Hi everyone, this is my first post so try to bare with me.

Today while driving my Fabia (1.4 MPi) i hit a very large Hare on the Front offside of the car, i didnt think anything was damaged but i've since had a look under the wheel arches and something is very wrong. The Spring on the suspension unit has either pushed past or broken the collar at the top of the suspension strut where it usually sits, and is now resting on the top mounting point where the strut is bolted under the bonnet.

It must have been about to go as it drove fine for 30 miles after the impact, then when reversing out of the works carpark there was a Very loud and very comical "sproiinnnggg" noise, which i presume was the spring.

The collar (or cup i could presume it would be called) which holds the spring is still there, sort of 'inside' the spring, sitting at an obscure angle. I'm quite a mechanically minded person (i usually ride very unreliable motorbikes) and dont mind taking on a challenge, so can anyone tell me whats likely to have caused this failure and if its worth trying to fix it myself? would i need any special tools beyond my normal toolkit? I presume a new strut/spring assembly will probably be required, and i guess that sods law dictates that both left and right sides should probably be changed at the same time... unless anyone has any suggestions?

Thanks, Dave.

Had a similar problem on my octy a few weeks ago. I don't know about the furby but on the octy only the topmost coil of the suspension spring is actually small enough to sit against the cup of the strut. If this top 'coil' breaks off like it did on mine [and it sounds like it has on yours] then the spring is free to slide up past the strut cup and wedge itself against the inside of the turret under the wing. The strut is likely to be fine. I have a thread on here with some piccies.. http://www.briskoda.net/forums/maintenance-performance/front-spring/91572/

In my case I just had to replace the spring as the sturt was okay.I think your problem might be the same but if you can get a couple of piccies up it would help us. Normally 'replacement on both sides' applies for when you are replacing the strut units which contain the integral damper unit as both sides need to have dampers in the same condition. If you are replacing only the spring then you can generally get away with only doing one side unless your car/springs are very old and starting to sag. IMHO you would be better replacing just the one spring then measuring the ride height of the car on both sides. If the 'old side' is sitting lower than the new side then the old spring has sagged and will need replacing as well ...to be honest though, these days I don't think front springs are likely to sag unless they are very old.

It's very difficult to second guess without being able to see it. (Pictures?) I'd be tempted to say that the top of the spring gas broken off if the three bolts in the engine bay are still intact.

The setup on the top of the Fabia is slightly different to that of the Octy.

You'll get an idea of what it should look like here -

Fabia-vrs.com - Eibach -25mm Lowering Suspension

Blimey ..I think the Octy setup is far more 'user' friendly...

Hi there, thanks for the quick replies, @ VRStu, i've looked at the pictures shown there and in the exploded diagram of the suspension strut i can see that part number 8 is called the 'Strut top bearing' (which makes sense). This isnt where it should be on the suspension strut, its sitting at a funny angle higher up than it should be, and the spring has gone over the top of it, which as JRHartley described may mean that the spring has broken (i think the broken bit may have fallen off as last night when driving home there was a clunk as something hit the floorpan and bounced down the road when i'd gone over a small bump).

Suprisingly the ride height doesnt seem to have been affected, and the damper still seems to be working fine. How much should i expect to pay for a new spring? Also, the special tools, will i need the hub spreading tool? I know i'll need a set of spring compressors, how much should i expect to pay for a set of these? i'd usually make myself a set since they look fairly simple and i have access to the various components, but to be frank i just want to get the job done.

Thanks for your help guys, the job seems less scary now. Dave.

You can get by without the hub spreading tool, but it is much easier with it. If the spring is broken and not just unseated, you might also want to replace the other side spring too so that they're both the same age.

Chris

as last night when driving home there was a clunk as something hit the floorpan and bounced down the road when i'd gone over a small bump).

that might have been the Hare ..mind you I bet it beat the tortoise this time..

