Technical Aftermarket axle for fiat 500?
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Technical Aftermarket axle for fiat 500?
That's the company I would buy from. I think they advertise that the spring pans are made from thicker metal than the original? Removing the old axle and swapping over all the necessary parts - the axle is "bare" without the stub axles, brakes etc - is where it can get stupidly expensive if you're not doing it yourself. Most workshops won't quote a fixed price but a couple of the local small chaps around me have said £600ish if it all goes well. If not then broken studs, making up new brake lines (very likely) etc are charged on time taken. The cost can quickly escalate. Our panda is going to need one next year and I wouldn't have hesitated to do this myself - if you've some experience and a decent tool kit then it's a doable driveway job - but I'm old and creaky and having to consider very hard whether it's worth getting someone else to do it for me. How I'm hating getting old!
I bought and fitted one of these on our 09 car a few years ago.
You(I) need to be a competent experienced diy person with a range of tools at hand, be good at problem solving when things don't go as planned in theory it's just 4 bolts to remove the whole axle.
Your biggest concern are the brake pipes, quite doable IF yore used to working with brake pipes and the issues of rusted solid fittings, basically you replace all the brake components, possibly including the flexible.
You(I) need to be a competent experienced diy person with a range of tools at hand, be good at problem solving when things don't go as planned in theory it's just 4 bolts to remove the whole axle.
Your biggest concern are the brake pipes, quite doable IF yore used to working with brake pipes and the issues of rusted solid fittings, basically you replace all the brake components, possibly including the flexible.
Hi there , I had the axle fitted from a local mechanic and it the. failed the mot again as the brake pipes have cracks in them and now the rear shock is loose! This wasn’t an issue until the axle was replaced by the mechanic. I took it to a mot station and they said the following needed to be rectified for it to pass on the image attached . The mechanic I used is charging £500 labour and I supplied the axle. This seems quite expensive but he said he has to replace the brake pipes? Any advice appreciated . Thanks again
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From your pictures, the nuts on the hubs - 4 off on each side - don't look "right" to me. They are specified as high tensile - think 10.9 as against 8.8 - I think that needs checked and confirmed. The brake pipes in pics one and two have serious corrosion and need replaced. I'd not have had the cheek to put them back on without first contacting the customer, and even then, if a refusal resulted, I would have refused as I wouldn't want to find myself in court later on! For all it takes to make up a couple of metal pipes I'd have sold my customer on replacing these anyway. Interesting to see "Check O/S/R hub nuts" in the list. You need to know if they mean check for tightness or literally "check the nuts" because he thinks they are "wrong" as I mentioned above.
£500 labour for an all in quality job, including the labour content in the brake pipes, and assuming he had no particular difficulties with stripping the parts needed from the old axle, is not outrageous but not "super cheap" either. However failing to tighten the lower shocker bolt is inexcusable and there should never be any leaks in the brake system That bottom shocker bolt needs to be car3efully checked to be sure it's just not been tightened properly - which would raise a whole load of other disturbing thoughts in my mind - or is the thread damaged thus preventing proper tightening? once all this is sorted out I'd be wanting to slacken the two front bolts - where the arms go into the floor brackets - and the bottom shocker bolts, let the car down onto the ground and check ride height and then fully tighten those 4 bolts. Doing this ensures the big rubber bushes are not "wound up" with the vehicle at rest. If these bolts are tightened with the vehicle "wheel free" ie. jacked off the ground, then they will be "wound up" when in the static position which will decrease the service life of the bushes and may even slightly affect ride height, especially with an empty vehicle (ie no passengers or other loads).
If t'wer me, I'd not be best pleased with this for the money I'd paid.
Edit. For the sake of clarity, removing and refitting metal brakes pipes can be enough of a problem even when the pipes are quite new and in good condition. When they are old and rusty, as the pictures seem to show your's are, I'm not surprised problems have been encountered. I'm sure the chap would not have deliberately set out to cause leaks, but with pipes in this sort of condition, it's very difficult not to end up with problems and the only real way to approach this would be to make up and fit new pipes. I'd love to know what his thinking on this was because, to me, it's making no sense.
