Hi guys,

 

I'm new here so if this is the wrong place to post this please move to the right location 👍

 

I've recently got my first Skoda after my Kia Ceed was written off because of a fellow road users incompetence behind the wheel but I won't go into that... I have picked up a 2008 Fabia 2 Estate 1.9 PD, I love how it's small and compact on the outside yet delivers room inside and coupled with great fuel economy.

 

I have noticed that the streering isn't very good at all and when running at 70 on the M60 it doesn't feel stable or solid on the road, there is judder in the steering wheel. I have had the wheels balanced and there is no movement in the wheels when I do my best to pull them when the car is on the drive, also when I drive over a speed bump at an acceptable speed the steering wheel would move right or left depending on the speed bump.

 

Recently I had a run in with a crater of a pot hole that blew the tyre, took out the trackrod end and ball joint. The anti roll bar drop link was checked out at the same time and no damage to them were incurred.

 

I took it to my local Halfords Auto centre today to get the tracking done and they rang me to say we can't do it becuase the 'console' bushes are gone and need replacing meaning it would go straight back out of alignment.

 

In everyone's opinion does this sound about right, are the console bushes a common thing to go because of the control arm design?

 

The car has 125k on the clock and FSH, can't find anything in the previous owners documents/receipts to say they have ever been replaced.

 

Any help or advice would be very much appreciated.

 

Thanks

Mark

 

Not sure in particular but generally, that mileage will be quite likely to need bushes, possibly many, in certain areas. Some owners swear by poly bushes if you can get them.I would also expect the battery to be worn out, if not replaced. 

In genreal, the Fabia is a fairly reliable piece of machinery.

changed 3 sets on my Mk1 RS, not done my Mk2 yet but its only done 40k

 

Its a common problem and if on 125k with originals, I would guess they are fubar to be honest.

 

Personally I would avoid poly bushes, the fabia suspension is quite harsh anyway and poly bushes will make it worse.

Thanks for the advice. From doing some research on the suspension design online am I right in saying that it's the console bushes that go before the actual smaller bush in the control arm?

Presumably, with Halfords describing them as console bushes, the arrangement is the earlier one as in the first diagram here, not the second diagram? https://skoda.7zap.com/en/cz/fabia/fab/2008-608/4/

 

The console bush, as shown, isn't part of the control arm at all, the wishbone has a peg that just pokes through the middle of it. Not a hugely successful design, hence the change to the more traditional horizontal bush design on slightly later cars. The front bushes rarely if ever give any trouble.

That's right. The first design.

 

I know Halfords get a bad rep but tracking wise they have never let me down.

 

Managed to get a couple of MOOG bushes from ECP today which should hopefully sort my issue and get my mechanic mate to sort it.

 

Want to chuckle.. Halfords wanted £340 to replace them

Picture of what you've bought?

They can be a pain to fit, especially if someone has previously been there and re-used the main front-to-rear bolt through the front bush of the wishbone. This can result in the bolt binding up on its way out of the alloy casting of the console, requiring much more work to rectify. 

It sounds like the bushes on yours haven't been touched before so you should be OK.

Those front bolts (item 4) and the ones at the outboard ends of the wishbones (item 3), should be renewed. The triple-nut plate things, item 2 often need renewing too.

Edited 19 July, 20205 yr by Wino

Afternoon, thanks for your replies, I managed to get hold of the photos the Halfords autocentre have sent over and I think you all would agree the console bushes are shot. 

 

I'm assuming this would explain the poor sloppy handling, the wheel wobble at 70mpg on the motorway, the poor ride quality and also over all extra bumps on the road?

 

Luckily enough a mechanic friend of mine has the right bush pulley tool and will be replacing them along with the 2 outer CV boots on Wednesday so all in all can't complain and beats the £400 halfords quoted me for the work, the parts cost me a touch over £50 thanks to EuroCarParts never ending sales!