Hi all,

 

Stopped off at a garage on my way home to get my front suspension checked because of a loud creaking sound coming from the front suspension.

 

Things didn't start well: the guy comes immediately into the waiting room and goes "who's put a hole in your floor!?" I walk out and sure enough, there's a hole a couple of inches wide going through the sill on the passenger side, then we had a look at the drivers side and it's completely stoved in too :mad:

 

Anyway, the car went up on the ramps and the diagnosis is that the lower ball joint on the passenger side has completely gone, and the upper arm on the driver's side is knackered as well. The guy said it's not worth replacing the individual parts as the rest doesn't look to good either, and that the whole lot needs replacing on both sides.

 

He's advised me to weigh up how much the car is worth to me, as to sort both sills and replace the front suspension is going to be big ££££.

 

Gutted :(

Edited November 21, 200916 yr by FuZTT

Gutted for you about the sills, not great news unfortunately :(

 

Is it a respectable garage? its too easy for them to say it needs the whole lot, but its not them that are paying for it. I've got some arms I took off my breaker the other day if you are stuck for some.

There's a few breakers on here that have the suspension parts that you'd need.

 

As for the floor and sills, i'd speak to JeffTT. He'd probably be able to give you rough idea at how much it would cost to repair.

if you want to remove them i have all the suspension parts you can have for beer money? all the stuff on the breaker i have is in pretty good nick

 

Mike

Gutted for you about the sills, not great news unfortunately :(

 

Is it a respectable garage? its too easy for them to say it needs the whole lot, but its not them that are paying for it. I've got some arms I took off my breaker the other day if you are stuck for some.

 

It doesn't have the greatest reputation but the guy had nothing to gain from telling me to replace it all as he was telling me it wasn't economical for me to get them to replace it, and that I should look around for a back-street garage that might be able to botch it.

 

That said, I'm going to take it for a second opinion somewhere as I need to know an exact list of what needs replacing and what doesn't. Like you say, it's all to easy to just say "it's all knackered". Cheers, for letting me know about the arms tho, it'll be useful when I get a list together of exactly what I need.

Just checked through the paperwork, and the car was at ZedWorld on 5th June 09, and and they advised that the front and rear sills needed attention to pass an MOT. Then on 23/07/09 ZedWorld did repair work on the sills costing £260 exc VAT, then on 26/07/09 if flew through the MOT with no advisories. IIRC, the guy I bought the car from a few months ago said they'd repaired the rear sills but I can't remember him saying anything about the fronts. I'm confused.

 

Thanks for the offers on the parts guys, at the moment I have no idea what i'm doing with regards to suspension, hence why I needed the problems diagnosed by a garage. I'm all for fitting stuff myself (tbh I think that's the only option), however I wouldn't have an idea where to start. I have a copy of the service manual, would this give suitable detail for a noob?

Good luck jacking your Z up to work on the front suspension if the front sills are knackered ;)

 

Unless the Z has had alot of other work to correct corrosion, and is in very good mechanical nick elsewhere, I'd consider getting rid :(

 

You could spend a grand on a bad example, and it would still only be worth a grand...

A hole in a sill is only an MOT failure if its within 30cm of any seatbelt fixing or a seat with a seatbelt fixed to it or any suspension/subframe component.That would explain why the rear was repaired and the front hole left.

Good luck jacking your Z up to work on the front suspension if the front sills are knackered ;)

 

Unless the Z has had alot of other work to correct corrosion, and is in very good mechanical nick elsewhere, I'd consider getting rid :(

 

You could spend a grand on a bad example, and it would still only be worth a grand...

 

It should be ok, I jacked it up the other day from the crossmember and then used the axle stand points described in the service manual as advised on here, which is obviously not what someone has done in the past.

 

The reason I bought the car in the first place was that it'd had a lot of mechanical work done to it in the past, so it seemed like it would be a good buy. I may have to take it to ZedWorld and get a pro's opinion on the condition of the car.

A hole in a sill is only an MOT failure if its within 30cm of any seatbelt fixing or a seat with a seatbelt fixed to it or any suspension/subframe component.That would explain why the rear was repaired and the front hole left.

