Shock mounts

[Shelby]

Hi I'm a new member and I need help.  I have had my Skoda pickup for about two years.  I've done a few small jobs but I now need both front shock mounts repairing due to corrosion.  I've read there are no repair panels could anyone tell me a ballpark cost for this job?  I have a good local guy but he is like a plumber and sucks air through his teeth and shakes his head a lot every time he sees my little pickup.  Just need to know what to expect.  Cheers.

 

[D.FYLAKTOS]

Depends from the brand and the mechanic who will do the ''refurbish'' work.

Some ask for 1st time the 1/2 or 1/3 of the price of the original and some (if you make many Kms pre year) they give you the promise that next time will ask the half or the price (of the 1st time).

If the guy is famous about suspensisons with good reviews ''go for it'' otherwise buy a new front set (Koni-Kayaba-Sachs), it's more reassuring.

Except the purchase or the refurbish work that which plays the main role is the Fitting.

[Shelby]

Cheers l will take that on board 

[D.FYLAKTOS]

IF the guy knows what he is doing then the results would be very good and you will save money, if he don't they he will make them very stiff and in every pothole your teeth will suffer.

If you don't want to take the risk then buy a new set, simple one not something expensive, Bilstein black for example are good for simple use close to original.

[J.R.]

1 hour ago, D.FYLAKTOS said:

Depends from the brand and the mechanic who will do the ''refurbish'' work.

Some ask for 1st time the 1/2 or 1/3 of the price of the original and some (if you make many Kms pre year) they give you the promise that next time will ask the half or the price (of the 1st time).

If the guy is famous about suspensisons with good reviews ''go for it'' otherwise buy a new front set (Koni-Kayaba-Sachs), it's more reassuring.

Except the purchase or the refurbish work that which plays the main role is the Fitting.

My understanding of the posting is not that he will be replacing the front suspension but having welded repairs to the area around the Macpherson strut top mountings.

[Shelby]

Hi thanks that is what I am referring to Any idea  cheers 👍

[D.FYLAKTOS]

Oh, something like this?

 

 

 

 

[J.R.]

1st video, what a 'kin bodge! 😒

 

Last one looks like a proper welded repair, now going to look at the second one.

[J.R.]

OMG, the second one is even worse 😯

 

After bolting on the bracket which wrecks the structural strength of the chassis rail he makes out he lost the video of the repairs around it which would only have been bodged fibreglass anyway.

 

Then it cuts to him spraying the (not) repaired area under the wheelarch which is simply paper or maybe loft insulation poked around it, you can see it blowing around from the spray underseal 😒 then he utters the memorable words "good as new!" 😯

 

Only in Merica, I used to think the videos I had seen of dodgy vehicles on garage ramps were set ups but having seen these two and knowing that such a bodge kit and its bodge instructions are "Proudly made in America" makes me realise just how many death traps there must be out there.

[Shelby]

Hi thanks but still have no idea of the cost of a good repair would £500 cover it? 

[J.R.]

Nobody can answer that without seeing the extent of the rust.

 

[Shelby]

Thanks for your help l will just have to take it on the chin l have 12month before the next MOT but don't want to spend any money on other jobs till I know the cost of this . Just put alloys and 4 new tyres on just before the MOT .

Novice.But the pickup is staying. ( It did pass the MOT ) 

[R_U_AFA]

The rust can't be that bad if it's passed an MOT test, unless the tester wasn't very observant.

The Felicia front mounting points tend not to rust badly, sometimes a little lower down behind the coolant expansion tank, and air filter box.

It's the rears you should keep an eye on, these seem to rust out for fun on the pick up.

 

On 30/11/2023 at 14:00, Shelby said:

I've read there are no repair panels c

Panels could be cut from a donation vehicle with corrosion free mounts.

Edited 1 December, 2023 by R_U_AFA

[D.FYLAKTOS]

On 30/11/2023 at 16:00, Shelby said:

I've read there are no repair panels

 

Maybe there are aftermarket (although not the same quality as the original) but expensive or you can find from another Felicia which is sold by parts for example was crushed from behind and all the front parts are intact.

[J.R.]

Anyone doing welding repairs will be capable of making a patchwork of pieces of sheet steel to do the job without a repair panel, its what I did from 18-24 to pay my rent and put me through college, most of the time at the side of the road and I had never even seen an angle grinder let alone been able to afford one, it was all done by hand including cutting off the old panels (door sills usually) with a club hammer and bolster chisel.

 

I still have the bolster chisel in my toolbox and use it frequently, each time I pick it up the knuckle of my left index finger winces and says "no more please!" 😒

[J.R.]

If its a cherished classic vehicle you would not want my old type of repairs but that does not seem to be the case with the OP.

 

Like as not it will continue to get the same advisory on MOT's for the next decade without ever having the work done, its taken a quarter of a century for it to become even worth mentioning!

[Shelby]

Thanks for all your help.. looking closer it is only very small amount of corrosion lower down. The tops are fine.. And one side looks good for another good few years.Panic over cheers 🥂