snapped spring

[daniel]

Hi, I have just been away for the weekend and done about 450 miles without incident. A few hours later I got in my 406 1.9td estate and, BANG, a front spring snapped. As I'm not very experienced with things like that, I don't know how to fix it. The trouble is that it is pressing against the inside of the tyre so I won't be able to drive it to my usual garage. Does anyone know if It would be ok to drive it, if I cut the offending spring off with an angle grinder, the garage is only 4 miles away. Or how hard is it to change the spring myself. I have various spanners and sockets but no knowledge or confidence to tackle the job.

[DiscoPol]

DONT DRIVE IT!!

the 406s are infamous for this they just give up and snap, if you drive it it will damage more bits including the tyre, as for changing it yourself, i reckon if you havent got the experience or the right tools (spring clamps and bits) it might just be easier to get the garage to do it, do they have a truck they can send out? if not maybe look for a mobile mechanic who can come out to you.

whats you location, there may be a member nearby who can help out or at least come over and take the p1ss for a bit to help put a smile back on your face.

[omega]

the spring is very hard to do as its very long and you need to clamp it.
the easier option would be to remove the whole strut and take it to a garage butbe carefull.

[lozz]

Daniel, whats your location ?
ive got some Long Spring clamps

[daniel]

I'm in Barnsley, South yorkshire. I'm going to ring the garage tomorrow and see what they advise. Bryant & May or Swan Vesta

[DiscoPol]

you could pm our very own jasper5, i dont know how far he is willing to travel but he is a very experienced pug mechanic and does mobile jobs when needed, cant hurt asking though

[gumby6371]

DON'T DRIVE IT!!! you can do loads of damage to tyres and brake lines

It all depends on your budget, If you can afford to change both springs then do it, if not read below

When mine went I just got a new strut complete with spring from the breakers. If you can find one from a similar year with similar mileage all the better.

jack it up,
remove wheel
undo drop link from strut (you may need to cut it off and fit a new one but they're not expensive from your local motor factors)
undo hub clamp
'persuade' hub off strut
undo strut top
remove strut

check break lines, pad sensors are ok and fit replacement.

Not counting wheel nuts you're looking at 2 nuts and 3 torx bolts to undo, just make sure jou've got a decent jack under it when you 'persuade' the hub off the strut as they can be quite firm, putting your wheel under the sill is a good option unless you've got nice shiny alloys of course !!

[daniel]

Thank you ever one for your help but I've decided to play it safe and have the car recovered to the garage.£60to get it picked up and taken, now i'll just have to wait and see how much to repair it.

[DiscoPol]

make sure it really is "picked up" and not driven on to a transporter as just driving it that few meters could FUBAR the tyre and brake lines etc etc etc.

let us know how you get on.

[daniel]

I've just got my car back from the garage with a new spring and a new top mount bearing. The cost, £100. But now the washer bottle is empty so something has happened to it, probably while getting it on or off the truck. I'm hoping it's just a pipe that's been dislodged but I won't know until I take a look. Ah the joys of owning an old car.

[omega]

shame you not closer as i have spare bottle here

[Archangel]

My spring compressors are not long enough to do the job , what can I do ? car is undriveable osf spring was the one that had snapped , got the new springs and struts but cant get the damn thing off .

[plod]

Hire a hydraulic spring compressor?

I managed to "borrow" one from the garage next door to work

[jasper5]

My spring compressors are not long enough to do the job , what can I do ? car is undriveable osf spring was the one that had snapped , got the new springs and struts but cant get the damn thing off .

Undo the driveshaft nut and remove the wheel.

Remove one of the brake pad holding bolts and slide out the caliper away from the pads.....Remove the ABS wiring and brake pads with their warning wires.

Remove the rubber brake hose from it's strut mount.

Undo the nut holding the drop link on and pull it out the strut mount.....grind it off it it won't come off, or get mole grips on the back whilst you undo the nut.

Undo the bottom ball joint nut, hit the side of the bottom arm where the ball joint taper goes through and shock the taper free, then push down on the lower arm to release the ball joint out the way.

Undo the bolts holding the top mounting and remove them.

Knock back the driveshaft and pull the whole strut assembly away from the car.

Take the struts to a garage with a hydraulic compressor and ask them to fit the new springs onto the new struts.

Fit the new struts to the car.

[marco2002]

Hi

I had the same problem. Jaspers how to is the best option and the cheapest of doing this job as with a set of spring compressors will not work and theres always a chance they could slip. It won't cost much to do at the garage think i paid just under £40.00 and that was for both sides.Good luck