Transport blocks left in

[OccySport]

6 minutes ago, Sossages said:

The garage has done the work - or at least what they deemed was required. There appears to be much what to me looks like epoxy glue (grey colour) at the top of the wheel arch where the strut is attached. Is this normal or is it a repair? Thank you for your help 

07165C2D-C1BD-495F-B533-874F314814C4_1_201_a.heic 975.85 kB · 1 download

Looks like seam sealer & I wouldn't worry if its the same the other side.

 

Do you know if the garage replaced all the nuts & bolts when refixing the shocks?

[Sossages]

4 minutes ago, OccySport said:

Looks like seam sealer & I wouldn't worry if its the same the other side.

 

Do you know if the garage replaced all the nuts & bolts when refixing the shocks?

I wasn't shown the other side and it would be very difficult for me to see with the wheel in place. I sincerely hope it is as you suggest and not a bodge repair.

 

They did and made great ceremony of handing me the old ones in a plastic bag, explaining the threads may have stretched or something.

[OccySport]

1 minute ago, Sossages said:

I wasn't shown the other side and it would be very difficult for me to see with the wheel in place. I sincerely hope it is as you suggest and not a bodge repair.

 

They did and made great ceremony of handing me the old ones in a plastic bag, explaining the threads may have stretched or something.

All cars have seam sealer & its probably grey because they dont paint the underside what you cant see.

 

Doesn't look like I'll be doing mine this weekend then because I dont have new fixings but I think you have saved me a future headache by letting me know that the bolts need changing.

[Sossages]

7 minutes ago, OccySport said:

All cars have seam sealer & its probably grey because they dont paint the underside what you cant see.

 

Doesn't look like I'll be doing mine this weekend then because I dont have new fixings but I think you have saved me a future headache by letting me know that the bolts need changing.

My pleasure Sir. These are the bolts I was given to play with 

[Ootohere]

@Sossages  Were you assuming that an After sales Manager, Area Warranty Manager or even a Workshop manager would be a trained or qualified technician?

That would be an error.  

[OccySport]

10 minutes ago, Sossages said:

My pleasure Sir. These are the bolts I was given to play with 

Thanks for the pic, at least I know what they look like now & what to expect. I will try & source some tomorrow & it could turn out to be a good Friday for me.

[Sossages]

3 minutes ago, roottoot said:

@Sossages  Were you assuming that an After sales Manager, Area Warranty Manager or even a Workshop manager would be a trained or qualified technician?

That would be an error.  

Indeed as I have found out the hard way. The two I have personal experience of I conclude are only skilled at denying the undeniable. Imo they have such a lack of integrity that if they swallowed a nail they would excrete a corkscrew. Both swung between claiming they were and they weren't qualified as suited. At the 1st dealer I suspect it was only the After Sales Manager who inspected the car and couldn't find the blocks(?) and not a technician as I had previously been led to believe it would be

[Sossages]

9 minutes ago, OccySport said:

Thanks for the pic, at least I know what they look like now & what to expect. I will try & source some tomorrow & it could turn out to be a good Friday for me.

When you get your alignment checked where are you going? Local garage or specifically a VW approved 4 wheel fancy alignment check?

[OccySport]

4 minutes ago, Sossages said:

When you get your alignment checked where are you going? Local garage or specifically a VW approved 4 wheel fancy alignment check?

I'm going to a place called Wheel alignment solutions in Southampton & I have it booked in for next Friday at 3pm, its a distance to travel being 90 miles away but they are very highly rated on Pistonheads & I am taking my son back to Southampton University anyway.

[numskull]

Given where you’re getting the alignment undertaken, was the dealership in question Hendys?

[Sossages]

1 minute ago, numskull said:

Given where you’re getting the alignment undertaken, was the dealership in question Hendys?

Not sure you are asking me or OccySport. If me then no.

[OccySport]

31 minutes ago, numskull said:

Given where you’re getting the alignment undertaken, was the dealership in question Hendys?

No never been to Hendys, I'm getting my alignment done in Southampton because of the good things Ive heard about them & I'm doing the job soon because I have to go to Southampton next week anyway. Achieve 2 important things in 1 day.

[numskull]

Ignore me; been up for 37 hours and zero sleep…. 

[KenONeill]

@Sossages - despite some of the statements in this thread, transport blocks lock the suspension extended and hence with excess positive camber, which might cause damage on the outside shoulders.

[OccySport]

12 minutes ago, numskull said:

Ignore me; been up for 37 hours and zero sleep…. 

Any replies are a help because you guys that have been on here the longest will know more whilst us newbies are still learning.

 

Are you trying to break a record of no sleep & have you spent your time wisely on this forum I wonder 🤣

[J.R.]

55 minutes ago, KenONeill said:

@Sossages - despite some of the statements in this thread, transport blocks lock the suspension extended and hence with excess positive camber, which might cause damage on the outside shoulders.

 

They do not, in any case the difference in camber angle is minimal and happens every time the vehicle corners one strut extending the other compressing.

 

From the initial photographs I was going to say that the tyre wear looks no different to how all of the front tyres have worn on all of my Skodas, losing a little bit of the radial tread pattern on the inside compared to the outside, never enough for the tyre to become illegal before getting down to the minimum tread depth, however the photograph of the two tyres side by side is compelling.

 

Something is wrong but simply saying that the problem is clearly a result of the transport blocks being in place does not make it so, I join the others in asking how could you possibly have driven a new car like that for 16000 miles without realising that something was very amiss?

