Technical Rear axle rusty

[RikkyF]

Hi everyone,

My Eleganza is still going strong, but on my MOT I got an advisory (monitor & repair if necessary) about my rusty rear axle. Looks a bit scabby but still working & not yet an MOT failure point.

My question is...Are Eleganza replacement axles easy to come by & reasonable cost? Would it be cheaper to source one from a Panda that's being broken or buy a replacement part? Are all Panda rear axles interchangeable?

Has anyone else on the forum swapped out the rear axle? Just testing the waters so I know potential costs.

TIA

 

[koalar]

Hi everyone,

My Eleganza is still going strong, but on my MOT I got an advisory (monitor & repair if necessary) about my rusty rear axle. Looks a bit scabby but still working & not yet an MOT failure point.

My question is...Are Eleganza replacement axles easy to come by & reasonable cost? Would it be cheaper to source one from a Panda that's being broken or buy a replacement part? Are all Panda rear axles interchangeable?

Has anyone else on the forum swapped out the rear axle? Just testing the waters so I know potential costs.

TIA

MOT's advisory's are subjective

its likely a coat with some rust protection and it will last another 10 years, cheapest and easiest option

but to answer your question there are 3 axles

drum easy cheap second hand or new

disc as fitted to some diesel/petrol fairly hard to find second hand easy new

100HP disc not made any more, pretty impossible to find new or second hand however its easy to convert a drum axle to fit

plenty of axle have been fitted and protected on the forum. Top right search button should fetch up plenty


cost will depend on whether you do it yourself or pay a garage. less than £10 over £300

 

[DaveMcT]

New drum brake axle. Phone them for delivery costs.

New Fiat Panda axle Drum Version 03-11

Brand new fiat panda axle replacement.

www.imaxle.co.uk

Expect to need new pivot bushes and new brake hoses. The old flare nuts will have seized so rubbers have to be cut. Also consider overhauling the brakes while in there. Even if you only need new wheel cylinders - they are cheap.

However, if you can do without the car for a few days, get the axle grit blasted and hot zinc metal sprayed. It's overkill but costs are low so well worth doing.

 

[rmjbn1]

Hi, I agree with @koalar, the rear axle might not need replacing if you can spend the time to de-rust and treat it.
Obviously if there are any holes that aren't supposed to be there, it's a different matter. They usually go first in the spring pans.
There's a great guide to removing the rear springs for access (it's only two bolts) here: https://www.fiatforum.com/guides/panda-rear-suspension-replacement.826/
I attacked mine with wire brush attachments on angle grinder and drill, rust-proofed and painted, more here: https://www.fiatforum.com/threads/psychopanda-quest-ce-que-cest.475528/#post-4524987

 

[DaveMcT]

It's an easy job to drop the axle and brackets off the car. I started with angle-grinder and wire cup brush, etc. It's a HORRIBLE job. Bits of wire brush get thrown around, dust gets everywhere and the hard scale was not coming off. I can't imagine doing it underneath the car.
P'd off with poor progress, I took the axle to be grit blasted and hot metal sprayed. Total cost £80.
Today I would buy a new axle from IM. De-rusting an old scaled-up axle is not worth the hassle.

 

[koalar]

I took the axle to be grit blasted and hot metal sprayed. Total cost £80.

£80 sounds cheap didn't you have to replace the brake pipes as well ?


Does depend how long you plan to keep the car, how bad it is and so on
also if you are going to do the job yourself or pay someone

plenty of cars have the same advisories for corrosion for several following years

if it was me I would. put the rear on axle stands, Remove the rear wheels. Undo the lower rear shock bolts, hand brush off the loose paint and rust and smoother in grease and reassemble. No more than half an hour.

Probably out last the rest of the car

 

[jrkitching]

if it was me I would. put the rear on axle stands, Remove the rear wheels. Undo the lower rear shock bolts, hand brush off the loose paint and rust and smoother in grease and reassemble.

That's what I'd do too.

Running older cars isn't about trying to restore everything that's worn or corroded to new condition (unless we're talking about a valuable classic). It makes more sense to just take such cheap and simple measures as you can to prolong the life of corroded &/or worn but still serviceable parts; if it does ultimately fail, you still have the option of a cheap pattern axle.

 

[DaveMcT]

£80 is what it cost to have the axle grit blasted and metal sprayed. Paint over the top was additional cost (though not really necessary). I replaced brake hoses but they were old and no loss. Rubber bushes were protected by the blasters so did not need to be replaced.

I replaced metal lines and rubber hoses with braided lines from underbody flare nuts to the brakes. They cost more than just the four rubbers but are fit and forget and the rubbers are not low cost. If you keep rubber hoses at the front, the brakes wont feel excessively hard.