I took me marea to overhaul the back wishbones. They made cracking sounds plus the right wheel was off vertical. A MOT-alike station confirmed that this is the reason ("It happens to fiats all the time").
Well, I bought two sets of repair kits and drove to an inexpensive shop I'd found especially for this occasion (rear wishbone overhaul is time-consuming, hence expensive).
Two hours later the guy calls me, saying he'd changed one set of bearings but will not do the other one as both were healthy. The first one was healthy too, but he was too far down the road to stop (cut the bolt etc.)
_He will not let the car out into the street_ though, as these were the springs that made these cracking sounds and they both snapped two turns below their upper end.
Arrrgh!
A new set or rear springs + labor costed 1/5th of the car's value but had to be done. Luckily a friend had some money to lend before the first of the month.
The reason why springs broke is... RUST.
Springs are protected with a rubber hose which wears off with age and lets water in but does not let it out.
Once this water (and salt, obviously) permeates the paint it literally dissolves the spring. Here is what's left of the spring underneath the hose. One third of the diameter turned into oxides.
One last look. If not there, the spring would surely snap here:
Now... I'll cut the old springs even, sand them, paint them white and sell off as low riders. :devil:
Well, I bought two sets of repair kits and drove to an inexpensive shop I'd found especially for this occasion (rear wishbone overhaul is time-consuming, hence expensive).
Two hours later the guy calls me, saying he'd changed one set of bearings but will not do the other one as both were healthy. The first one was healthy too, but he was too far down the road to stop (cut the bolt etc.)
_He will not let the car out into the street_ though, as these were the springs that made these cracking sounds and they both snapped two turns below their upper end.
Arrrgh!
A new set or rear springs + labor costed 1/5th of the car's value but had to be done. Luckily a friend had some money to lend before the first of the month.
The reason why springs broke is... RUST.
Springs are protected with a rubber hose which wears off with age and lets water in but does not let it out.
Once this water (and salt, obviously) permeates the paint it literally dissolves the spring. Here is what's left of the spring underneath the hose. One third of the diameter turned into oxides.
One last look. If not there, the spring would surely snap here:
Now... I'll cut the old springs even, sand them, paint them white and sell off as low riders. :devil: