Technical Croma springs

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Technical Croma springs

So you are saying.....remove bottom shock bolt.....pull suspension down.....extract spring and refit new spring?

If so great. I was hoping this would be the case based on a few suspension upgrades I have done in the past.

Of course I'll find out very quickly when I tackle the job, hopefully tomorrow, but today I badly stuffed a finger on my left hand releasing the strut drop-link nut. I should have used a windy gun or an extension bar when undoing this 18mm nut. Instead I use just a socket and wrench, lent on it heavily and when it crack my 4th finger got smashed between the wrench handle and disk. Ouch !!!!

Personally I do not like to use windy guns or other machanically advantaged tools initially as they completely hide and distort the mechanical firmness of what you are playing with. Sadly, as in this case you occasionally get caught out. An extension bar would have kept my hand clear of the disc, but also an extension bar allows play and misalignment to creep in and thus potential other problems.

So with bloody sore finger, fully pumped up with blood, I'm looking for an easy rear spring replace. If is not as easy as you suggest then I'm inclinded to let my damaged finger rest for a day or two.
 
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Nick;

to make it easier I removed the bolt holding the bottom arm (the alloy one) to the hub, it gave much better access. If you can get both rear wheels high up in the air then this probably isn't necessary but if you're doing one at a time I'd recommend it. There is no adjustment on the bolt in question so no need to re-align.

Condolences on the finger.

On the subject of spring seats, have a look here.

HTH.
 
Thanks HTH / DoIDon'tI

If the shock didn't work then I would have looked at the arm/hub knuckle joint separation anyway. Sounds like I should be Ok.

I don't mind tricky jobs (tools and space permitting) but with an knackered fingure and the desire to get the old girl fully refitted and fully 4 wheel aligned again to protect my new tyres I want the rears to go like clockwork (boing!) :)

Least she is driveable again. Just so pleased the broken spring happended as I drove off my drive. Looking a how hard pressed the dropped spring was into the tyre wall I'm assuming that if that this had happend a couple of miles from home there would have been both a new tyre and trailer receovery required.

Thank goodness we were not on holiday (UK/Europe) with caravan in tow.

I'm going off modern cars.

Our Strada Abarth is some 22 years old, 82K+ miles on the clock, well over 6K of these on race tracks and she still has the original springs and shocks. Similar experince with loads of ther Fiats as well.

The cause of my Croma spring failure is clearly corrosion. Looking at the corrosion profile through the spring then it could have been partly broken for a while.

Cheap Fiat springs, poor manufacuring / finish, ?, ?,

Just hope these new Kilen springs are top quality and I can now forget about them for the next 20 years!
 
Nick;

to make it easier I removed the bolt holding the bottom arm (the alloy one) to the hub, it gave much better access. If you can get both rear wheels high up in the air then this probably isn't necessary but if you're doing one at a time I'd recommend it. There is no adjustment on the bolt in question so no need to re-align.
HTH.

Well I failed /gave up.

I tried one side, dropping the shock and started to remove the bottom arm to hub bolt. As soon as one end of the bolt cleared the arm hole the whole lower bush keeled over with the in-built tension in this lower assembly.

At this point I decided that if I fully removed the bolt then working on my own I was very likely not to be able to get the bush back in the yoke and get the bolt all the way through again. As it was getting the single now out of alignment bolt end back proved quite difficult to do on my own.

After lunch I thought, OK lets get the whole back of the car in the air, drop both shocks and now hopefully the anti-roll bar moving on both sides at the same time should allow the suspension enough droop to be able to take the springs out. Still no go. Both sides bottomed out even before the brake hose became an issue.

With both sides dropped the twist tension in the lower bush was a little better and I could see that by jacking the arm upwards the twist reduced. However working on my own I can see that getting the hub bottom bush back into the lower arm yoke was probably still ging to be a two person job so I decided to quit whilst I was ahead.

Car has to be mobile for tomorrow so could not risk getting stuffed with no one to help.

She is now booked in at my local independent guys (who i know well). They also have a really neat 'one side entry' spring clamp so with luck should be just able to insert, compress, withdraw.

I did try spring clamps (worm gear style) but the rod ends got in the way. As the spring came down the rods ends still fouled the bodywork/chassis around the spring.

I'm actually quite pissed off because normally I don't like failing and certainly not when it comes to cars. However I'm no long the spring chicken I used to be and with back problems and arthritis in the wrists and handss my ability in both time duration and continual loading is well below what I used to enjoy.

