Hi - newbie here with a problem over Easter to sort.

And plse excuse my inability to name the parts correctly but hopefully you'll get what i'm on about.

A Mk2 Mulitpla '54. When up on the ramp for tyres, noticed the rear rubber stops ('bungs'?) on both sides had fallen out & were sat in rear springs (at least i discovered the latest rattle).

The cups ('holders'?) at the top that hold them up have corroded away.

The main dealer assured me i need a whole new 'axle' as the cups ('holders'?) are a part of that whole unit & not a separate component.

= an eyewatering estimate from the dealer that required sitting in a dark room for some period of time and a stiff drink tbh.

(No scepticism here - honest - that they might be 'stretching' the truth a little but, for eg, they also said i needed a whole headlight unit, when it probably needs just a bulb. Anyway MOT due and decisions to make on the Multi, so...)

So, is that actually true (you have to take off & replace the entire 'arm' bit)? I was told the cups / holders are a part of the arm (seems hard to believe, or, certainly a terrible design).

Or can you get the holders / 'cups' as sep parts to replace & bolt back in?

Also: if it is an axle complete, i assume it's a breaker's job?

If components best place to source?

Found a diag on ePER - showing what i mean. Specifically:

the rubber 'pad' (my 'stop' / 'bung' above) is part #5.

and i assume the holder bit is #4

Hope that's clear and thanks in advance for any pointers.

(Live up near Preston / Blackpool so any friendly Fiat garages / recommendations would also help, thnx.)

Apols - not sure how to do a link but here goes:

(oops - just read i can't post a link yet for some reason.)

Have you got some actual pics to help us know what you mean...

If the parts your on about are not welded or cast to the axle (which I doubt) you won't need a new axle just the parts. As for the headlight, if there is any damage to the reflector around behind and around the bulb or the glass lense is damaged badly then yes you will need to replace it but plenty of high quality ones on ebay or in the local salvage yard for about £10-15.

boilermansab said:

Have you got some actual pics to help us know what you mean...

Click to expand...

Hi DC.

Apols my bathroom renovation 'eat' my Easter - hence my tawdy responses.

I can get some pics but think i need to have so many posts before i can upload?

I will try again & see if it lets me link to the ePER page i found (&forgot to bookmark).

Watch this space...

realstokebloke said:

Hi DC.

Apols my bathroom renovation 'eat' my Easter - hence my tawdy responses.

I can get some pics but think i need to have so many posts before i can upload?

I will try again & see if it lets me link to the ePER page i found (&forgot to bookmark).

Watch this space...

Click to expand...

Sorry boilerman - that was replying to you (above).

I meant to do it, honest : ) - sneakily totting up my posts so i can post a url.

Dcthebear said:

If the parts your on about are not welded or cast to the axle (which I doubt) you won't need a new axle just the parts. As for the headlight, if there is any damage to the reflector around behind and around the bulb or the glass lense is damaged badly then yes you will need to replace it but plenty of high quality ones on ebay or in the local salvage yard for about £10-15.

Click to expand...

Hi DC,

yes, i can't belive the part would be a part of the actual cross member itself either.

As above i will try to find the ePER page as a url and post it to follow...

realstokebloke said:

Hi DC,

yes, i can't belive the part would be a part of the actual cross member itself either.

As above i will try to find the ePER page as a url and post it to follow...

Click to expand...

Right.

Think that's five posts, so...

This page shows the spring, the rubber stop and the enigmatically titled Thrust ring.

The rubber stops part #5 (both sides) have dropped down as whatever retained them is corroded.

Fiat main dealers (with an eye on a big bill no doubt) say they're retained by a part of the top subframe crossmember itself (i.e. stamped out of the metal). This bit isn't numbered / named on there but is the greyed out bit & i think is called the cross member?

I can't believe whatever holds them (i suspect the Thrust Ring) isn't a separate part. (part #4).

So (as per top post) can anyone help / enlighten me - or have they done this job - or am i alone in having got rusted rubber stop retainers?

(Hope the link works.)

http://eper.fiatforum.com/eper/navi...=3&WINDOW_ID=1&SGRP_COD=5&SGS_COD=0&DRW_NUM=2

It seems to.

so thanks in advance for any insights.

Also...any good Fiat spanner-weilding garages what know what they're doing oop 'ere (Preston / Blackpool way.)

