Spring fell off car while driving

MuddyDog

I parked up in work this morning and reversed in locking my steering wheel to the left as I did. I left the car parked with the wheel turned probably 75% to the left of it's capability. 9 hours later I drove out of where it was parked and immediately felt that turning left was incredibly easy (had to turn left 3 times to get out onto the main road) and then I realised that going straight required me to hold onto the steering while as there was quite a decent pull to the left. Turning right around small bends on the motorway was heavy but it wasn't until I got to the town where I live and I went around a reasonably tight right hand turn that I heard creaking and then what sounded like metal falling off the car. I immediately pulled over and walked back and picked up what looked like a spring coil (see pic attached). After this the steering was only pulling to the left a little bit. When I got home I noticed that the car was sitting lower on the front right than it was on the front left and it was sitting lower on the rear left than it was on the rear right. The car is a Seat Cordoba 2009 1.4. Any idea what caused/what the issue is and cost of repair?



http://tinypic.com/r/2yvlbpj/9

JohnBoy26

Can't view the attached image but from what you describe it sounds like a broken spring. It will need to be replaced asap if it is.

MuddyDog

JohnBoy26 wrote: »

Can't view the attached image but from what you describe it sounds like a broken spring. It will need to be replaced asap if it is.

What might happen should I not get it looked at for a few weeks and continue to drive with it like this in the meantime?

JohnBoy26

MuddyDog wrote: »

What might happen should I not get it looked at for a few weeks and continue to drive with it like this in the meantime?

No you'll need to do it straight away. More of the spring could come apart and get caught in something or it could cause a puncture or a blow out if it gets caught on the tyre. The handling will probably be compromised too.

Ken Tucky

MuddyDog wrote: »

What might happen should I not get it looked at for a few weeks and continue to drive with it like this in the meantime?

Are you serious??? Ah sorry i taught you were for a minute...you ol joker you

MAJJ

MuddyDog wrote: »

What might happen should I not get it looked at for a few weeks and continue to drive with it like this in the meantime?

You can destroy your shock absorber and or the shock may go through your engine mount.
Don't drive far, do it slowly, avoid potholes and get is sorted asap

MuddyDog

Ken Tucky wrote: »

Are you serious??? Ah sorry i taught you were for a minute...you ol joker you

Don't worry! It's already at the mechanics. I was just curious as to what may have happened. What causes this sort of thing anyway? The mechanic said it's a very common problem in 6-7 year old cars especially in the Cordoba/Ibiza/Polo's.

Hal1

Now do the other 3. That low yo! :pac: On a serious note I'd say you were lucky it happened in start stop traffic.

MAJJ

MuddyDog wrote: »

Don't worry! It's already at the mechanics. I was just curious as to what may have happened. What causes this sort of thing anyway? The mechanic said it's a very common problem in 6-7 year old cars especially in the Cordoba/Ibiza/Polo's.

Cool. Mine broke as I hit a large pothole which likely weakened it / cracked it. Months later my daily drive over local speed ramps did it in.

JohnBoy26

MuddyDog wrote: »

Don't worry! It's already at the mechanics. I was just curious as to what may have happened. What causes this sort of thing anyway? The mechanic said it's a very common problem in 6-7 year old cars especially in the Cordoba/Ibiza/Polo's.

Common enough on certain models of ford too.

dr.fuzzenstein

If one spring goes from old age and corrosion, its better to do the pair, because the other one won't be far behind, plus a shiny new spring on one side and a knackered, rusty one on the other is not ideal. And since front springs mostly involve the shocks having to be removed, its not a massive financial stretch to do them as well.
It may cost more than a quick one spring botch job, but the front suspension will be sorted for a long time to come.

MuddyDog

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

If one spring goes from old age and corrosion, its better to do the pair, because the other one won't be far behind, plus a shiny new spring on one side and a knackered, rusty one on the other is not ideal. And since front springs mostly involve the shocks having to be removed, its not a massive financial stretch to do them as well.
It may cost more than a quick one spring botch job, but the front suspension will be sorted for a long time to come.

Yeah that's what the mechanic said. He said it'll be about 200-250. Is that about right?

dr.fuzzenstein

MuddyDog wrote: »

Yeah that's what the mechanic said. He said it'll be about 200-250. Is that about right?

All in for both sides? Or just the one side?
Spring is about 40-50 but replacing it is a big job, suspension will have to be disassembled, and the whole spring/shock assembly come out. Few hours work in that. Rear suspension would be a lot easier sometimes.

MuddyDog

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

All in for both sides? Or just the one side?
Spring is about 40-50 but replacing it is a big job, suspension will have to be disassembled, and the whole spring/shock assembly come out. Few hours work in that. Rear suspension would be a lot easier sometimes.

For both. Fair quote?

dr.fuzzenstein

MuddyDog wrote: »

For both. Fair quote?

Very fair I think. Front springs (if they sit over the shocks) is a major job. When I did it on my car, i had to disassemble the suspension, undo the topmount, take out the whole spring/shock assembly, compress the springs and then do it all again in reverse. Took me hours. When i did mine, I also changed top mounts, bump stops and shocks.

edit:

I even did a thread on it:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=89803459