Least I've done the fronts and the car is mobile again. The fronts you probably think was the harder job, but these back springs are IMHO little buggers unless you have special spring clamps on another pair of strong hands with a mechanical mind behind them to help with re-assembling the hub/yoke joint.

I keep on thinking I've not done something obvious.........
 
I keep on thinking I've not done something obvious.........

Nope - it's just not that easy if you haven't got a lot of brute force at your disposal. My spring compressors worked (worm type), but only if I removed the bolt from the lower arm - otherwise I couldn't get access. Axle stands and trolley jacks are the only things that help really. Sounds like you had a good go at it, I wouldn't worry.

By the way, HTH = Hope This Helps :)

HTH.
 
Nope - it's just not that easy if you haven't got a lot of brute force at your disposal. My spring compressors worked (worm type), but only if I removed the bolt from the lower arm
By the way, HTH = Hope This Helps :)

HTH.

Well I have all the kit (4 jacks, 6 stands, tools galoor etc.) but was potentially lacking brute force etc..

Had a rear spring spring actually broken then I would have been forced, like I was with the front, to press on regardless but when you have a fully functional car the decision to press on when you have to have the car back on the road quickly was that "step too far" for me on this occassion.

Yes the HTH did help in that where possible I always research as much as I can before most jobs that could get involved.

Maybe this is all a good omen for others thinking of tackling the rear springs in that it is not an easy job on the Croma compared to Uno's, Tipos, Tempras, in fact most (all ?) Fiats with simpler rear suspensions. The Croma's rear multi-link suspension is too complicated for it's own good.
 
Since shocks and springs have not been changed on the Corma I hopefully wont need to change them again.

Steering wheel isn't straight when driving now so something has changed. Think we best get some 4 wheel tracking before we scrub the rear tyres to nothing!
 
My front tracking is a little off after I changed the springs because I always pre-load the hubs before tightening. In the factory and most other places they tighten the strut/hub bolts up with the hub in a hanging/droop state. There is always free/preload play in this connection interface and I prefer to tighten up pre-loaded as the hub can never move from this postion even if the strut/hub bolts loosen.

When the rears are done I'll get the full 4 wheel alignment done again.
 
My Prestigio at 35000 miles just broke the N/S front spring at the top.
Just got out through the gate, so got the RAC to take it to the local service garage.
Will know more tomorrow.
 
At the TOP! I think that is unusual as most break at the bottom just above the strut saddle.

You say the RAC recovered you. This makes me think that if the RAC, AA, Green Flag etc. where served with a 'freedom of information' request regarding Fiat Croma spring failures then it may be easily possible to prove an "inherant fault". These organisations have no axe to grind and they must record reasons for callouts so they are better prepared to help motorists of different vehicles.
 
Nick, I think they logged it for the call-out as a suspension failure, but the report clearly says N/S/F suspension coil spring broken. I knew what it was, but couldn't see it until the wheel was off. The RAC were excellent, as I am finding it difficult to do this stuff at 77.
This could have been a serious problem on the motorway.
 
OK. Jst called Fiat on 00 800 34280000.

As I don't have a problem with my Croma (as I've fixed it) they can't raise a case ticket directly. However I can email, raise the problem/concern and then they can raise a case ticket.

Anybody with a Croma off the road right now with busted springs PHONE FIAT NOW before you car is repaired.

Have just sent my email them.
 
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My Prestigio at 35000 miles just broke the N/S front spring at the top.
Just got out through the gate, so got the RAC to take it to the local service garage.
Will know more tomorrow.

Sorry to hear that Keith, I had thought the 2.4s were invincible as they have heavier front springs - obviously not :(

On the plus side, did you get away without tyre damage?
 
Nick, Thanks, I was too late for today, will call Fiat Thursday AM.

L, Thanks for your concern, I just got out through the front gate and it broke, nearly had a long drive the previous day, but was driven by no. 1 daughter.
Obviously not heavy enough?
Got away with the tyre OK, but the excellent RAC man took about 2 hours to get it to my local service man, and managed to turn the spring so that a smooth bit is on the tyre.
Oddly the top circle of the coil broke off, showing some evidence of stress and corrosion through the steel.
Mileage is only 34082.
I will replace rear springs and shocks when it goes in for MOT early March.
See what Fiat can say in the morning
 
Further thought, about 3 days ago while doing the garden my wife heard a loud noise like a stone hitting the car, was it the spring giving up? It collapsed as soon as I turned right on to the road.
 
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