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Driving and this just fell off under my fiesta...help!


Andymackie
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Hiya

I don't really know enough about the inside of cars to know what this is but it's just fell off under my car after about 15 mins of it rattling.....is it dangerous to drive?

it looks like it holds something but I could be speculating

can someone help?

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It's your coil spring, as long as it as snapped and stayed in position you should be okay to get to a garage  (avoiding potholes and sppedbumps and driving cautiously) but if it has dislodged the whole spring I would avoid driving it at all as it can cause damage to your Tyre and other components

Best way is to look at the top of the wheels and see if the spring looks like it's sat in the normal position or if it's dropped down

 

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Thank you very much mate, I've only just left my mums house and on the way I heard it and then 5 mins later it's fell off

Would it be on all 4 wheels dropped or on one?

do you know if it's expensive?

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6 minutes ago, Andymackie said:

Thank you very much mate, I've only just left my mums house and on the way I heard it and then 5 mins later it's fell off

Would it be on all 4 wheels dropped or on one?

do you know if it's expensive?

It's probably one of the two front, but when you replace it it's best to do them in pairs (so both front coils).  Parts wise it won't be too bad, but your looking at a couple hours labour. 

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It will be on just the one that's snapped, one of the wheels will look lower than the other and it will most likely be one of the front ones

It's a common problem on them for the springs to snap, and they are also known for corroding at the top of the shock absorber/top mount but you shouldn't have any issues with that if it's a 12 plate

And I'd say around £50-80 each side depending on where you go, and most places would advise them being done as a pair as it's part of the suspension and possibly the alignment at an extra cost

But depending on money don't let a garage bullying you into buying a pair, it is advised but not necessary so you can always just get the broken side done first of all and get you back on the road then a month or so later look into getting the other side done

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Had a similar incident on my previous car (Citroen C4) front driver side spring snapped but was driveable with care as it has just dropped down by the height of the coil that had snapped (about 1cm). Had to have both front springs replaced and as the car was about 7 years old at the time I had both shocks replaced as well, cost me about £300 with the labour.

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more common to go on front as more weight / stress but back ones can go.

On my brother's Audi TT twice a piece snapped off the spring, both the back springs.  Much much easier to replace at the back than the front on most cars, including fiesta.

Some people will tell you that you need to replace both sides at same time (eg both front ones). I wouldn't. I would only do the broken one. This would be a classic opportunity for a garage to try to do more work than necessary. eg. they might say the other one must be about to go to - but it might last the life of the car, and they might say it looks like you need new shocks whilst doing this work. It might just be case that other items are on their way out but don't let them con you

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1 hour ago, isetta said:

Some people will tell you that you need to replace both sides at same time (eg both front ones). I wouldn't. I would only do the broken one. 

It's common practice to replace both sides since the car was invented, this is so suspension travel is equal under braking and also the ride height stays the same.

No two springs are ever the same so they are matched at the factory, fitting one spring is a no no in my books.

So your advice is to change one side only ? Nice one fella :wacko:

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Lucky the part spring fell on the floor! A snapped spring can actually jam as the rest of the spring traps it and flicks out like a giant claw ripping into the sidewall of the tyre causing a blow out and a possible serious crash if you was 'motoring' 

On the fiesta there's no camber adjustment on the strut, so there's no worries about being told the camber needs checking, whoever says the camber needs checking is going to rip you off, but the tracking can be checked....so be-careful who you use. 

Ask around if you know anyone in the 'know' who can replace both the springs, you don't need a garage to undertake this job, just someone who is mechanically minded, it's not that hard...Honest it's not.

Buying springs yourself over the counter ensures you are buying quality parts, some dodgy garages will charge for top notch springs but in reality they've got the cheapest and pull the wool over your eyes as they know you'll not be jacking the car up and taking a wheel off to check...Why would you ?

 

Video to give you an idea whats involved... 

 

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  • 2 months later...

Had similar problem on my mk4 fiesta. I bought it knowing that both front springs were broken. i bought a pair off eBay for £30 plus postage and fitted myself. It is an awkward job to do, but if you are up for the challenge, a lot cheaper than getting a garage to do it.  

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I was lucky with an 06 model some years ago.   The offside spring parted while the car was parked outside my house.   When I started in the morning there was a horrible grinding noise and part of the spring was rubbing against the wheel.   A friend came to the house and fixed it for me and discovered that the nearside spring was broken as well.

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Its pretty common on Fiestas, particularly the Mk6. Fusion too.

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4 hours ago, Bobr said:

AN interesting read. Do you know if the anti corrosion zinc plates mentioned are available for or fit the Mk7/Mk7.5?

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Sorry David, I can't help.   I only found out about them when I read the article.   If the springs on mine go I shall be looking for them though.

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It's not a corrosion problem per se, although corrosion doesn't help.  Its quite a common problem and afflicts most European cars to a greater or lesser extent.  Japanese manufacturers chamfer the ends of their springs and thus spread the load.  European manufactures end their springs square, and this loads the spring end in a particular manner, and is why such failures across models are always in the same spot. 

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  • 4 years later...

It's a suspension strut spring top/bottom.DONT DRIVE FAST! GET A NEW ONE!!!

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1 hour ago, Katarina said:

It's a suspension strut spring top/bottom.DONT DRIVE FAST! GET A NEW ONE!!!

Hopefully they did in the almost 5 years since it happened.

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