Today I.....

Gary Woolston said:
Thank you, I've checked them now, and seem fine, it's either a wiring problem I've got, or a faulty motor on my left headlamp
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It's likely to be the motor. Fitting a new motor is relatively straightforward, but very fiddly. You most definitely need to remove the headlight unit from the car before you start.
 
Today I was reminded why I usually look after my A2 myself and have a distrust of garages. The car failed it’s MOT last week with a ball joint failure and needed a new cast wishbone which I just let the garage who did the MOT replace the part as I was happy with the quote they gave.

Since this though the steering has felt weird, it was bothering me so popped it up on axle stands and to my horror found this
1383BACD-C5AC-457E-8A48-3FAA27881555.jpeg

The steering rack was not bolted down at all and the subframe bolts had not be torqued down
 
hydo14 said:
Today I was reminded why I usually look after my A2 myself and have a distrust of garages. The car failed it’s MOT last week with a ball joint failure and needed a new cast wishbone which I just let the garage who did the MOT replace the part as I was happy with the quote they gave.

Since this though the steering has felt weird, it was bothering me so popped it up on axle stands and to my horror found this
View attachment 99094
The steering rack was not bolted down at all and the subframe bolts had not be torqued down
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Frightening
 
steve_c said:
It's likely to be the motor. Fitting a new motor is relatively straightforward, but very fiddly. You most definitely need to remove the headlight unit from the car before you start.
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Hi Gary, I think I may have a spare motor if you do need one.


Sent from the future
 
hydo14 said:
Today I was reminded why I usually look after my A2 myself and have a distrust of garages. The car failed it’s MOT last week with a ball joint failure and needed a new cast wishbone which I just let the garage who did the MOT replace the part as I was happy with the quote they gave.

Since this though the steering has felt weird, it was bothering me so popped it up on axle stands and to my horror found this
View attachment 99094
The steering rack was not bolted down at all and the subframe bolts had not be torqued down
Click to expand...

Very worrying indeed, I believe all these bolts are single use stretch bolts and should have been renewed, looking at this example I would be checking all of the other bolts as well 😲
 
hydo14 said:
Today I was reminded why I usually look after my A2 myself and have a distrust of garages. The car failed it’s MOT last week with a ball joint failure and needed a new cast wishbone which I just let the garage who did the MOT replace the part as I was happy with the quote they gave.

Since this though the steering has felt weird, it was bothering me so popped it up on axle stands and to my horror found this
View attachment 99094
The steering rack was not bolted down at all and the subframe bolts had not be torqued down
Click to expand...
The steering rack doesn't need to be unbolted to remove the console, but does if you are removing the subframe. On refitting the steering rack bolts need to be put in first or you'll never line it up. I'm guessing they had trouble getting the console back into the subframe (it is tricky) and so dropped the subframe on the one side. They didn't line up the rack first and so gave up at this point and then sent you on your way.

I'd be making a claim against the garage for the crap workmanship and reporting them to trading standards. I'm not normally one to suggest things like this because everyone makes mistakes, but that car should never have left the workshop, it's life or death errors there.

As for the bolts being re-used, i've never had an issue with re-using the bolts.
 
Mot failure work’s complete. Test on Monday 🙏🏻. Had both front wheel bearings done, cv boot was split so replaced the whole joint with a Meyle. Damn Stark wheel bearings from autodoc wouldn’t fit, kept turning as they were sliding on, so OEM replacements bought and these fitted straight on. New undertray secured in place as the old one was falling off. Finally, brake backing plates fitted as the old one’s had some slight wear……..
 

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Tomscar said:
Very worrying indeed, I believe all these bolts are single use stretch bolts and should have been renewed, looking at this example I would be checking all of the other bolts as well 😲
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by the book these are all single use however given that they are all special order now from TPS (not stocked in local branches and around £5 per bolt) I understand why they get reused. I got new when sorting the suspension out last and the cost of just bolts was a bit scary.

I checked everything and realigned it myself using the alignment tool I have (and measurements that I’m thanking myself for taking before I did the full suspension refresh a while back). I may buy all the bolts and replace them one at a time but I’ll make sure that there’s no other issues before I do the 90 degree turn to spec per the repair manual
 
Yes the bolts "should" be replaced. The issue then is that once significant suspension work like this is carried out a 4 wheel alignment is really required. If the final 90 degree torque has been applied and the consoles need to be adjusted then technically you are looking at replacing the bolts again.

Add in the increasing scarcity of OEM parts makes this even more difficult.
 
There are garages and there are garages. I think Steve is right, that could very easily have killed you! You have a strong case for getting the work done properly and charging the miscreant for the unforgivable bodge. WOM are not a million miles from Shrewsbury.

If they are an outfit of reasonable size, presented with your photographic evidence, you might get them to see sense and obviously you wouldn't want them carrying out any work.

If it's Fred in his shed...............

Not to detract from the fact that there are some very good small outfits out there.

That is somrthing that would be worth taking to the small claims court.
 
simon martyn said:
There are garages and there are garages. I think Steve is right, that could very easily have killed you! You have a strong case for getting the work done properly and charging the miscreant for the unforgivable bodge. WOM are not a million miles from Shrewsbury.

If they are an outfit of reasonable size, presented with your photographic evidence, you might get them to see sense and obviously you wouldn't want them carrying out any work.

If it's Fred in his shed...............

Not to detract from the fact that there are some very good small outfits out there.

That is somrthing that would be worth taking to the small claims court.
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I understand where people are coming from in this thread, the issue of getting the fixings and cost. Remember that these are stretch bolts you torque them up and and the appropriate angle which stretches the bolt (the metal it's made from) to a point below its yield point. In other words if you went much further you start to weaken the material.
What I would say and it is good engineering practice is to mark the bolt, nut or both with a paint pen or permanent marker from a centre point down the side and onto the frame / bracket.
Should anything come loose / move the mark will be out of alignment. Which is a visual check.
 
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