Ok I have one down aswell.
And I can pop it back up using my fingers thru the spring...did it just now when I saw your post.
Anyway thers a circa 10mm hole that the stopper pushes into on mine... Has yours corroded beyond that?
I'd say the stopper originally had a mushroom head to prevent it coming back down?
I'm going to try some windscreen glue to hold mine up.., but I'm not sure it's even an issue???
Marty.

martyc5674 said:

Ok I have one down aswell.
And I can pop it back up using my fingers thru the spring...did it just now when I saw your post.
Anyway thers a circa 10mm hole that the stopper pushes into on mine... Has yours corroded beyond that?
I'd say the stopper originally had a mushroom head to prevent it coming back down?
I'm going to try some windscreen glue to hold mine up.., but I'm not sure it's even an issue???
Marty.

Click to expand...

Hi Marty,

i honestly couldn't see scrabbling around under & will need it on the ramp to get a good look.

From the diagram (link above) it might well just push into the hole in the upper cross member but..there is some sort of rim / retainer that holds it up that has corroded.

Mine certainly won;t just push back or glue in.

Re not an issue - was told it would (strictly speaking) be an MOT fail as any corrosion around any suspension parts is a no-no.

That said the othe advice was just to get them out from inside the springs & splat a load of grease up top - so the unsuspecting MOT man might not see that there was / is an issue.

I guess we both need to know the answer. Might be more common than i thought?

Actually, if the rubber stops were just removed, would it be the end of the world?

In that I can't ever remember 'bottomiong out' at the rear anyway - or would it be more serious?

Thnx.

You won't need a ramp to have a look... Get under it from behind with a good torch and you'll see straight away.
Re bottoming out... I'm really not sure if not having them would cause the suspension to operate out of it's comfort zone...I doubt it..but I wouldn't mind someone elses opinion.
Marty.

Here's an excerpt from the MoT testers manual Sec 2.4.a:


a. Inadequate clearance of the axle or suspension with the bump stop or chassis
b. a suspension unit so weak that the body or other part of the vehicle fouls a road wheel or would do so if the vehicle was laden.

[FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial]Note:
[/FONT][/FONT]

The OS one on my 54 plate Eleganza is completely missing and the whole protruding lump that the bump stop pushes into is corroded and missing, all that is left is the bit that the spring sits against plus about 10mm of the metal that starts to rise away from the chassis to where the bumpstop mount would have been. As far as i'm aware providing the mount for the spring is still sound then its not an MOT failure. Mine was like this on its last MOT in January and it wasnt even an advisory.

My multi went for it's mot this morning with a broken bump stop still sitting in the spring and I got an advisory for it! (althought it failed on a whole load of other things lol)

Cheers fellas - sounds like no bump stop (taking out the stop from within the spring) is the (cheapest) way to go.

Will let you know.

If i went the 'proper' route though (new mount for &, possibly, new bump stops) can anyone actually confirm they sit in / are retained by the top cross member itself at each side (big, expensive job) or, once disassembled, do they sit in / are retained by ano, separate part?

Can't seem to get a consensus.

As i'll need a whole host of other 'consumables' this time inc x4 tyres & a timing belt and, last time i looked, i hadn't won the lottery to pay for a "just do whatever needs doing" brief to Will at the garage, I might have to go for the cheaper option this time anyway.

Cheers.

How did you get on with that remedy btw Marty plse?

The mount for the bump stop is an integral part of the rear subframe, if i remember ill take a piccy of the (new ) subframe ive got in the shed for you, mine were rattling round inside the spring and ive just used a massive blob of silicone to stick them in their general positions althought dropping the springs and removing them should only take about half an hour.
last time i checked the subframes were about £500 lol.
While your under it just remember the rubber mounts that the subframe sits on are also classed as part of it but can be replaced so check em while your there.

Hi JTDman,

Thanks - yes (unfortunately) it does seem to be the case that they are a part of the subframe - and therefore the most expensive bung retaining devices on the planet.

(Who designs these things? Ludicrous but there we have it.)

So, yes i need a top subframe & would be interested to know what you have & so, if you get back to me, that'd be great thanks.

When having a poke we noticed also that the radius arm bushes (a known issue i gather) are dodgy on one side too - so i might be better sourcing a whole rear axle 'unit' (raduis arms, springs, shockers the lot) off a breaker? Then four bolts out / brake cables off & off we go (in theory)?

Sound like a plan?

Let me know on your subframe though JTD plse, thanks.

Sorry dude didnt mean to make it sound like it was for sale, i bought it about a year ago on the bay for £21 from a dealer.
I keep debating fitting it to mine and just cannot decide what to do, one side of me is thinking keep it in stock and buy a newer 2006 ish Multi and the other side is liking the look of a Mitsi Grandis and flogging it.
Keep trawling the bay , they do come up now and then.

My plan was to rebuild the whole rear end up off the car with new bits then simply drop the whole lot in one go and fit the new one.

£21!!
What a bargain!