General coupe is F***ed

[smoo]

Took my coupe for an MOT the other day, and it came back as a fantastic fail!!

it has a ruined suspension on the back, it needs new brakes and discs all round, one of the brembos on the front needs replacing, turbo is smoking a lot as well and there are other little issues as well. To get things fixed on the cheap it would cost me £1500!! the guy who has looked at it is a close family friend, and would not con me!

Good news is that my boss has come to me offering me a audi 2 litre turbo convertable that i can have for 8 months till i get sorted for the nissan 350 z i have been looking at!

The question i have is where the hell can i get rid of it?? i dont want to break it, as it would then be down to me to dismantle it, and i dont want to let it go for a ridiculous price as it only has 75k on the clock!

i live in the north west, and would appreciate some sort of guidance as to where would be the best place to let her go to at a ok ish price??

chris

 

[bridges]

Private message sent

 

[fenton_jd]

have a car accident, then buy another with the insurance money.

Dont go from a fiat coupe to an audi.

 

[smoo]

have a car accident, then buy another with the insurance money.

Dont go from a fiat coupe to an audi.

have already considered that one! have also thought about the fire scenario! cant arrange a car crash in 2 days, as thats when the MOT expires!

had a guy PM me, but he is from the south, so not so sure if he will want to travel so far up to me in the north to collect!

as for the audi, its just a stop gap till i get the 350 z.

 

[Hellcat]

What has it actually failed MOT on?

I doubt there is £1500 worth of work to do. Calipers can be refurbished rather than buying new (or get some 2nd hand from a breakers). Disks and pads are service items, the rear ones aren't expencive. What on the rear suspension is worn out?

Granted you might not get it sorted in 2 days but if you've got use of an Audi for a bit you could use that till you get the Coupe sorted.

 

[bridges]

The bushes can go on the rear axle. and to look at the rear wheel has too much camber. I assume this could be the issue, although is the same as a 20v from HGt or Marea HLX.

I suspect its one of those situations where if you have the time and are mechanically minded then you'd be looking at a few hundred.
turbo refurb would be most costly, around £250

 

[Hellcat]

Unless he got another turbo from a breakers... or from someone on FCCUK breaking a coupe.

Most likely the bearings on the trailing arms are deaded.. they're £30 a pop to replace. If you want to get it fixed then it's do-able and for a lot less than £1500. All depends on if you're head and heart are in it.

 

[bridges]

Unless he got another turbo from a breakers... or from someone on FCCUK breaking a coupe.

Most likely the bearings on the trailing arms are deaded.. they're £30 a pop to replace. If you want to get it fixed then it's do-able and for a lot less than £1500. All depends on if you're head and heart are in it.

Very true. Most people take the turbo as an ideal opportunity to upgrade.
A hybred one makes the coupe an awesome tool coupled with a fmic gtech 2and rr session.

Turbo's will always be an unknown risk if buying second hand. However £1500
for the works mentioned seems daft.

 

[smoo]

i think that i need to get a run down of all of the work that needs doing, then give it to you lot to have a look at!

i agree that the amounts do seem high, but i only quote what i hear! dont want to get rid of it, but my main concern is that come this time next year, will i have another huge bill for it?? the car is 11 teays old now dont forget, so its now that things start to go seriously wrong!

 

[smoo]

Right, as promised, here are the details for the issues.

4 x Tyres

Turbo due to smoking

2 rear trailing suspension arms

Bushes

pads and discs all round

front drivers brembo needs sorting as its creaking heavily

Let me know thoughts please people.

chris

 

[Hellcat]

4 x Tyres - well buy it tyres! they do wear out you know

Turbo due to smoking - as above.

2 rear trailing suspension arms - arms should be fine unless you've bent them? Bearing kits for each will come to about £60 for parts.

Bushes (which ones?)

pads and discs all round (rears are about £40, fronts ???)

front drivers brembo needs sorting as its creaking heavily - get the pair serviced by bigred?


That's not a list of fails, they're just niggles. I've got my Tipo back on the road after 2 years standing and a failed cam belt for under £1300. Included most of the above plus engine work.

 

[smoo]

4 x Tyres - well buy it tyres! they do wear out you know

Turbo due to smoking - as above.

2 rear trailing suspension arms - arms should be fine unless you've bent them? Bearing kits for each will come to about £60 for parts.

Bushes (which ones?)

pads and discs all round (rears are about £40, fronts ???)

front drivers brembo needs sorting as its creaking heavily - get the pair serviced by bigred?


