Technical ELX 85 16v 1.2 rear suspension help please

[josh1e]

Hi.
daft question but before i start on the wrong parts, I wanted to ask for some advice

The drivers side rear wheel can be pulled freely in / out (towards and away) from me. it does not seem to pivot (turn like the front ones) but the whole wheel moves completely level in & out. The wheel / hub feels solid, but can be moved.

I realise this is a problem lol.. but after lots of reading online, there are strut bushes, trailing arm bushes, bearings in the hub, etc all of which could be the cause / could not be faulty at all... fixing it is one thing... i need to know what to fix!

Could anyone please tell me what to look at first, if there is a way to test which bit is at fault and where to buy a replacement? is it better to replace the entire trailing arm if that's the fault or just the bush using an aftermarket kit?

Thanks in advance,
josh1e

1999 Punto 85 ELX 1.2 16v RHD petrol.

 

[s and b]

if you jack the car up on the sill where the wobbly wheel is once the arm and wheel are free of the road you will see the play in the pivot bush
i always recommend you replace the arm due to ease of fitting and no worries with things like sheared antiroll bar bolts

you can take the whole hub assembly with brakes and handbrake cable and move it carefully out of the way with the brake pipe intact which makes the job so easy
only problem is the antirollbar because to make the job really easy it could do to be undone on both arms so the radius arm can drop down but you are into sheared bolts made of chocolate on these im afraid as ive already said

your choice of course

i also note on ebay these arms are very dear so you need to be asking a few trade motor factors in your area for a quote which used to be an exchange quote so bare this in mind

 

[josh1e]

Thanks S & B.

I plan to get the car up & check it out this weekend, gives me chance to find a cheap local dealer for the replacement arm. I'll check out the bolts / corrosion and see what's feasible. £70 for an arm or £20 for a bush kit, I was wondering about trying to repair it, i'm not bad at replacing struts, brakes, brake pipes, usual run of the mill stuff, but corroded bolts and pulling bushes out might be a bit beyong me....

Thanks for the info, really helpful mate. I'd seen loads of posts, saying check for play, pull the wheel / try tilting the wheel, but couldn't find an explanation of what had gone wrong if you could move it lol..

thanks again,
josh1e