fiestaturbo.com

[- Danny Boy -]

I'm sure it'll get sorted Russ Cheers for the comment too!

First the windscreen, now snapping a strut top, are you Hercules?

Yeah I think so

[- Danny Boy -]

Spent 20 mins down the garage just now pissing around with the car trying to actually make some progress.

All I did was get the strut off and f**k the drop link in the process of doing that - but they need replacing anyway, so meh.

I'm still unsure as to why the thread has snapped, the piston is free to spin around and move up and down as it should, nothing was trapping it or anything so f**k knows. It'll get sorted one way or another though I'm sure.

Time to email AVO with some pictures and see what the crack is!

[Michael!]

id say you have a case if theres nothing visably wrong?

design fault? or something?

[- Danny Boy -]

I emailed AVO this morning with a few pictures and the youtube video I posted, explained everything and was completely honest about it all too, Nigel then emailed me back with a price which isn't too bad at all!

Quote of the email.

danny

many thanks for your e-mail

unfortunately there is no way i will be able to tell why this has snapped, other than speculation like yourself, but the time scale its been on the car would indicate that it is not a material problem etc, if it was i would guess that would fail very quickly, one possibility is wear in the top mount rubbers , these could flex more and cause a higher side load issue

however, it is no problem to repair, and i will be happy to replace the part free of charge and only charge larbor and return carriage, approx £25.00 + vat

turn around time is 5 - 10 day

please make sure you include contact details with the unit when returning

hope to be of help

nigel

So the unit will be sent off to them to get the piston and adjustable damping unit inside the shock replaced. Then when it is back it will get a nice new coat of paint and be put back on the car

[jonyb4]

result

[Michael!]

quality bit of news mate!

[Ratspeed]

good result mate, deffo better than thinking about mig welding it on..........

[Excursion]

Wow! That's fine customer service. Well done Avo!

[- Danny Boy -]

Sure is good news!

The welding idea was a stupid one I will admit Matt, but it was a last resort for a temporary/desperate fix lol. The only reason I thought about welding it was so I could move the car in and out of the garage. It will be coming off the road for a couple of months so it wouldn't have been driven anywhere, and then during that time I could have saved up for the cost of getting this fixed if it was a buy a new shock jobby @ about £150, but with that price I can just send it off to be repaired no problem without the need to bodge it up temporarily.

AVO are in my good books now, can't ask for better customer service than that really!

[jonyb4]

yea yea

[- Danny Boy -]

yea yea

?

[- Danny Boy -]

Update time! Might as well do an update really. Nothing special but it's more for my own sake than anyone elses

So the coilover got sent to AVO to get a refurb with a new piston and adjustable damper unit due to the previous problem I encountered.

Nigel said to me he would replace the the parts free of charge, and I would only need to cover the cost of labour and postage to get it back to me, so I sent it off then a few days later I got home to see a large package for me in the hallway, I opened it up and was greeted by this box.




So of course I opened it to find this:





Nigel had been extremely kind enough to refurbish the shock for free, and also pay for the postage to have it sent back to me too. I couldn't thank him enough for his kind guesture. I was one happy person!

So I ordered some tyres, oil + filter and also some new anti-roll bar drop links because one was shot and the other was probably close to being shot too.








Then of course, I got the tyres fitted and the car was bought out of the garage for the first time in a couple of months.






I drove it up and down the road for the first time in about two months - I was happy. I have missed the power and torque of the car so much

Then I took a couple of random pictures of it just up the road from me. The car hasn't been cleaned in about 2 months, it's fithy and covered in dust, so I will give it a good clean and get some half decent pictures of it.

I need to get another splitter too because it doesn't look right without one. Not low enough at the front

[FRSJON]

nice one danny avo's customer service is top notch

[Ratspeed]

Nice to get it back out mate.

I actually prefer it without the splitter if im honest

[dontpannic]

As Matt said, keep the splitter off, looks loads better

[Gus!!]

