Was changing the winter tyres over today and putting the summers on and thought I'd take a few photos of the common bits on 500's which cause them to fail MOT's and also show how the underneath rusts, but how it's not the problem some perceive it to be.

Anyhoo here's the car as was this morning.

The car is an 09 1.2 lounge getting on for 65k miles since July 09.


I know some people think winter tyres are a bit extreme, but fitting winter tyres yourself means you're having a look underneath your car at least twice a year and that's better than just at MOT time as you'll see upcoming issues like backboxes, dampers and bushes before they become a real problem or safety issue.

Here we have the rear drums, not even had them off to have a look inside yet. I've put copperslip on the face where it contacts the wheel as you get galvanic corrosion where the steel and aluminium bond together. Wheels don't stick to the drums or discs even when they're on for 7 months or so. Paint is peeling on the drums but it's not really an issue, you could paint them but am I really that bothered? Nope!

Here we have the beam axle, it's got surface rust on it, not an issue at all. To the right you can see the fuel tank poking out, it's plastic so it's not going to rust or get the mythical crud that fuel tanks apparently get in the bottom

Here's a spring, the paint/powercoat has come off. This is actually an issue as it will create a weak point and will crack one day.

here we've got the front suspension arrangement. Bit of surface rust on all the fasteners, the bottom of the strut and the rack end (the bit that the tie rod end attaches to) is rusty, but nothing to be concerned about The silver thing running from top to bottom in the photo is the droplink, a common failure on 500's and Panda's and very easy to replace. Check that the rubber boots on the balljoints are not damaged, open or missing.

This is the base of the spring cup on the front strut. You don't want to see moisture here ordinarily, we had torrential rain here last night and the car hadn't really dried out properly, I suspect there's a tiny weap from the front strut but nothing to worry about. If it's wet and oily here and it's not water then you've got problems.....

Here we have the front brake disc on a 1.2. These are not the original discs, they're Brembo's so they have 2 dimples on them, 1 which disappears when the discs are half worn and another that disappears when they're completely worn. I've done 40k miles on these and they're not even half worn.

There is rust and a slight lip but it's just cosmetic and not an issue.

A close up of the rear bush of the front suspension arm as well as the anti roll bar to chassis bush on the drivers side. Not how neither bush is significantly ripped or deformed? This is good. If the bush is torn or separated from the arm, then it's time to replace it. The bush is starting to crack a little, but it'll be fine to get past an MOT in 6 weeks or so. Might last another year or two but definitely something I'll be looking at regularly.

Passenger's side. Lots of little bits of rust, but again nothing to worry about at all


One thing to note, when I fitted the pads I don't think I fitted the pad wear sensor properly and it's now missing along with a good length of the wiring. Am I bothered? Nope! Because I check the pads twice a year and if they're getting anywhere near worn I'd replace them. This is the side of the car that runs at the side of the road and picks up the most crud when I'm in lanes, it's the dirtier and slightly rustier side for that reason.

Balljoint on the front suspension arm, check the boot isn't torn, detached or missing, if it is it's an MOT fail. CV boot is the accordion looking thing at the top of the photo, same rules as the balljoint boot, if it's torn, detached or missing it's an MOT fail, but if it was torn or missing then you'd soon hear it.

The oil sump at the bottom of the engine, bit of surface rust and not an issue

Here's the exhaust backbox and she is quite crusty, as it is it should get an advisory for being significantly corroded, but as you can see in the second photo, the inside is still intact so it shouldn't fail. When it get worse and start to leak then it'll get replaced with a stainless steel box which will last the lifetime of the vehicle. 5 years and 65k isn't terrible though, on the other hand neither is it fantastic. Also note the ridiculously clean wheels

View from behind the passenger side rear wheel. Lots of surface rust as you'd expect but the bits that are important like the brake pipes are still fine and all the cables are attached to the rear beam as they should be. Wheels are nice and clean aren't they! Damper isn't leaking which would be an MOT fail. Somehow I've forgotten to take a photo of the bush at the top of the rear dampers. Common issue and usually fairly easy to spot as the bush separates from the metal sleeve in which it sits.

Much better looking and far cleaner wheels. Car looks better but is now more jittery, slower and less economical! Hurrah!

306maxi said:

Here's the exhaust backbox and she is quite crusty, as it is it should get an advisory for being significantly corroded, but as you can see in the second photo, the inside is still intact so it shouldn't fail. When it get worse and start to leak then it'll get replaced with a stainless steel box which will last the lifetime of the vehicle. 5 years and 65k isn't terrible though, on the other hand neither is it fantastic. Also note the ridiculously clean wheels

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Yeah maxi my exhausts looks better than that but it must be the fact that it really doesn't rain so much in Greece. The UK's climate is much harsher on cars in terms of rust.

ahmett said:

Yeah maxi my exhausts looks better than that but it must be the fact that it really doesn't rain so much in Greece. The UK's climate is much harsher on cars in terms of rust.

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I'd be surprised if yours doesn't last past 10 years

306maxi said:

Here's a spring, the paint/powercoat has come off. This is actually an issue as it will create a weak point and will crack one day.

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Firstly, some bloody good photos for all of those who never, ever bother to have a look under their car. I'm one of those 'freaks' who has the wheels off regularly on both my cars, wiping down coil springs, control arms, brake pipes, you name it, anything accessible and visible. As ahmett has pointed out and which we Brits all know, our winters do no favours to the underside of cars with the amount of road salt chucked down year in year out.

I picked your coil spring photo out for the reason that I just recently replaced both front coil springs (including shocks and top mount bearings) on my other car because of corrosion and pitting which as you are very correct in saying, will eventually snap, often in mid winter when the temperatures have dropped and the metal is really cold. For those people that don't believe coil springs snap often on cars, you only have to look at the side of many A roads, dual carriageways and motorways to see bits of broken coil spring.

Yeah, poor quality steel and rubbish quality paint/powerboat sadly does that to a car. I had a front spring break on my 406 when it was about 10 year old with 100k miles on the clock. Subaru still has its original springs and is twice as old with more than twice the mileage.


When suspension bits go on the 500 it's getting b14's which will last far longer

My other car has only done 40k and just the offside coil was pitted, powder coating had come off a treat. Obviously, it is best policy to replace both coil springs at the same time, so that is what I did. Thankfully, I am a very competent home mechanic, so I changed both sides myself, just over 1.5 hours each side. Saved a fortune doing it myself.

Maxi, those wheels are really super clean. Good job!

And thank you for the write up.