 

Aaah, so it's still 'safe' then? What would be the best way to proceed with this then, as the sill will eventually rot through from the inside in a place that does matter.

 

Sorry for all the questions guys, your replies are much appreciated, my head's just spinning at the moment with all the things I've got to consider. I like my Zed :cry:

A hole in a sill is only an MOT failure if its within 30cm of any seatbelt fixing or a seat with a seatbelt fixed to it or any suspension/subframe component.That would explain why the rear was repaired and the front hole left.

 

Not entirely true. Any area of corrosion that is deemed excessive by the tester will fail. Alot depends on the tester, and if he got laid the night before :)

Ok, there's a bodyshop near me that I've used before, I'll take the car over there and see what they recommend.

 

As for the suspension, I'm weighing up my options. Basically, if I replace the parts with those from a breaker, I could end up in the same situation a few months down the line, as I can't tell a good suspension part from a bad one. I could take this opportunity to uprate my suspension with aftermarket parts, but this would have to be on a very tight budget this close to Christmas.

Not entirely true. Any area of corrosion that is deemed excessive by the tester will fail. Alot depends on the tester, and if he got laid the night before :)

 

Yeh what would i know as tester :rolleyes:

Yeh what would i know as tester

 

 

:rofl: you obviously need a wee refresher course

 

 

Not entirely true. Any area of corrosion that is deemed excessive by the tester will fail.

 

Not in anyway true!

:rofl: you obviously need a wee refresher course

 

 

 

 

Not in anyway true!

Well matey knows something we dont obviously :rofl:

Well matey knows something we dont obviously

 

 

Yep think I better put myself down for some retraining :rolleyes:

I can pick the suspension parts up for you from Mike, as im going to get a few bits off him anyway.

I've welded more cars than i care to think about, the most important part if doing any diy welding is not setting it on fire, also remember.... dont set it on fire.lol.Really satisfying to do it yourself+ fully weld all panels.

If you cant, or dont know any good welders get a few quotes as its amazing the difference in prices.

needs to be done properly , by repairing inner+ outer panels, not just covering it up.

On a normal car i wouldn't bother with second hand suspension bits,but with a zed the parts get upgraded just because they can be, rather than because the bits are knackered,hence easy to get good stock parts..

Oh yes, dont set it on fire!!

Just checked through the paperwork, and the car was at ZedWorld on 5th June 09, and and they advised that the front and rear sills needed attention to pass an MOT. Then on 23/07/09 ZedWorld did repair work on the sills costing £260 exc VAT, then on 26/07/09 if flew through the MOT with no advisories. IIRC, the guy I bought the car from a few months ago said they'd repaired the rear sills but I can't remember him saying anything about the fronts. I'm confused.

 

 

Hi matey,

 

Ok have some info to fill in the gaps and likely explain what has occured as we keep both invoice records and workshop job sheets on every job it does make it easier.

 

The previous car owner was looking to sell the car and needed to get 12 months MOT on it, we had a look at it and concidered that the rear sills were MOT failure and the front sill required dressing work, cleaning and protecting, a suspension noise and also noisy lifters where diagnosed.

 

The owner explained he was on a very limited budget and could the rear sills be repaired and just primed (not painted) this was done, and also we did express some concern over the rear brake lines and other corrossion together with front impact damage, later (the day of collection) a weeping steel brake pipe had to be replaced.

 

As far as we know his "mate" was doing the MOT and that`s it, from the date you gave as the MOT it was done the a couple days later on a Sunday? and it was sold to you within a few weeks.

 

The issues you have had with the suspension noise and noisy lifters where already there before the sale.

 

It is of any help, we will be happy to inspect to may hopefully calm your concerns and also show you the entire underneath of the car and the options available (FOC of course)

 

Jeff TT

sounds like ha may have got the mot through the post lol

Hi matey,

 

Ok have some info to fill in the gaps and likely explain what has occured as we keep both invoice records and workshop job sheets on every job it does make it easier.