I am still in two minds whether to re-attatch my splitter!! You gonna be out and about in the fez now then danny?? Good result in getting most of the repair for free too mate

[- Danny Boy -]

Cheers guys

nice one danny avo's customer service is top notch

Very much so! I have much more respect for them after all of this. I know they are some of the lower bracketed manufactures in coilovers, but the customer service is top notch to say the least! You don't get that often.

Nice to get it back out mate.

I actually prefer it without the splitter if im honest

As Matt said, keep the splitter off, looks loads better

I'm not sure it does look as good. I mean practicality wise it is better without because it would scrape on things here and there, and without it, that doesn't happen so I don't have that worry, but it also hid things from view too. And also working on the car can be easier without it, especially if I need to remove the gearbox cradle.

I guess I just loved the look of it being even lower to the floor from the front because the splitter was so deep, and now it's not there, the car looks high, even though it really isn't I might get another one or quickly refit my old knackered one and see how I feel about it. The look without it is growing on me, so we will see.

I am still in two minds whether to re-attatch my splitter!! You gonna be out and about in the fez now then danny?? Good result in getting most of the repair for free too mate

I probably will be out more in the fiesta yeah, but perhaps not as much as I would like. I like to save fuel and money at the moment lol. Come summer and all that will more than likely change

[jonyb4]

looking very sleek, good camera too


f**k petrol im out all the time now, was almost stuck in a flooded country lane earlier

[Gus!!]

Yeah jony going through big puddles is always funny, they might clean my fez off too, i mean it definately needs it
When am i gonna see you up portsdown then danny?? You can laugh at all the knackered bits on my car!!

[- Danny Boy -]

Don't know to be fair, I'll probably be up there every now and then with a few people if I'm bored. But might not always be in my car. I'm sure you'll spot me if I'm up there though - unless I'm parked between two cars or something.

[andymac]

nice one danny avo's customer service is top notch

Very much so! I have much more respect for them after all of this. I know they are some of the lower bracketed manufactures in coilovers, but the customer service is top notch to say the least! You don't get that often.

Really interesting you say that actually, I found their pre-sales to be absolutely horrendous, to the point I decided I wouldn't buy their products as a knee-jerk reaction to the trained monkeys who were answering the phones.

However, I don't think the products are of poor quality and that where people have said the ride is too harsh, think they haven't taken the time OR had the opportunity to explain the dampers were for road use. I've driven a couple of cars fitted with avo dampers and not found them over-damped or too harsh.

[EUFez]

Great news. The car looks great as always.

[- Danny Boy -]

Cheers James!

Really interesting you say that actually, I found their pre-sales to be absolutely horrendous, to the point I decided I wouldn't buy their products as a knee-jerk reaction to the trained monkeys who were answering the phones.

However, I don't think the products are of poor quality and that where people have said the ride is too harsh, think they haven't taken the time OR had the opportunity to explain the dampers were for road use. I've driven a couple of cars fitted with avo dampers and not found them over-damped or too harsh.

I've never dealt with them on the phone so can't comment on that side of things. I've only ever emailed them. Perhaps the people on the phone are monkeys.

I wouldn't say the products are poor quality either, they just seem to be catagorised in the lower bracket of coilover manufactures by quite a few people. And with regards to the ride, I would honestly say with the rear dampers on their softest damping setting, the ride is much smoother and less bumpy than the standard suspension. Even with them turned up slightly, they don't feel too harsh at all. Also considering I have an extra rear anti-roll bar on the back too, you'd think the ride is choppy and horrible, but it really isn't, it is in fact quite smooth.

[- Danny Boy -]

Small update for now..

Bascially I found out I had a broken front coil spring, which was unfortunate. It was on the opposite side to the side where the shock has been rebuilt. How long it has been broken for I am not sure as the car hasn't dropped any noticable height - the broken bit seems to be wedging it up nicely.

Luke aka Luca (with 'the trolley') on the forums said there was a company local to us that stock coilover springs and he gave me the details of them.

