80 MOT Issues (Need Help)

[benpicot]

Hi all

Just tried to MOT my car with Kwikfit and it failed with a hugh list of of faults.

O/S real wheel bearing feels rough
N/S front suspension arm excessive play in pin/bush
O/S front suspension arm excessive play in pin/bush
N/S front anti-roll bar linkage has excessive play in ball joint
O/S front anti-roll bar linkage has excessive play in ball joint

There are a couple of other things but i know how to sort those, wipers, light too low and tracking and that.

My question is could I do this myself? I have done brake pads and disc before. I have had a look at the parts and I looks simple enough, but I am worried about taking the shocks and springs out.

I really cant afford almost £500, they not heard of the credit crunch

Thanks for your help
Ben

[baltiboys2]

Hi all

Just tried to MOT my car with Kwikfit and it failed with a hugh list of of faults.

O/S real wheel bearing feels rough
N/S front suspension arm excessive play in pin/bush
O/S front suspension arm excessive play in pin/bush
N/S front anti-roll bar linkage has excessive play in ball joint
O/S front anti-roll bar linkage has excessive play in ball joint

There are a couple of other things but i know how to sort those, wipers, light too low and tracking and that.

My question is could I do this myself? I have done brake pads and disc before. I have had a look at the parts and I looks simple enough, but I am worried about taking the shocks and springs out.

I really cant afford almost £500, they not heard of the credit crunch

Thanks for your help
Ben

Hi Ben easy to do even if your a novice buy a pair of suspension arms complete come with balljoints anti roll bar links cheap as chips

when changing anti roll bar links wire brush before coat well with penatrating oil then undo nut you put a spanner behind the nut infont of rubber cover to stop it from just spinning as 99.9% of the time the nut will just spin all you have to do is jack the suspension arm up or down to refit the link

Lower arms you will need a stepped spanner 17mm that fits into slotted holes in the subframe and just undo the bolt from the outer end of the subframe undo the balljoint for the hub and hammer it downwards then the arm will just slide out towards you

coat new bush areas well with copper grease helps it slide in place easily use new bolts buy from audi not dear that includes balljoint pinch bolts
1.5 hrs work

cheers Raj (RS CONVERSIONS)

[baltiboys2]

Also just forgot do not tighten arms up tight lower car when all is fitted and then tighten suspension arms this aligns the suspension up and stops the bushes from having tension in the wrong position
Also rear wheel bearing easy to do as well depends on if they are tapered bearings just a case of knocking old ones out new ones in if its ball race type have to press in and out
but bear in mind if tapered type may get away with just repacking them with grease and retighten them

cheers Raj

[micheal balbrig]

Hi all

Just tried to MOT my car with Kwikfit and it failed with a hugh list of of faults.

O/S real wheel bearing feels rough
N/S front suspension arm excessive play in pin/bush
O/S front suspension arm excessive play in pin/bush
N/S front anti-roll bar linkage has excessive play in ball joint
O/S front anti-roll bar linkage has excessive play in ball joint

There are a couple of other things but i know how to sort those, wipers, light too low and tracking and that.

My question is could I do this myself? I have done brake pads and disc before. I have had a look at the parts and I looks simple enough, but I am worried about taking the shocks and springs out.

I really cant afford almost £500, they not heard of the credit crunch

Thanks for your help
Ben

Should be possible to carry out these repairs yourself
and the repairs will improve the cars safety and comfort

The rear wheel (bearings) as far as I know there are two sizes
fitted to this model so it might be better to remove old units
and take to gsf or somewhere to get replacements . You will
find the bearings in the hub. some of the units will fall out but you will have to remove outer rings with a hammer and drift
clean away all grease to see where you can use drift.
When replacing new units avoid damaging outer units. keep everything spotlessly clean. use the grease pack and seals from kit
and do not overtighten nuts or they will overheat . Fit new split pins

The links are straightforward but the nuts can be extremely tight . You will find a hexagon under rubber seal to grip with a spanner to stop ball going around. Use plenty of penetrating oil
on this well in advance of removing.

The wish bone bushes are more involved but dont be put off
by shocks as you can remove bolt from bottom ball joint and
hammer wishbone downwards. Little difficult to remove bolts
from wishbone bushes as you have to get spanner through
subframe. Car needs to be well up and secured with axle stands. Before doing job see if you can find someone with a press that will remove and fit bushes when you have wishbone out. Other than this it will mean using metal tubes and long bolts and plenty of patience.

I think the plastic O/E link arms soak up the bumps better than
the metal ones but are a lot more expensive

[benpicot]

Thanks for the info.

Does not mean much to me yet, plan to print out your replys if I end up doing the job.

I have got a friends garage to go through the the list Kwikfit failed the car on, he seems to think that they are saying something dont need to be replaced. So have to wait and see.

Will drop you a line and let you know

Ben

[baltiboys2]

Thanks for the info.

Does not mean much to me yet, plan to print out your replys if I end up doing the job.

I have got a friends garage to go through the the list Kwikfit failed the car on, he seems to think that they are saying something dont need to be replaced. So have to wait and see.

Will drop you a line and let you know

Ben


In my opinion KWIK FIT are CRAP the amount of cars people have brought to me to get repaired which **** Fit have failed have the things on the fail slip are fine i just phone and question them but i end up having to re-mot them and gues what they more often than not pass or fail on half the items
Give a call if you get stuck i can run you through it 07776170375

cheers Raj