr said:
That's what I've got. The sensor is on the right side, broken spring was on the left. They changed both.
00573 - Steering Torque Sensor (G269)
008 - Implausible Signal
Any ideas what to do because £1.5k whole rack on the car is simply not worth it.
I take it they're claiming that despite doing the tracking and fiddling around with the track rod ends that they couldn't possibly have broken anything? Have you tried clearing the fault to see if it goes away?00573 - Steering Torque Sensor (G269)
008 - Implausible Signal
Any ideas what to do because £1.5k whole rack on the car is simply not worth it.
It would be incredibly unlikely if this magically appeared of it's own accord at the same time as them doing the tracking. If they've been anywhere near the column or rack, I'd be suspicious. Have a look at the sensor and see if it looks like it's been damaged. And also check you've got the same amount of lock right and left. It's possible they could have got the steering out of phase with the rack by a few degrees and then reset the steering wheel on it's spline to compensate. That could cause an implausible signal as the car would be seeing say 5deg of steering lock with zero lateral acceleration (meaning it's going in a straight line) which isn't possible. I'd say that's your best bet.
Good luck!
RacerMike said:
I take it they're claiming that despite doing the tracking and fiddling around with the track rod ends that they couldn't possibly have broken anything? Have you tried clearing the fault to see if it goes away?
They are indeed claiming that. Also, they did not do any tracking, just changed the springs. Does that make direct damage less likely?I am not sure how I will get access to the sensor, however I will get someone else to look at it on Tuesday for a post-mortem diagnosis. Unless it is a wire or fuse issue, my only bet is a very cheap rack from a scrapyard.
I did a google search and there quite a few reports of VW sensors failing after some sort of suspension job... It makes you wonder what is going on.
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