 

As an aside the top bearings looked to be in good servicable condition but its good that they have replaced them, not sure if they have replaced the springs and struts but there would be no need to, they have not done any work yet 🤣

Edited 14 April, 2022 by J.R.

[Legion]

Agree, A spacer at the top of the strut shaft, not in contact with the dampener body, does nothing. Its only if you hit something you'll have reduced travel.

 

Its hard to tell from the photo be are those two tyres in the picture the same rolling diameter?

Edited 15 April, 2022 by Legion

[Sossages]

7 hours ago, Legion said:

Agree, A spacer at the top of the strut shaft, not in contact with the dampener body, does nothing. Its only if you hit something you'll have reduced travel.

 

Its hard to tell from the photo be are those two tyres in the picture the same rolling diameter?

The two tyres pictured are the original tyres as supplied with the car. They both measure 4mm tread depth across the tread

[Sossages]

17 hours ago, J.R. said:

 

They do not, in any case the difference in camber angle is minimal and happens every time the vehicle corners one strut extending the other compressing.

 

From the initial photographs I was going to say that the tyre wear looks no different to how all of the front tyres have worn on all of my Skodas, losing a little bit of the radial tread pattern on the inside compared to the outside, never enough for the tyre to become illegal before getting down to the minimum tread depth, however the photograph of the two tyres side by side is compelling.

 

Something is wrong but simply saying that the problem is clearly a result of the transport blocks being in place does not make it so, I join the others in asking how could you possibly have driven a new car like that for 16000 miles without realising that something was very amiss?

 

As an aside the top bearings looked to be in good servicable condition but its good that they have replaced them, not sure if they have replaced the springs and struts but there would be no need to, they have not done any work yet 🤣

Both the first Skoda dealer to examine the car (not the supplying dealer) and the Halfords manager when fitting the tyres unequivocally blamed the suspension issue for the tyre wear, only the Skoda dealer wasn't either prepared to tell me or genuinely hadn't spotted the blocks, claiming not to know what the problem was. I can only go to the supplying dealer with advice I have been given. I further add that when the Halfords manager inspected the car, he did so with a Skoda Master Technician from this 1st dealer on live video and that was their joint conclusion, having found the blocks. If the argument, as the supplying dealer is now arguing, is that it may be pothole damage then surely it is logical that limited suspension travel would be a major contributing factor.

I have not driven the car for 16,000 miles without realising. The car had 3,500 miles when I bought it last year and I reported the issue to the dealer as it became obvious last year. It has taken until now, after the car has been independently inspected, for the supplying dealer to be prepared to inspect the car themselves without charging me £120 to discover their own incompetence. They sold me the car, not letting me even sit in it let alone test drive it before purchase due to Covid with the promise that if there were any problems they would sort them without quibble and that the car still had 2 1/2 years warranty. When I advised them of the problem they first palmed me off onto roadside assistance and then wanted to charge me to inspect as they said Skoda wouldn't cover such under warranty, all in direct contradiction to their promise at point of sale.

The bearings are not in good serviceable condition. I have them here in my hand right now and it does not rotate smoothly. If you look at the photo you can clearly see both a bend damage and also that one side has been compressed, in reality crushed, whilst the other, dirty, side wasn't in contact. It's knackered.

[Legion]

To me it looks like something is rubbing on the tyre. 

 

Factory wheels?

 

Whats the tyre dimensions?

 

Is it on the inside of the tyre or outside?

 

Are you using spacers?

 

[Sossages]

1 minute ago, Legion said:

To me it looks like something is rubbing on the tyre. 

 

Factory wheels?

 

Whats the tyre dimensions?

 

Is it on the inside of the tyre or outside?

 

Are you using spacers?

 

That also occurred to me as a possibility. Yes full factory standard Sportline spec. Inside shoulder wear.

[Legion]

Google shows up quite a few Briskoda links to similar wear. What do you think?

 

 

 

[Sossages]

10 minutes ago, Legion said:

Google shows up quite a few Briskoda links to similar wear. What do you think?

 

 

 

Interesting, certainly similar. Thank's

[ChrisJ944]

You do have a claim against the garage for leaving the transport blocks in.  The transport blocks reduce the travel available on the shock absorbers.  This means that the car will be more likely to bottom out on its suspension and sustain damage when bumps or potholes are encountered.

 

From the damage to the bump stop (the yellow bit), it can be seen that the suspension has bottomed out at least once in quite a severe fashion.  I would support the garage's assertion that this could be pothole damage.  This is not solely a consequence of leaving the transport blocks in.

 

The effect of bottoming out the suspension is that it is no longer protecting other components from shock loading.  So there could be associated damage/misalignment of non suspension components incurred from the shock loading of pothole damage incident(s).

 

In summary, the damage is most likely from one or more pothole incidents, but the damage sustained was more likely to occur and more severe due to the transport blocks being left in.

 

Tyre Wear

 

There may be a designed in camber with the sporty versions which causes the tyres to wear unevenly, and driving style also plays into it a lot.  If it is the same on both sides, I'd say it was deliberate, but if one tyre is different I'd be looking for a problem.

 

Wheel Arch Sealant

 

I haven't had the shocks out on a Superb, but I have never seen sealant there on any other car - though every car is different.  I would open the bonnet and remove the trim from the vicinity of the strut mount bolts to get a good look at the metal in that area.  I would be tempted to drop the other strut to take a look at the other side as someone else mentioned above.  It could just be what Skoda does to them, but given the other damage I would want to reassure myself or I would never be happy driving the car.