NCT failed on front suspension, changed front shock absorbers and failed again

pingala

Hi forum,

I've got my nissan tiida 1.6l 2008 tested for nct, all good but the front suspension imbalance failed at 31%

went to the garage and they replaced the front shock absorbers on both side (375 euro including parts and labour)

i've re-tested today and failed again with imbalance at 33%, the nct lad tested it on 3 different lanes to be sure.

what else can it be?

I'll bring the car to the garage again but would like to get an opinion from the experts here

thanks for all feedbacks.

CiniO

pingala wrote: »

Hi forum,

I've got my nissan tiida 1.6l 2008 tested for nct, all good but the front suspension imbalance failed at 31%

went to the garage and they replaced the front shock absorbers on both side (375 euro including parts and labour)

i've re-tested today and failed again with imbalance at 33%, the nct lad tested it on 3 different lanes to be sure.

what else can it be?

I'll bring the car to the garage again but would like to get an opinion from the experts here

thanks for all feedbacks.

One of the new shocks faulty maybe

martinr5232

pingala wrote: »

Hi forum,

I've got my nissan tiida 1.6l 2008 tested for nct, all good but the front suspension imbalance failed at 31%

went to the garage and they replaced the front shock absorbers on both side (375 euro including parts and labour)

i've re-tested today and failed again with imbalance at 33%, the nct lad tested it on 3 different lanes to be sure.

what else can it be?

I'll bring the car to the garage again but would like to get an opinion from the experts here

thanks for all feedbacks.

Chances are they didnt prime the new shocks before they fitted them.

try bouncing both sides as hard as you can even get someone to help you it might work.

pingala

Is it normal for a professional garage to not perform such a basic thing ? They have always been honest and did a good job with me and other friends that go there, so I'd be surprised about this..

Is there any other mechanical part which can be the culprit of the imbalance registered by the NCT centre and perhaps it's not so obvious at visual inspections ? like coil springs or other (i just know the springs and the absorbers, not sure about other parts .... car is pretty much an uncharted territory for me even though I've been driving for over 20 years)

beauf

Do any garages have the testing suspension gear that the NCT centers do? I'd say very few if any.

As a consequence whats the no1 failure item every year ? Front Suspension.

http://www.ncts.ie/test_stats.html

Voodoomelon

First thought, did they reuse the springs? Is so, one is probably knackered.

jca

Voodoomelon wrote: »

First thought, did they reuse the springs? Is so, one is probably knackered.

Good point. Sounds silly but are both tyres the same make/brand? Are the pressures equal? Is there any play in the top mounts?

pingala

Thanks for all the replies, really appreciate

I see the point about the springs and I'll ask that to the garage.

Tyres are all same brand and have been all replaced in December last year, pressure is by the book.

Don't know what you mean by play on the top mounts?

mickdw

Are you sure they actually changed shocks on both sides?

jca

The top mount is the piece of suspension you see when looking in the engine bay. The complete suspension strut rotates in this bearing. If one was more worn than the other it might give an imbalance although I think it might be the springs.

TonyM.

The same thing happened to me a few years back on a VW Passat
the garage replaced the shocks under gurantee and paid for the retest.

pingala

mickdw wrote: »

Are you sure they actually changed shocks on both sides?

Well according to the invoice yes, I just have to trust them as I have no mean on checking it unless I dismantle the car

CiniO

pingala wrote: »

Well according to the invoice yes, I just have to trust them as I have no mean on checking it unless I dismantle the car

You should see them without even touching the car.
If they are nice shiny with new paint- most likely they are new.

Voodoomelon

Would an old top mount really cause that much imbalance, no matter how worn it was? Compare the potential play of an old top mount compared to the travel of a shock/spring, I wouldn't have thought it would be in any way significant.

Bigus

Voodoomelon wrote: »

First thought, did they reuse the springs? Is so, one is probably knackered.

Good point or a stiff bush or bottom arm seized or sticky. Or same for one side of the anti-roll bar. Could only be tried with shocks and springs removed.

Big Wex fan

Did you find the cause of the failure? Almost identical problem with my wife's tiida but barely passed on retest with new shocks. Talking to the mechanic says shocks he took off looked OK. Thought maybe it might be the springs is the problem when shocks didn't fix it. The fact it happened you and now me looks like it could be a common problem with the tiida!

biko

3 year old thread closed.
Please start a fresh thread.