Earlier in the year I had my 1.4 TDI in local garage to have all the suspension replaced, shocks, springs, bump stops, mounts etc, etc. When they did the work the garage informed me there was an 'issue' with the rear driver side and they had to weld the top mount in place. I assumed they know what they were doing, and that they know the chassis was aluminium. But a quick test drive that evening after the work was done had the top strut break off and the car slumped down making terrible noises.
Went back to the garage and they quizzed the guy that did the work and the car being aluminium…. he then had a eureka moment and said "I wondered why there was a green flame coming of the torch".
So, the boss arranged for a fix to be done.
I was still trusting at this stage and had not seen any of the work as it was all hidden behind the plastic wheel arch covers when done, and I just don't have the time to do a lot of this work myself.
So job done by end of that day and after about a week the new suspension settled down to its ride height , but over the last few months I have noticed the 'problem corner' sitting just a bit lower. I've been living with it for a while now but eventually took it to another garage to get it looked at for a second opinion and also to get an annoying squeak sorted that might be wheel bearings starting to go.
They looked at the mount first and called me by lunch time and said they don't want to work on the car any more and had me pop in to take a look at the pictures they took. They said that they would not drive the car themselves and if they knew it was there if in for an MOT they would fail it.
In the picture attached (sorry its poor quality as took a shot from his laptop screen) you can see the holes created by the welding and you can see the steel block/sheet they have put in behind that part of the chassis to now support the bolt at the back so that if can compress against something when done up. looks like they have had to do that as the area of aluminium that supports the mount is weakened by holes and welding heat I suspect.
So I am stuck in a rut now with what to do. There was some original issue that the garage found when they were fitting the mount, and with good intention to try and fix/get around, the mistake they made was welding without TIG, so its hard to tell what damage was there prior to them compounding the issue. The current 2nd fix could potentially be good enough to last a long time, but potentially also fail tomorrow, I just don't know and that's the opinion of the new garage folks had as well. I'd like it to be sorted though.
Does anyone have any experience with the sort of damage that the garage originally encountered with fitting the new top strut mount in the rear wheel arch? I have never seen any threads or heard of a common issue around this area, I haven't spoken to the old garage yet, but will be doing so tomorrow so I wanted to be forearmed with information if there is some common issue where the mount sits in the chassis (before they did their welding mess). Any help/advice/experience on that would be appreciated. my fear is that this critically important area the supports the shock might mean a write off if no welding can be done to correct it.
Ive spent the money on the suspension and new turbo (chipped turbine blades in old turbo you can see below) and so i'm into the car for more than its worth really, although that's not a problem as my plan was to slowly bring back to a very good quality over time as the A2 bug has take hold of me. If anyone knows an aluminium welder or service that is in Scotland and more specifically in Fife region I'd be glad to hear. otherwise I might try some of the garages geared towards motorsports that may have the capability to try and create a patch over this area.
Cheers, Douglas.
Went back to the garage and they quizzed the guy that did the work and the car being aluminium…. he then had a eureka moment and said "I wondered why there was a green flame coming of the torch".
So, the boss arranged for a fix to be done.
I was still trusting at this stage and had not seen any of the work as it was all hidden behind the plastic wheel arch covers when done, and I just don't have the time to do a lot of this work myself.
So job done by end of that day and after about a week the new suspension settled down to its ride height , but over the last few months I have noticed the 'problem corner' sitting just a bit lower. I've been living with it for a while now but eventually took it to another garage to get it looked at for a second opinion and also to get an annoying squeak sorted that might be wheel bearings starting to go.
They looked at the mount first and called me by lunch time and said they don't want to work on the car any more and had me pop in to take a look at the pictures they took. They said that they would not drive the car themselves and if they knew it was there if in for an MOT they would fail it.
In the picture attached (sorry its poor quality as took a shot from his laptop screen) you can see the holes created by the welding and you can see the steel block/sheet they have put in behind that part of the chassis to now support the bolt at the back so that if can compress against something when done up. looks like they have had to do that as the area of aluminium that supports the mount is weakened by holes and welding heat I suspect.
So I am stuck in a rut now with what to do. There was some original issue that the garage found when they were fitting the mount, and with good intention to try and fix/get around, the mistake they made was welding without TIG, so its hard to tell what damage was there prior to them compounding the issue. The current 2nd fix could potentially be good enough to last a long time, but potentially also fail tomorrow, I just don't know and that's the opinion of the new garage folks had as well. I'd like it to be sorted though.
Does anyone have any experience with the sort of damage that the garage originally encountered with fitting the new top strut mount in the rear wheel arch? I have never seen any threads or heard of a common issue around this area, I haven't spoken to the old garage yet, but will be doing so tomorrow so I wanted to be forearmed with information if there is some common issue where the mount sits in the chassis (before they did their welding mess). Any help/advice/experience on that would be appreciated. my fear is that this critically important area the supports the shock might mean a write off if no welding can be done to correct it.
Ive spent the money on the suspension and new turbo (chipped turbine blades in old turbo you can see below) and so i'm into the car for more than its worth really, although that's not a problem as my plan was to slowly bring back to a very good quality over time as the A2 bug has take hold of me. If anyone knows an aluminium welder or service that is in Scotland and more specifically in Fife region I'd be glad to hear. otherwise I might try some of the garages geared towards motorsports that may have the capability to try and create a patch over this area.
Cheers, Douglas.