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Technical Siezed O2 Sensor

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Technical Siezed O2 Sensor

**Update

Hi guys thanks for your concern, I took it to the same mechanic that fitted the exhaust and he managed to replace the o2 sensor at the bottom of the manifold and unseized the o2 sensor just above it (charged me £30) so I can replace it in my own time once this new one from eBay is here, hopefully start of next week. This for now has got rid of the amber engine light, I drove it for just over an hour and the engine light has not came back on, which suggests it probably was not switched off by a OBD reader. I also mentioned to him regarding the “clunking noise” when I turn the steering wheel at low speeds and to have it looked at. After looking at it he said I have a broken coil and that he will phone me sometime next week to have it in and replaced. I have my car home now and a bit scared to use it because of this broken coil (he did not mention what side or where just said it was a broken coil).

My question is having a broken coil does it mean that the car can be used until it’s fixed?

Also how much would this roughly cost?

Many thanks
 
The spring looks to be around £35 including VAT from S4p: https://www.shop4parts.co.uk/?name=...Fiat_Panda_III_(09_to_12)_1.2_8v_Coil_Springs which is probably about what I'd expect to pay at my local factor. Just look at the recommended dealer price! The strut will need to be dropped out but that's not a very big job for a competent man. There are several ways this could be done, the easiest is to undo the two big bolts that hold the strut to the hub/upright but these bolts can be significantly rusted and often should really be renewed if undone - they may shear. It can also be done by removing the whole assembly complete with the hub but more has to be undone so takes longer. I think about an hour, maybe an hour and a half's labour would be right unless something decided to put up a real fight but could be done quicker if all goes well and the mechanic really knows his Fiats.

Edit/PS the top mount should be carefully inspected and renewed if necessary: https://www.shop4parts.co.uk/?name=store&op=Product&ProdID=1746 as you don't want to be doing it all over again a few months later and the mount isn't expensive as you can see.
 
koalar said:
Can you drive it with the broken spring

Probably not a good idea
Click to expand...
I certainly wouldn't advise it.

Driving with a broken spring may put extra stress on the shock absorber and if that then has to be replaced as well, it will add to the cost of the repair. Also if another piece breaks off and falls onto the road it could burst another driver's tyre and cause a nasty accident. Unlikely, but remember a burst tyre after running over the preceeding aircraft's dropped parts was the primary cause of the loss of the French Concorde.

Also note that a broken spring is an MOT fail; the car isn't roadworthy and continuing to use it could lead to insurance issues should you be unfortunate enough to be involved in an accident.

This would be a major fault, rather than a dangerous one, so driving it carefully to/from a place of repair would logically be acceptable.
 
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jrkitching said:
I'd give serious thought to replacing the springs on both sides, especially if you're going to use an aftermarket part like the one in Pugglt's link. The car might not sit level at the front if you just replace one.
Click to expand...
Good point

Last time I look on ePer there were dozens of different ones

Each engine size with or without aircon
Some of the special editions
Which is surprising seeing the big
manufacturers only supply one fit all

Plus the originals will have sagged


If the spring has broken I wonder how much life is left in the struts
 
jrkitching said:
I certainly wouldn't advise it.

Driving with a broken spring may put extra stress on the shock absorber and if that then has to be replaced as well, it will add to the cost of the repair. Also if another piece breaks off and falls onto the road it could burst another driver's tyre and cause a nasty accident. Unlikely, but remember a burst tyre after running over the preceeding aircraft's dropped parts was the primary cause of the loss of the French Concorde.

Also note that a broken spring is an MOT fail; the car isn't roadworthy and continuing to use it could lead to insurance issues should you be unfortunate enough to be involved in an accident.

This would be a major fault, rather than a dangerous one, so driving it carefully to/from a place of repair would logically be acceptable.
Click to expand...
Good point

If it was dangerous I be surprised the mechanic didn’t warn the customer

I’d get some pictures posted

Broken coils normally site a lot lower on that burner but not always
 
koalar said:
Broken coils normally site a lot lower on that burner but not always
Click to expand...
All depends on where they break.

Sometimes it's just a tip that snaps off; those kind of breakages don't much affect the ride height and are often missed, even by MOT testers. The lip on the lower strut flange can obscure such a break, you have to feel as well as look - but beware of sharp, jagged metal and cut fingers!
 
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jrkitching said:
All depends on where they break.

Sometimes it's just a tip that snaps off; those kind of breakages don't much affect the ride height and are often missed, even by MOT testers. The lip on the lower strut flange can obscure such a break, you have to feel as well as look - but beware of sharp, jagged metal and cut fingers!
Click to expand...
Yep I thought that

But it wouldn’t make a noise turning

Nothing fully fits in my head with

Broken spring
I will call you next week
And no warning not to drive the car

I might be missing something
 
As already mentioned, it's not a great idea to drive the car with a broken spring really, though you probably have been doing just that until it was spotted.

It's not unusual for the near side to go, that side tends to get more water flicked up into the wheel arch due to the camber of the road, but to be honest it could be either side.

They usually break at the end of the coil, where the coil tightens to a flat. So they lose the flat spring end that locates them into the mounting plate, this can cause the spring to wind back and forth when steering and cause a clunking noise.