That's not a list of fails, they're just niggles. I've got my Tipo back on the road after 2 years standing and a failed cam belt for under £1300. Included most of the above plus engine work.

tyres do wear out, and they go very quick on one of these!

the mechanic mentioned that there was a problem where the coil met the top where it secures. is that what he means by bushes??

if the arms are bent on the trailing suspension thingy, what would be the cost of getting that sorted??? if they arent bent, what would be up with them???

i can get a re con set of calipers off ebay for £230 + postage, so it cant cost too much to get them refurbed can it??

oh, and one final thing, there is no cat on the car, will that be an automatic fail for emmissions, or will i have to source another cat to put on for the test, then remove after!

also, is the smokking the turbo always, or could it be something else???

thanks

chris

 

[bridges]

Cat will be needed for emissions and is 99% the reason why your turbo is smoking. Replace the cat before you do the turbo
The cat reduces back pressure and can kill an older turbo.
also the cat can prevent a slightly leaky turbo from smoking. It will certainly be less noticable with a cat on.
many people have reported removing a cat and for their car to smoke, replacing often resolves problem.

Sign of turbo smoke is when you leave the car to idle when hot. Oil bypasses the seals and puffs out the exhaust. when going down the road it will disappear.

Very doubtful that the arms are bent. will be the bearings. Same as mine at the moment.

The brembo fault might be to do with knackered discs and pads. Sort these first. Because the pistons will be fully out and under strain, when new thicker discs/pads are on they will be fully in.

There are lots of parts available on ebay including brake discs/pads.

 

[smoo]

ok, so with the things that you think are wrong, how much would you say that it wouls cost to put right? i could do with a rough idea, as i dont really want to get the other guy who failed the car to give me a estimate, and i cant drive it now as it is illegal.

Just a rough cost, so i can see if it is worth getting fixed, or go down the line of getting a new car!

 

[Hellcat]

Cat - £250 for a custom sports cat?
tyres - £280 to £320 for 4x 205/50R16 tyres.
front brakes - £130 for discs and pads
rear brake - £50 for discs and pands.
trailing arm bearings - £100 fitted

£850. Anyone with other approximations?

 

[smoo]

Cat - £250 for a custom sports cat?
tyres - £280 to £320 for 4x 205/50R16 tyres.
front brakes - £130 for discs and pads
rear brake - £50 for discs and pands.
trailing arm bearings - £100 fitted

£850. Anyone with other approximations?

and for the turbo that needs replacing???

 

[Hellcat]

Might be ok once you bring the back-pressure back. No idea what they go for from breakers yards etc.

 

[jug]

a recon turbo from www.turbodynamics.co.uk is £400, but you'll get a used one from someone on fccuk for a lot less, i'd estimate £100.

Midland Turbo do an exchange unit (with 360 degree bearing) for £360+VAT. That includes collection of your broken turbo and delivery of the new one.

if it was me i'd recon the turbo myself and fit a 360degree bearing while i had it in bits. that way it wont cost much at all. see if your mate is up for it.

the original turbo ony has a 270degree bearing so it iwll smoke when there isnt enough back pressure. as hellcat suggests, one you sort that out it may stop smoking. personally i'd got for a 360degree bearing and a decat pipe (or even better a hybrid turbo that will cost an extra £100-150)

 

[smoo]

a recon turbo from www.turbodynamics.co.uk is £400, but you'll get a used one from someone on fccuk for a lot less, i'd estimate £100.

Midland Turbo do an exchange unit (with 360 degree bearing) for £360+VAT. That includes collection of your broken turbo and delivery of the new one.

if it was me i'd recon the turbo myself and fit a 360degree bearing while i had it in bits. that way it wont cost much at all. see if your mate is up for it.

the original turbo ony has a 270degree bearing so it iwll smoke when there isnt enough back pressure. as hellcat suggests, one you sort that out it may stop smoking. personally i'd got for a 360degree bearing and a decat pipe (or even better a hybrid turbo that will cost an extra £100-150)

so, £1200 to fix then!!

 

[Mark20v]

With regard to your tyres - Ive got a set of 20vt alloys with 4 excellent tyres - wheels are straight, not buckled, the usual kerbing,flaking etc... 2 of the tyres are almost new (few months old) - I want £170.00 for the set of wheels and tyres - Ile take yours with knackered tyres in px providing they arent buckled.

You will need to collect them though from Essex, may be able to meet you somewhere.

Turbo Dynamics are excellent in my experience - a brand new hybrid turbo is going to cost you £800+, Garrett GT28 is the stock unit, they just change the internals - some of the bigger turbos need adapters to fit so beware of that when choosing.

We all know the market value of our coupes at the moment you gotta decide if you are going to keep it for a long while as spending the money to sell it isnt going to reap any reward in my opinion. Search Ebay religiously as the parts you need often come up at good prices.

As said the smoking is probably due to no cat - its a turbo killer and normally an emissions failure.

It may also be worth getting a 2nd opinion in respect of the mot aswell.