DIY Car Maintenance with function over finesse!!

[mickthemaverick]

Flushed with the success of yesterday's jobs but faced with rain outside I decided to settle for assembling the rear struts for the Subaru as I now have all those parts. I began by laying out the tools I'd need:

The necessary hand tools

The one specialised tool

I then extracted the parts from my store:

As they arrived

Took them out of the boxes:

Ready to go

The first job was to attach the spring compressors to the spring:

Compressors fitted to the spring and ready to wind up

I then clamped the arc shaped brace in the vice and wound up both compressors evenly standing at the side of the bench out od target area if anything slipped. It didn't but once compressed I wanted to get on with the assembly to release them again as soon as possible. Thus I'm afraid I didn't take any pictures during the actual assembly but I can advise anyone else doing this job to place the rubber boot end in hot water to soften it before trying to slide it over the head of the shock absorber. Once fitted and the mount aligned at right angles to the lower boss I released the compressors and lo and behold I have one strut ready to install!:

Ready to install

It was then just a matter of repeating the entire process with the second set of parts and I now have two rear struts awaiting a dry day!!

[CitroJim]

Excellent! That's quite some special tool

[mickthemaverick]

It was a dry day!! I now have two used struts to sell/dispose of as planned. :

MTMO

I did not take any pics during the process but I'm sure everyone knows what's involved in undoing three nuts, swapping out the units and doing the nuts up again. The two interior ones torqued to 30NM and the bottom bolt to 160NM which I just about managed to achieve while crouching beside the car

I then took it for a test drive to the recycling centre and I was delighted to find the familiar b -bm when crossing tarmac seams has become just bm from the front only!! The car has gained around 25mm rear ride height and feels much more planted at the rear. Roll on doing the fronts!!

[CitroJim]

Excellent Mick

[mickthemaverick]

Well another dry day dawned so I set about replacing the fronts. Job done with no issues, the new battery ratchet proved useful for the strut tops and worked well. No pictures during the process cos it was cold and I couldn't work the camera with my gloved hands. Once complete I collected all the tools onto the bench ready for cleaning and returning to there places:

The B&D workmate I used to hold the struts while changing over the top plates etc.

The various tools that did the job (The ones on the bench!)

I then loaded up the old struts and the packing for the new parts and headed to the recycling centre as a first test drive. Magic!! It rides beautifully now and swallows up the bumps and pot holes with scarcely a noise. Just ready for the four wheel alignment on Friday, full service on Sunday and MOT next week!!

[CitroJim]

Excellent work Mick

[mickthemaverick]

Excellent! That's quite some special tool

You may remember Jim's comment about my spring compressors. Well sadly I now have to report that the tool is so good it could have killed me today!! Fortunately for me I am very wary of compressed springs having seen a compressor slip off and break a garage window some years ago!! So when I decided to dismantle my old rear struts for dumping I put three compressors on the spring first. It is just as well as one of my super compressors let go big time. The threaded boss in the moving tube actually came out of its tube releasing the top hook and spring. As I say the spring was held by the other two compressors I had on and I quickly replaced the sheared one with my fourth compressor.

On examination I discovered a frightening fact about the "super compressors" Jim had commented on. As you will see in the pictures the threaded boss inside the moving hook leg has simply pulled out of the leg under the pressure from the spring. Clearly a manufacturing defect and I am now engaged in making the issue known to as many potential other users as possible. The seller offered me a compensation payment of £10 and keep the tools would you believe? I am more interested in trying to get them recalled for testing etc. It may be that mine was a Friday afternoon job and the rest are fine but it is too dangerous to ignore in my opinion. See what you think!!:

The tube with no boss

The failed joint end on

Before and after

The failed joint

Hopefully nobody less careful than me will get injured before the problem is resolved.

I don't feel a "sweat fit" type of joint is at all a good idea in this application and once I know the outcome of my complaint I will probably weld them together before I use them again!!

[CitroJim]

By gosh That's seriously bad Mick

I'd consider that to be bad design rather than a Friday afternoon job from what I can see in the photos. And £10 compensation and keep the tool? I'm speechless...

I'm wondering if trading standards might be interested?

Good job you used the supplementary compressors and I'm so relieved no injury resulted...

[mickthemaverick]

I think a plug welding session is on the cards, I'll drill 8 holes through case and boss at 45 degree intervals and plug weld them unless anyone has a better suggestion?

I have just returned from the 4 wheel alignment, where it appears I got it fairly close, so now I'm ready for the new pads all round and service at the weekend!!

MTMO

[CitroJim]

Does it feel any different after the alignment?

[mickthemaverick]

Tricky one that because I'd only driven it about 10 miles with the new front shocks so differences may be due to that or the alignment. The fact is it feels far more planted and accelerates and brakes in a dead straight line with no hands on the wheel so I'm happy with it.

[CitroJim]

Excellent

[MattBLancs]

Wheel alignment: excellent!

Failed compressor:

Red stuff???

What is this bit? Can't tell what material it is from the pictures - rusty steel? Some sort of sealant/adhesive?

When together, are these two green lines butted up together?

Side view

Bit concerned if the plug weld plan would work given how much chamfer looks to be in the left hand bit, whether you'd drill holes in the right hand bit to find the left bit is miles away.

Might be as well finding some tube and making a decent bit to fit inside both, plug weld to both. Bit of exhaust tube , slotted so could slip inside both (like a big roll pin) perhaps?

[MattBLancs]

P.s.
manufacturing/design fail= terrible,
Derisory £10 compensation offer = insulting!

[mickthemaverick]

If you look at the picture with my red labels Matt you can see that the left chamfered bit plugs into the right side giving the seem shown in the not broken one. I think therefore I can drill through both tubes with holes as per this:

MTMO

Having had a much closer look I don't think refitting it at all is wise. There is not enough clearance between the rim of the boss and the internal thread to permit a decent strong joint and I can't brace it on the outside as it has to run inside the main tube!!

MTMO

The red stuff is rusty steel which clearly had oxidised inside the main tube, a very iffy design altogether. I may see if I can use the hooks to cobble something in future but it won't be a repair !!