Horror pic - strut disaster

[newbie69]

So today I went to my local car ramp to get the car up and see what was going on with the rear axle and the fact the car was sitting higher at the back. I had also noticed that the right side was around 10mm lower than the left but that didn't alarm me, and here is what I saw -in shock- when I looked under the car (1st picture).  For comparison, the left side is on the 2nd picture and looks fine.

 

As I see it it looks as if the strut has slid off its support and the small bracket which is welded to the absorber has been bended but not cut off. It also looks like its fouling the axle but the weird thing is I'm not getting any vibration or strange feeling to the steering wheel. It certainly looks to have cut through the rubber CV joint where the CV joints, resulting in grease being spilt all over the area...  

 

How on earth could this have happened? Is it possible this was the result of hitting a big pothole? I haven't hit any since I changed the dampers. It looks like a really really goofy installation to say the least. Also, will I be ok to drive some 30KM to the garage or would I better off forget them and call Skoda assistance to the nearer Skoda dealership? I have driven probably 200-300 KM since I received it but I;m guessing the strut was sliding off bit by bit don't know what else to suppose... I am trying to contact the guy that did the installation but today's is a non-working day but I will certainly be outside his garage's front door tomorrow

 

Really ****ed off now...   

[philhoward]

Poor installation - like the bolt holding the strut in wasn't tightened?

[sharkrider]

agreed, the bolt is missing completley! they either forgot it, or didn't tighten it properly :(

 

looks a mess, I'd get your CV joint checked out too....

[32KOFDATA]

Feck! 

[Outofthi5world]

agreed, the bolt is missing completley! they either forgot it, or didn't tighten it properly :(

 

looks a mess, I'd get your CV joint checked out too....

I'd say that going by them picture the bolt is in there, but it just hasn't been tightened properly so instead of the part gripping the other it's been relying entirely on the little metal bit which as it isn't meant to be a sporting bit has just snapped off and is now angled upwards and it's fell down and cut through your CV boot. as said I'd get the joint checked too.

[newbie69]

My only worry is if it has been sliding bit by bit (probably as he would have seen it before delivering it I hope) and whether there is much more "play" remaining to drive safely those 30KM to the garage without the strut falling on my CV joint and breaking in the middle of the road...

[sharkrider]

if it contacts the driveshaft, it could cause gearbox damage by transmitting force.... I'd be careful....

[wiilydog]

As above looks like they forgot to tighten up the bolt or the bolt has failed, they are suppose to be stretch bolts and should be used once. Dont think skoda dealer will touch it being bilstein sport shocks as the bracket will probably need to spot welded back in place.

[wiilydog]

I would not drive it in that condition and ask the garage to tow your car. It will be a nasty accident if your drive shaft breaks and from the pics it looks like quite a bit of grease has escaped from the boot.

Edited 1 May, 2014 by wiilydog

[sharkrider]

the bolt is in, but the nut is missing....

[Ootohere]

I see the nut in the picture ?  

and the appearance of it the Bolt not having been replaced and then torqued.

[sharkrider]

lol... I may be going blind!

[newbie69]

I can't believe such amateurism. And to think I paid 250 euros for the fitting of those... Good news keep on coming, the guy will be closed tomorrow as well so he asked if I could bring it to him on Monday morning!!!

 

I think I will drive it slowly to the nearby ramp and try to: support the strut from below, undo a bit more the nut and then lift the strut at its supposed height and tighten the nut. Only a temporary measure in order to be able to drive it safely to the garage on Monday without risking the strut to fall even lower and damage the CV...

 

PS. Of course the bolt hasn't been replaced, you can tell from the rust on it. Judging from the wheel bolts which were over tightened as I found out when I removed the wheels today, I'd imagine the guy not only used the same bolts be he also over-tightened them. Guess I had it coming...

Edited 1 May, 2014 by newbie69

[wrightcnc2009]

That's shocking workmanship!!! Gutted for you, will definitely be doing the work on mine myself!

[newbie69]

I think this will be the first and last car I am modifying. I've had enough with local crazy policies on aftermarket parts, incompetent personnel and over the top prices. I hope next, i'll be able to buy a car that ticks all the boxes in stock mode and never have to touch it one bit. That or I will have to educate myself on doing work like that. I can't even be sure if this situation can be excluded on tge left side or its a matter of time for it to start going down as well, while I am going up a nearby hill at full speed... right...

[wiilydog]

I've had my fair share of incompetent garages and it's best to go to garages by word of mouth or who specialise in vw/skodas, as last year got a garage to simply replace a cv boot with all the parts supplied and turned out to be a complete nightmare as he ruined the CV joint as he couldn't put the clamp on properly and all the grease leaked out.  The same thing happened again with the replacement CV joint and finally give up and took it to a vw specialist, it's strange you mention over tightened wheel bolts as my incompetent garage was the same.

 

I'm wondering if the bolt has over stretched in the middle by over tightening it, as it is quite strange for a garage to forget to tighten up the bolt, as when I did my shocks I had to torque the pinch bolt nut to 70nm and then a further +90 degrees to stretch the bolt, hence you only use these bolts only once .

Edited 1 May, 2014 by wiilydog

[FAB59]

The CV boot is completely torn, as far as I can tell. You WILL need a new one I'm afraid.

If you do drive it, take it easy, go VERY slowly, have your window down and listen for noises, and stop every now and again for a quick inspection.

This just adds to all the horror stories I've heard or experienced so far from utterly incompetent garages, main dealers included!

I cannot stress enough what a difference it makes to work on your own car, especially if you're an enthusiast. It's really not that hard, with all the information available to us nowadays, online or elsewhere. I do however understand that many people just don't have the time or space.

I'm feeling your pain newbie69. Hope it'll all be sorted soon, without too much hassle.

[iSamage]

This happened to my Mk1!!! When the front struts were replaced, the bolt was correctly in the nut but some numpty had not cleaned it, and it had tightened on what was most likely rust.

New cv boot needed. Luckily there was no other damage to mine...

[newbie69]

Update:

 

The guy acted totally shocked and couldn't give me an explanation, well I say being an incompetent professional sounds enough of an explanation as there was a significant 3-4mm play of the whole bolt-nut assembly when we removed the wheel, meaning it was totally loose. Luckily the strut had not fallen further and damage the actual CV (seems so) because of a small piece which is welded on the strut's body somewhere higher, so it just couldn't fit sliding through the support...

 

Strut was secured back in place and CV boot ordered plus new bolts (as a precaution). Now due to an other issue with the induction the car spent a week at a Skoda delaership and my rendez-vous for the CV boot replacement was pushed for next Thursday. I'll just limit my travels during this time to the absolute necessary, and certainly no fast corners at all even though he said it's ok to run like that for a small period of time...