Suprisingly the ride height doesnt seem to have been affected, and the damper still seems to be working fine. How much should i expect to pay for a new spring? Also, the special tools, will i need the hub spreading tool? I know i'll need a set of spring compressors, how much should i expect to pay for a set of these? i'd usually make myself a set since they look fairly simple and i have access to the various components, but to be frank i just want to get the job done.

Thanks for your help guys, the job seems less scary now. Dave.

I would get hold of the spreading tool as it will make the job far easier..believe me I know..

A new spring from skoda should be around £50 and a set of spring compressors can be got for about £20 ... with regard to these i would get the best quaility you can afford .. on the principle of 'a cheap spanner will slip and take the skin off your knuckles ' , 'a cheap spring compressor will send a car spring through your face and out of the back of your head'

Wise words

with regard to these i would get the best quaility you can afford .. on the principle of 'a cheap spanner will slip and take the skin off your knuckles ' , 'a cheap spring compressor will send a car spring through your face and out of the back of your head'

that might have been the Hare ..mind you I bet it beat the tortoise this time..

I would get hold of the spreading tool as it will make the job far easier..believe me I know..

A new spring from skoda should be around £50 and a set of spring compressors can be got for about £20 ... with regard to these i would get the best quaility you can afford .. on the principle of 'a cheap spanner will slip and take the skin off your knuckles ' , 'a cheap spring compressor will send a car spring through your face and out of the back of your head'

hmm... nope, the hare was still there, well... mostly anyway, when i passed by later. Plus i checked under the car when i reached work just after the impact. It may have beat the tortoise, but it certainly wont be enjoying a celebratory drink.

I just checked with my local car spares place, they can get me a new spring, next day for £35.99 and apparently they keep a couple of grades of spring compressor, starting at £16 up to about £30. Your cheap spring compressor analogy just had me chuckling away to myself with my work colleagues looking on with some bemusement, well done, but also quite true. Now i've got to find some time to get the stuff and do this job... *sigh*

Cheers, Dave.

My recomendation would be -

Order a new bearing an top mount from Skoda, these are easily damaged and you'll kick yourself if you get it all apart and need one.

Get yourself a new spring (if you are getting one from a factors I think it would be wise to change both as they will be a different manufacturer - I would replace both either way if it were me)

Order the splitter tool from VW - I have posted the part number before. It'll be about £12 less any discount you can get.

Get yourself a Haynes if you don't have one.

Finally take your car for an alignment check after doing the job.

My recomendation would be -

Order a new bearing an top mount from Skoda, these are easily damaged and you'll kick yourself if you get it all apart and need one.

agree with that , only cheap as well , approx £10 , plus get some new bolts , as they have been known to break or strip the threads

Ok, i jacked up the car tonight and had a look at whats gone wrong, the spring has indeed snapped and slipped past the top bearing, i presume the clunk i heard previously was the other bit of spring escaping. The bearing is fine, and nothing else appears to be damaged around that area.

so tomorrow i will order a new spring, buy the compressors and see about getting a splitting tool (does anyone have the part number handy?). With any luck i'll get it done by sunday when i have to pick up my parents from the airport .

Cheers! Dave.

I really think that you should heed the advice wrt the top bearing assembly as its almost certain to fall apart when you take things to bits - you'll just end up with top part and bottom part and quite a few ball bearings missing. If you are splitting the hub you should really change the clamping bolt and nut (its head is spline M14 by the way not Torx as the parts listing inferes). Also get Haynes manual as advised already - I think that it guides you as to which bolts etc should be replaced and not reused. Slacked off the strut top nut before taking the weight off the wheels - might find a spark plug socket with a hex head will do the job (while letting you fit a key to the strut to stop it rotating. These tapered springs are a bit of a pain for the DIY'r to compress - I ended up buying a new longer three clamp set AND using an old shorter two clamp set to allow me to reposition the longer ones after the initial compressing.

see about getting a splitting tool (does anyone have the part number handy?).

VW Special Tool 3424

Chris

For the price of the part I think you'd be a fool to not buy the top mount and bearing set. Also the bolts that Ric mentioned and I forgot.