hi my 2001 1.9tdi octavia failed its mot because the nearside front suspension armhas excessive play in a ball joint. does anyone know how much i should expect to pay to get this fixed?

also said the nearside outer track rod end joint cover is split/missing -- whats that???

thanks guys and girls!

CHRIS

By ball joint I'm guessing they mean the ball joint between the end of the wishbone and the upright. 3 bolts hold it to the wishbone, and a nut holding it onto the upright, but it needs to be pushed out of the upright for replacement. No idea on cost I'm afraid. At a guess I'd say £20 for the joint and maybe 1 or 2 hours to do it, so £100 tops (complete guess!)? It's not a massive job for someone with the right tools, but I think the strut and upright need to come off to be able to do it.

I'd be tempted to check the joint myself, before getting it replaced. Jack the wheel up off the ground and try to move the wishbone up and down at the joint, and try and move the wheel in and out while watching the joint for play.

Not sure about the track rod end joint cover. Is there one?! I thought you just have the main boots either side of the rack, where the rods come out. I guess just check the boots, and replace them if they're split.

if i was technically minded and knew what was what Id check but im not so hence went to a garage! Kwik fit who tested car quoted me £112 but skoda £58!

Ah beware of Kwik Fit mate! Very shady operation.

They are very very well known for making up faults for the money. Go to Skoda for piece of mind, and by the looks of things, a cost saving!

Kwik Fit are renowned for puncturing tyres, loosening oil filters and sqeezing fresh oil on your dampers to make them look like they are leaking. So watch out for those things.

I'd ask Skoda to give your suspension and steering a quick inspection while they're at it, to check everything is in order.

£58 sounds like a great price to me anyway.

£58 sounds very cheap for a dealer to supply and fit a ball joint and trackrod end.

Don't forget you will need to get the tracking checked if they change the trackrod end (not sure if you can get just a replacement boot)

if i was technically minded and knew what was what Id check but im not so hence went to a garage! Kwik fit who tested car quoted me £112 but skoda £58!

And there, in those two simple words, do we see what the real problem is. Kwik Fit? Kwik Fit-up more like.

Just ask Skoda, or any other garage, to do a quick check on play in the joint. If you did have excessive play wouldn't you have noticed the car groaning and juddering round bends?

Unless you are about to sell the car, do it properly. These cars have a terrible weakness in the front arm rear bush. Also, if one side has gone (joint) the other side probably won't be far away. Genuine joints last a lot longer than pattern, for a reasonable amount of money I would recomend the following:

new lower ball joints (genuine) both sides

New lower arm rear bushes (the weak ones, the front bushes last) in SuperPro Poly.

Tracking (should be checked and most likely need adjusting after, as play in the joint puts it out as does replacing joints/bushes).

The lot should set you back less than £150 and take care of both sides giving you a nice, much more solid drive and good for the next few mot's, not just this one. If you want to spend a few pounds more, you can also have the front lower arm bushes done in superpro poly, they are not much extra.

The cheapest option is one new pattern arm, this is a whole arm including bushes and ball joint, less labour to fit than a joint alone! £25. HOWEVER, sometimes they only last a year or so before the pattern ball joints go and the bushes are standard (weak) ones, so it's not an upgrade from stock, it's a cheap version of stock. But it will fix it, cheap, and be good for a while.

As I said, I'd go superpro every time and I only use genuine joints, however I understand there is a difference between selling a car on/pushing through the mot and really looing after it and it all depends what your needs are.

Greg.