 

The previous car owner was looking to sell the car and needed to get 12 months MOT on it, we had a look at it and concidered that the rear sills were MOT failure and the front sill required dressing work, cleaning and protecting, a suspension noise and also noisy lifters where diagnosed.

 

The owner explained he was on a very limited budget and could the rear sills be repaired and just primed (not painted) this was done, and also we did express some concern over the rear brake lines and other corrossion together with front impact damage, later (the day of collection) a weeping steel brake pipe had to be replaced.

 

As far as we know his "mate" was doing the MOT and that`s it, from the date you gave as the MOT it was done the a couple days later on a Sunday? and it was sold to you within a few weeks.

 

The issues you have had with the suspension noise and noisy lifters where already there before the sale.

 

It is of any help, we will be happy to inspect to may hopefully calm your concerns and also show you the entire underneath of the car and the options available (FOC of course)

 

Jeff TT

 

Jeff - you're a legend. Thanks for the extra info, and the offer to come down. It does sound pretty dodgy, the owner told me that the front bumper had been resprayed prior to me buying it because of "stone chips". Was the impact damage old, or has he just lied to me and the car's been in some kind of incident?

 

Unfortunately the round trip to you and back is going to cost me £60-£80 in petrol alone, which I'm going to have to put into getting parts for the car, plus a day off work, so I can't really justify it at the moment. Hope I don't sound ungrateful - don't you fancy opening a branch in the North-East? :D

 

sounds like ha may have got the mot through the post lol

 

Certainly does! It annoys me that people dish out MOTs on a "mates" basis, MOT testers shouldn't be allowed to have friends!:tongue:

 

I've welded more cars than i care to think about, the most important part if doing any diy welding is not setting it on fire, also remember.... dont set it on fire.lol.Really satisfying to do it yourself+ fully weld all panels.

If you cant, or dont know any good welders get a few quotes as its amazing the difference in prices.

needs to be done properly , by repairing inner+ outer panels, not just covering it up.

On a normal car i wouldn't bother with second hand suspension bits,but with a zed the parts get upgraded just because they can be, rather than because the bits are knackered,hence easy to get good stock parts..

Oh yes, dont set it on fire!!

 

Cheers for the advice mate. I'm not going to touch it myself, I'm going to get it sorted properly. I've had a very good recommendation from a guy at work for someone who has a history of restoring cars and doing major chassis work, so this should be a breeze for him.

 

I can pick the suspension parts up for you from Mike, as im going to get a few bits off him anyway.

 

Cheers Paul, my mate's cousin is a mechanic and is hopefully going to give the car a very good look over for a few quid and give me a definitive list of any part which isn't 100%. I've been offered a couple of transverse links in very good condition which I'll hopefully be getting, and I know I definately need new upper links. When will you be going to see Mike? I'm going to try and get a list together ASAP so I can start buying parts.

 

Thanks to all who have been offering parts, as soon as I know what I need, I'll be in a position to start buying!

Hi matey,

 

.........................It is of any help, we will be happy to inspect to may hopefully calm your concerns and also show you the entire underneath of the car and the options available (FOC of course)

 

Jeff TT

 

I'd take Jeff up on this like a shot mate! Jeff can then give you an honest appraisal of the car; what really needs doing and how much it will cost.

 

Plus if you leave it with Jeff then you can be sure of a top notch job and superb service. Plus you can trust Jeff with your Z

 

Richard:)

I should have elaborated. Depends if the front of the sill is considered to be load bearing.

Ok FuZTT, As I said don`t worry too much yet, if you really can not get to us then get your guys to look it over, whilst they are doing it they are very welcome to ring me and will talk them through any concerns etc.

 

Jeff

£60-80 oh god i would love that, lol

My trip costs me each time i go, best part of £300 and that's without overnight staying which i have to do in one direction, dohhh the perils of living on an island :cry:

smithy

£60-80 oh god i would love that, lol

My trip costs me each time i go, best part of £300 and that's without overnight staying which i have to do in one direction, dohhh the perils of living on an island :cry:

smithy

 

Jeff doesnt charge you for using his sofa does he,tight git :rofl: You could offer to mow the lawn or wash his car to get lodging cheaper.