fun or pickup Rusty suspension tops

[jetbubble]

I love Funs :sun:  And have had quite a few, they have always been reliable, and a great all round car, But the main problem that I have had is, Rusty suspension tops in the rear, I have seen various attempts by people to fix them but some are a lot better than others, However, about seven years ago I bought a fun that had the suspension tops welded In a heavy gauge steel, about 2mm thick, It was a beautiful job, it was a perfect fit all around the problem area, this particular fun was also fitted with a gas conversion, The guy I bought it from said that the welding had been done under warranty by Skoda when it was three years old and had done 130,000 miles  I've never seen one before done so well,, any clues? would this be correct? sorry no pics  I 'me afraid.............

[TeflonTom]

i guess that at some point there must have been a repair panel available for it from skoda, i do rememeber seeing illustrations in the official skoda body repair manual of how to cut and shape the panels to make it fit... stuff like that is long obsolete now sadly but i'm sure that any decent bodyshop could repair those to a decent standard if needed

[robk1]

I've gotta agree 100% and they are a right royal pita!

 

It's a universally common problem & from reading up I seem to remember there was period of recall to help address this but not involving all vehicles. Over the last 5 years I've carried out some repair work at least once a year & typically post winter. The off side holds up pretty well & I've typically had more problems with the near side turret. I suspect to a certain degree over time they trap dirt/moisture and then corrode from the inside out.

 

Tom's right in that any decent body repair/fabricator should be able to apply a good repair, extending the life of the turrets around the key areas.

 

Agree with :love: the Funs!

 

[jonny a]

My (offside) turret top popped off a couple of weeks ago in the afternoon of the last day of summer hols, arse! (I'm a teacher) Needing the truck to get to work, i made a repair using the top from a disposable mig welding gas canister. Nice thick 3-4mm steel. even got a nice pre-centred hole to enlarge. I've got a small pile of them which had been amassed due to my local tip refusing to take them. I cannot reccommend anyone do this, but if you choose to, be very careful and only use empty ones which have had the valve unscrewed.

 

It was only meant to be a temporary fix to get me to work the next day, It has worked well however and I dare say is better than anything I could make from scratch (I am not a pro!)

[keithIOW]

i like your thinking jonny....................

 

if only my teachers had that much common sence

[TeflonTom]

The actual top part where the rubbers are sandwiched around is identical on the hatchback and estate models, you could just cut one off from a scrapper to use but I must admit I do like the idea of using a scrap welding bottle top, the only problem you would have then is having somthing solid to weld it too, the whole area could do with reinforcement to be honest.

[robk1]

^ TBH I hadn't fully appreciated that! Mine don't tend to go in that area & typically suffer worst directly above on the flatter shelf. Went right through it a few weeks back whilst on repairs & to be fair the metal thickness isn't great in that area! 

 

A gas canister top is a first for me though