As already mentioned, it is usually a good idea to change them in pairs, both springs on the same axle, but with a budget runaround and the other looking ok, you could suck it and see. I doubt there would be more of a measurable difference, but you could try measuring the gaps between top of wheels and wheel arch after.

With the right tools, it's actually a pretty easy job but for a novice it can be a bit risky.
You have to put the spring under tension to reduce it's overall length and it can store a lot of energy. If the compression tool slips, well you could end up with a scarred face like me!
 
The right side of the car now is sagging not badly but noticeable so have taken the decision to not drive the car anymore, also regarding people saying why would he let you drive it etc cmon guys it’s mechanics their money whores, they don’t care about health and safety, especially the ones I have been to anyways. “Sorry I’m busy till next week it’s okay to drive for now” should get your business licence as a mechanic ripped right off you. But then again everyone has to make a living somehow.
 
I've seen too many broken spring situations where the end of the broken spring has punctured the sidewall of the tyre, so, although I'd like to be able to examine the beak before making a definite recommendation, My advice would be not to drive it. As advised above, driving a car with a known serious fault could have serious insurance implications.

As far as changing both springs at the same time? If money is no object then it's a no brainer, just do them both. However, because each side is a separate job in it's own right there's no reason why you shouldn't do the one side, drive it around the block a few times to settle the new parts in and then stand back and look at it. If it seems to be riding level then fine.

As far as condition of the struts goes, Our Becky's were well shot by the time she was 10 years old and in fact the N/S blew it's top seal and ejected most of it's oil all over the N/S underwing. When I took a serious look at it all I found that the bottom arms had obviously been replaced around the time we bought her - 2016/17 - but everything else (top mounts, springs, etc) were pretty well worn out so I did a complete rebuild.

To give you some idea of what this involves here's the thread I started at the time: https://www.fiatforum.com/threads/beckys-leaky-strut.475141/ The leaky strut is shown right at the beginning but you need to scroll about half way down the first page to get to where the real work starts.
 
Mechanic phoned me today and said I could bring the car down tomorrow morning to get this coil replaced. He stated it would be £115 all together just for the 1 coil plus fitting!

All other mechanics in the area are booked up till next week and I need the car for work so no other option than to get it fixed tomorrow.

Just feel it’s a bit pricey, what does everyone else think is that a good price or?
 
As to whether that's a reasonably price? A lot will depend on where he's buying the spring from. Price seems to be around £35 or so for an aftermarket part from the likes of a factor up to over £100 for a genuine FCA one from a dealer. Then, as koalar says above, it depends on where you are for hourly labor costs. I guess if you are down in the affluent south east that will be a lot more than a wee country garage near me in the Scottish Borders? In short, £115 all in including VAT doesn't really sound too bad to me.
 
. He stated it would be £115 all together just for the 1 coil plus fitting

Retail for a spring is about £30

Although from fiat is over 100
 
koalar said:
He stated it would be £115 all together just for the 1 coil plus fitting
Click to expand...

I read it that the £115 included both labour and VAT, so although perhaps a little on the high side for an independent garage, not altogther unreasonable. I'd have expected to get this down to about £85-£95 by shopping around; a premium of £20 or so to get it fixed tomorrow doesn't seem too bad.

Another thing to remember is that changing a front spring on a 17yr old car involves undoing a few potentially very corroded fastenings; there's always the possibility of needing to spend a lot more time than the book figures for a new car suggest. This isn't a job I'd personally relish doing.

But yes, a competent DIY'er with a decent set of tools could have this sorted for £30 or so (shop4parts with the forum discount will be about that). Just goes to illusrtrate what we both often say - the economics of running an older car very much depend on how much you are able to do for yourself.
 
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Sorry for the confusion but he said that it is £115 for one coil spring + the fitting + VAT. It is a small local garage and here we have 2 main car part dealers that are local and do deliveries and deals with mechanics on a daily basis. The 2 main part dealers here are Livi auto parts and Dingbro. I rang Dingbro out of curiosity just to see if they have the part and they said yes they do it would be an “aftermarket coil spring” however they were not willing to tell me the price unless I had an account with them. They only deal with garages straight and not consumers.
 
jrkitching said:
I read it that the £115 included both labour and VAT, so although perhaps a little on the high side for an independent garage, not altogther unreasonable. I'd have expected to get this down to about £85-£95 by shopping around; a premium of £20 or so to get it fixed tomorrow doesn't seem too bad.

Another thing to remember is that changing a front spring on a 17yr old car involves undoing a few potentially very corroded fastenings; there's always the possibility of needing to spend a lot more time than the book figures for a new car suggest. This isn't a job I'd personally relish doing.

But yes, a competent DIY'er with a decent set of tools could have this sorted for £30 or so (shop4parts with the forum discount will be about that). Just goes to illusrtrate what we both often say - the economics of running an older car very much depend on how much you are able to do for yourself.
Click to expand...

I’m wary of that hopefully nothing else is broke or effected by this coil and can have it changed tomorrow morning early. Will give an update on the final result.
 
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