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Thanks anmor
Thanks for this - he seems to have replaced part of the brake pipes (copper) but they don’t fully run to the rear brakes - the mechanic said he was surprised he didn’t run it the full length as they are corroded as you say ! I think I’ll have to get some quotes for the work to get done. Not sure what to do as I havent paid for the work yet but might have to report to trading standards . Don’t feel the work justifies what’s being charged so will have to work out whats reasonable to pay. Appreciate the advice again.
he said it was 11 hours labour that he has charged £45 an hour labour . He charged £80 for 2 springs and £50 for pipes and bleeding brakes. I supplied a new aftermarket axle for £150…
Those nuts do look the wrong type, but also there should be a consistent amount of thread showing. Has the one with no thread showing been snapped off?
I've done quite a few now (mostly Pandas, admittedly) but not had any that look like that.
I always replace the metal and flexy brake pipes, as I've never come across any which were good enough to re-use. I normally replace them as far forward as the join under the passenger seat as it is easier than splicing the original pipes.
I usually take the opportunity to replace the wheel cylinders too, as they are cheap and its easier to bleed a new one than an old one with a rusty bleed nipple.
However, I have had 2 problems with lower damper bolts not tightening up properly. Both times I just had to run a cleaning tap through them to sort it out.
I've done quite a few now (mostly Pandas, admittedly) but not had any that look like that.
I always replace the metal and flexy brake pipes, as I've never come across any which were good enough to re-use. I normally replace them as far forward as the join under the passenger seat as it is easier than splicing the original pipes.
I usually take the opportunity to replace the wheel cylinders too, as they are cheap and its easier to bleed a new one than an old one with a rusty bleed nipple.
However, I have had 2 problems with lower damper bolts not tightening up properly. Both times I just had to run a cleaning tap through them to sort it out.
ZaphodB
Established member
At least Dick Turpin wore a mask 
That short bolt looks like it was cut off (gas axe style)
That short bolt looks like it was cut off (gas axe style)
You can buy the pair of rear brake pipes ready made on ebay £26, as you can get new rear cylinders.
Is it the rear nearside shock that's loose at the bottom?I had to pack ours with washers when I changed ours( i did report this to the supplier but guess they never changed the spec), I used the original bolts, the abs wire is held by the brake pipe clips which may have been lost by not removing from the old axle?
Is it the rear nearside shock that's loose at the bottom?I had to pack ours with washers when I changed ours( i did report this to the supplier but guess they never changed the spec), I used the original bolts, the abs wire is held by the brake pipe clips which may have been lost by not removing from the old axle?
New Rear Pair Brake Pipes fit Fiat 500 from 2007-2021 Year CUPRONICKEL | eBay UK
FIAT 500 YEAR S FROM 2007 TO 2021 ALL MODELS WITH REAR DRUMS. this pipes will Fit. WE do not use second class at all.
ebay.us
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Hi it’s the off side rear bottom of the rear shock absorber that’s loose. Yes think he must have left the brake pipe clips ion the old axle.You can buy the pair of rear brake pipes ready made on ebay £26, as you can get new rear cylinders.
Is it the rear nearside shock that's loose at the bottom?I had to pack ours with washers when I changed ours( i did report this to the supplier but guess they never changed the spec), I used the original bolts, the abs wire is held by the brake pipe clips which may have been lost by not removing from the old axle?
New Rear Pair Brake Pipes fit Fiat 500 from 2007-2021 Year CUPRONICKEL | eBay UK
FIAT 500 YEAR S FROM 2007 TO 2021 ALL MODELS WITH REAR DRUMS. this pipes will Fit. WE do not use second class at all.ebay.us
Thanks
The rear hub fixings are actually studs, when I replaced our axle some of the nuts came off and some the whole stud came out with the nut attached
