Technical Rear bump stops about to fall out due to corrosion

[AAB1992]

Having successfully sorted the oil leak, now my attention turns to a more sinister issue.

The underbody of the car is in great condition for the age and mileage (2004 165K) aside from the turrets that mount the bump-stops for the rear suspension. Both already have holes in and barely hold the bump stops in place.

I've seen this issue has been covered before but I have a few questions.

Would it be possible to drive without them until a permanent solution is found?
Finding a donor car for spares would be the way to go but has anyone had any luck just welding the affected area in situ?
Can anyone recommend a garage in Yorkshire as its beyond my remit welding.

Seems a massive shame to scrap the car for such a small area of corrosion.

Thank you.

 

[koalar]

Yes they can be repaired, welded in situ, just needs a couple of bolts undoing

Normally just needs a plate. It's hard to assess without seeing how bad it is

It's fairly safe to drive one up front

It's fairly dangerous with three adults in the rear

I would temporarily silicone in place if it's just the hole that's now too big

Yorkshire garages I can't help with

 

[AAB1992]

Yes they can be repaired, welded in situ, just needs a couple of bolts undoing

Normally just needs a plate. It's hard to assess without seeing how bad it is

It's fairly safe to drive one up front

It's fairly dangerous with three adults in the rear

I would temporarily silicone in place if it's just the hole that's now too big

Yorkshire garages I can't help with

I’ll try and get a picture without pulling them out completely for now. I can see metal is beginning to break off it’s become that weak.

For the vast majority of the time it’s just me driving or with an odd passenger in the front. It’s not my main car anymore, more of an ongoing project and I no longer drive the panda during winter to prevent any corrosion getting worse.

 

[koalar]

The suspension has two different spring rates at the rear

The first the standard coils are quite soft for better ride when not carrying any weight

The bump stops aren't just bump.stops,.and are dual purpose, a stiffer rate spring for when carrying weight and a way to stop metal to metal contact

In normal driving one up front, the axle never touches the bump stops

It's a cheaper option similar to progressive springs

The problem with removing the bump stops, is if there is metal to metal contact, unlikely one up, the spring rate suddenly jumps effecting the handling in an unpredictable way

 

[rmjbn1]

I've been running with one for over a year...
...but I agree should ideally be repaired.

My plan is as above, weld a plate over the end of the turret, I've seen a few repairs on this forum doing exactly that. Fairly simple repair and good as new.

There are a couple of recommendations for Leeds and Huddersfield here:

Garages

www.fiatforum.com

I would just find out where the back street indy garages are near you, take a walk around and pop into one that looks right for a chat