So I emailed Nigel at AVO for a price of a new spring, and it would have been £42 inc VAT and postage.. After finding out what lbs springs I needed I looked on Faulkner Springs website, and saw they was listed for £23.20. So I gave them a quick phone call asking if they are open to the public to pop in and collect springs and popped down there.

Got there, had a 20-30 min chat with him about cars, suspension and other things - such a genuine and nice guy. Found out he was the supplier for literally all performance suspension manufactures, inc AVO, and he also supplies places like demon tweeks too. He let me have the spring for £20 cash, so saved a few quid, plus the VAT on top too.

The spring will get fitted tomorrow... That's the update.

http://www.dfaulknersprings.com/



TL;DR version: Coil spring snapped, got new one.

[Ratspeed]

Good price that, out of interest what poundage spring do use?

[- Danny Boy -]

250 on the front, not sure what the rears are rated at, but I would imagine they are the same. I can always find out from Nigel at AVO if I ever need to though

[luca]

Ive been over there to get springs many a time. Great guys like you say.

Glad you got it sorted

[Turboboy67]

I must admit for £20 I would of changed both the front springs.

[- Danny Boy -]

I was thinking about it, and it probably would have made sense to do it too. Never know, I might go get the other one later in the week

[- Danny Boy -]

As per new title, I went to replace the broken spring on the other side today and the top thread was spinning around freely, thinking it was the piston rotating with it, I thought nothing of it as that's what it does..

So I removed the shock, and then went to remove the retaining nut which holds down the bearing and spring cup ect and noticed the piston wasn't spinning around with the thread..

Yep, the other side has broken in exactly the same place. But this is down to the broken spring and putting extra forces on the thead.

So the other shock will now be sent to AVO for a rebuilt with a new piston/damper unit. Then when it gets back, or even before then, I will go collect another new front spring so they are both new and there is less chance of that happening to the other newly refurbished side.

TL;DR version: Broken spring = broken coilover top thread, sending to avo, getting another new spring too.

Picture of broken shock and new spring vs snapped one.

[Excursion]

Ouch. How long have they been on, Danny?

[jonyb4]

One things for sure, im not going for AVO

hope its sorted swiftly for ya

[- Danny Boy -]

Ouch. How long have they been on, Danny?

They have been on my car for 2-3 years now, and been on a track and road car for a few years before that, how many though I am not sure. I would estimate they are 5-6 years old though.

In some ways it's understandable that the thread is the weakest part due to it being hollow inside to allow for the damping adjustment screw to go through it, but it's a shame they are that weak. However, on the up side, I will hopefully not have any more problems after this with them *touch wood*.

[- Danny Boy -]

Small update..

Got the shock back from AVO, Nigel did it free of charge again and got it sent back to me for free. I had a funny 5 minutes putting it back together yesterday and had the spring cup and top bearing the wrong way around so it didn't go back together properly and leave me enough thread - I blame the lack of sleep the night before

So I took the other side off, and then realised my mistake, then put both sides on and got the car back on 4 wheels.

I'll be popping down to Faulkner springs again in the week to collect another front coil spring so both are the same. I think they might need a couple of weeks to settle slightly, or I will just wind the coilovers down a bit more. It's only about half an inch higher, not sure, haven't actually measured it yet.

Also, I believe I need new gearbox mounts - again/still. Had problems with them causing vibrations - one lot ripped apart completely in the past. It seems to happen when you go around right hand bends - you get a vibration through the car. I thought it was the shock and spring breakage combo, but it's still there a bit. So gearbox mounts will be next on the list to swap. I will check and double check everything else connected to the steering, suspension and engine mounts are tight while I am at it too.

TL;DR version: Shock back, gearbox mounts probably need replacing and collecting another new spring for other side.

[Gus!!]

A few random issues then mate
Just out of interest, how low do u reckon i could go with coilies with my 13's, surely i could deck it??