rear coil springs.. lowering etc

[NB 02 HOT]

ok so i know very little about the mechanics of a car yet having only had one for 4 months so please bear with me if these sound like stupid questions...

my 53' 1.2 16v clio had its MOt today and failed on the basis of a "nearside rear clio spring fractured [2.4.C.1a]"

they say they'll only reaplace both rears at once so want £141.24 inc everything ( labour, parts & retest).

so question 1: does this seem like a reasonable price for the work being done.

this is where i might sound like an idiot... but is it these springs that are replaced when you have the car lowered?

am looking at having the car lower 60mm on springs along these lines, http://www.k-tecracing.com/show_product.asp?id=247 , so its pretty pointless having the work done if im only going to have them replaced anyway. also it would actually work out cheaper to have it lowered all round than just having the rear springs replaced.

cheers for any help anyone can give me.

 

[Fred@BTM]

speak to john at 2modified for a suspension kit

or you can buy my old standard rear springs off me for £10 and fit them yourself in half an hour

 

[NB 02 HOT]

thanks fred i might just do that. i'll be in touch.

but am i right in thinking that my broken coils & those K-tech new ones are actually the same parts?

 

[NB 02 HOT]

can anyone help answer this for me as i need to sort it 2moro morning

 

[Faxo]

Yes you are right!

You've failed on a broken spring, and it is normal practice to replace both, but if your lowering it then its these springs which you replace!

Get just one spring from someone, and fit it until you can afford the lowering springs. It'll get you throught your MOT at least

 

[NB 02 HOT]

faxo thanks thats a great help.

seeing all the lowered motors on here i take it theres no problems with it passing an mot on -60mm springs? think i'll just get it lowered asap and rebook it in for its mot

 

[Russ.]

mine sailed through mot lowered 60mm on springs (51 plate 1.2 16v)

 

[Turkish]

I'd be interested to know how much the springs are costing, changing them is literally a 10 minute job if that. As for replacing them in pairs it's generally good practice to replace springs or dampers in pairs but if they are available individually then there's nothing to stop you changing just one. That said if you are looking at lowering the car you may as well do it now.

 

[NB 02 HOT]

quote was as this:

labour costs, quantity: 0.8 @ 45.00 = 42.30
coil spring, quantity: X2 @ 42.10 = 98.94

comes to 141.24

so looks like they're charging me 48 minutes labour for that 10 minute job.
also looks like their sold individually, the garage however said theyd only replace both at once

 

[Turkish]

Way overcharging on labour it doesnt take near an hour to swap two springs, unbolt one damper, jack the car up on that side, pull out old spring and replace, lower back replace bolt then repeat on the other side, its as quick and simple as it sounds. If it took a tech near on an hour to do that I'd sack them. Fair enough if it's their policy to replace in pairs i can kind of understand that but they will be making money on both of them as they wont be paying the price they are charging you for them.

 

[NB 02 HOT]

cheers loony. i'll mention that when i go back in there. so how long would you guess it would take to do all 4 corners on lowered springs given how quick the back is?

 

[Turkish]

The front will take a bit longer to be honest, it's not complicated but alot more time consuming than the rear as you've got to remove the front struts from the car and dismantle them.

Given the quote they've given you for the labour on the rear springs i dread to think what they'd want to charge you. If they've never done the job on a clio that age they'll probably get a book time and add time on top. Depending on how long you've got before the MOT runs out might be worth finding another garage or someone on here local to you who'll do it for a sensible price.

 

[garymac1]

cheers loony. i'll mention that when i go back in there. so how long would you guess it would take to do all 4 corners on lowered springs given how quick the back is?

hey up hows agoing. i changed all four corners last night. ten mins for the back and give 30 to 40 for the front 2. I did this on a 2poster ramp so it was a little easier for me.!!



gaz

 

[NB 02 HOT]

thanks gaz, just wamted to know roughly before i got a quote from the garage