Once again I got reminded that I should never let anyone do anything on my car.

My front spring broke.

Tried to change it and pinchbolt had me over.

Took the car to a garage who took it out but burnt my upper arms boots.

I fitted new arms.

For that reason I needed a realignment.

Took car for realignment and tie rods were seized on.

They replaced with new tie rods.

Today the car failed MOT because of the boots coming off the tie rods on the inner ends.

Rant over.

 

It's incredible how it can all start from a simple thing and lead to a series of issues.

I plan to take it back to that Indy place and get them to fix the boots - but as ever the complication is taking time off work etc etc.

I considered for the sake of simplicity getting a pair of new boots and fitting them myself one evening.

Is there a way of doing this without upsetting the tracking?

Moral: Find the weak points of a car and address them when it's young. Greasing the pinch bolts and their bores can be done without even jacking up the car or taking the wheel off. 10 minutes per side per year.

 

rotodiesel.

Moral: Find the weak points of a car and address them when it's young. Greasing the pinch bolts and their bores can be done without even jacking up the car or taking the wheel off. 10 minutes per side per year.

 

rotodiesel.

With what then? WD40?

Grease, annually - as detailed above.

 

rotodiesel.

Sorry i just can't seem to find out how that is possible without removing the tire. Probably just me.

Most likely me as well.  

Ring spanner on bolt head, socket, UJ and extension on the nut. (16" wheels, standard suspension). Remove nut, and extract bolt with a pin punch and light hammer.

 

rotodiesel.

damn roto i'm thinking how long it took you to find this out together with all the other knowledge you carry around about the Superb. 

Needless to say my pinch bolts are getting an annual grease-up lovingly....

Boot fixed by the same garage today FOC.

Rebooking the MOT tomorrow...

 I greased my pinch bolts 5 years ago with copperslip , both front springs broke this year , the garage mechanic was amazed when he had everything apart in 10 minutes . He said this was the first time he's ever got the bolts out in one piece

My good mate is coming round on Saturday to replace the boots on mine. They were only done a couple of years ago, but are looking perished now so probably need doing before the winter. Bolts were coppa slipped last time they were done, so fingers  crossed.

 

We're also fitting new Bilstein B4 shocks all round the car, so will give some feedback on how they feel.

 

I'm not oversure the car needs a need set of shocks, but at £183 for all 4  (including VAT and delivery), in a moment of weakness, I figured it was worth the money to find out if I could recover that "factory fresh" suspension feeling.

Use copper slip lasts for ages,

 

And roto is now up for services to superbs award, he's been listing this little tip for at least 5 years now, and a darn fine tip it is too.

Just an update to say that the replacement of all the shock absorbers with new Bilstein B4s has resulted in a massive improvement in handling and ride comfort and I can't think of anything that could give a better benefit / cost ratio.

 

Things I've noticed:

 

The two shocks from the front which were taken off could be pushed all the way down and then stayed down ... there was no attempt to return to the normal position, and even after a couple of days, they have only returned about half way up the stroke. There was no leaking and the car seemed OK on the "bounce and settle test" prior to changing them.

 

The rears were better than the fronts and would start to return immediately when pushed all the way down.

 

The front B4s are a larger diameter than the ones we took off and this prompted a moment's panic when we thought that we had to use the old spring base fitting ..... which wouldn't fit over the new shock. Luckily, we checked the box again and found the new base lurking in the bottom. Panic over.

 

The difference in driving the car is immense and that "factory fresh" suspension feel is now back again. The car "seems" higher at the front (though I can't see why that should be), potholes are now "gently felt and heard"  rather than "thumping" their presence into my senses, roundabouts are a joy and corner speeds are higher as there is much reduced body roll.

 

Confidence is increased as the car now doesn't have that nervousness prior to corners as it tries to decide which way to shift the weight, and I know that if I chuck it in  and turn the wheel, the body roll is much less and it feels much more secure.

 

Steering has improved and the car doesn't seem to follow undulations in the road like it had begun to.

 

Fuel consumption also seems to have impoved a tad, though I have no idea why that should be ..... unless it's to do with the higher corner speeds and reduced braking prior to a corner?

 

All in all, I'm chuffed to bits and have fallen in love with the car again!!