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We've got a 04 plate Astra G and the coil at the front has just popped. We're going to get rid of the car soon, it's not worth much but due mot on 5th April, earliest 5th March and this would need doing if it was to pass.
So the dilemma is, do I bother to fix this and mot the car for a year, or just sell as seen? It's only worth about 400 quid if that I reckon.
If I decide to repair it myself, I'd need to get a spring and some compressors.
What should I do?
Probably easy enough to change as a bodge, but you really should have the tracking/alignment done afterwards as well.
400 quid with or without mot ?
If you dont have the tools i wouldnt bother.
changing the front spring is a pisser of a job if you have never done it before - and not to mention dangerous if done wrong. Cheap spring compressors = widow makers. - not to mention all the bolts that could/will be siezed on an 04 car.
Id be tempted to stick it for MOT and if it fails on only the spring keep the fail sheet for buyers to show its an easy fix for some home mechanic who has the tools already - justify a better price than buying blind.
Just get to a scrappy and get a whole damper unit. Hours job. Done
Not difficult job if the bolts are. Not seazed but as trail rat says. The cheap spring compressors neex care taken when being used as they can be dangerous.
Wysiwyg has it get spring and damper complete of a scraper and itl be easier.
Cheap spring and an hour's labour? £60-£70 ... Just get it done
I had two rear springs fitted plus mot for £140 on a Saab 9-3 earlier this week.
Cheers for the replies
Scrapper has compete units for up to 25. I'll have a shot at swapping it out!
mark the position of the old one and use it as a guide to get the alignment as close as possible (should be good enough, keep an eye on the tyre wear and handling afterwards)
Back in the eighties I chopped the end of my little finger off at the first knuckle doing this....
just saying.
Cheers t1000 for that tip.
Spursn17 was that doing the spring compression? Hopefully I'll avoid that!!
I too have had a bad experience with a spring compressor not up to the job.
I've done fronts and rears on an old Escort before DIY (actually it might have been the shocks we did at one end but the principle's the same).
I bought some spring compressors and with a lot of care and patience it was relatively easy to load them up evenly and rebuild the coil/shock assembly. You have to be really disciplined and not in a rush to use these in my view.
You also need to make sure the top and bottom of the springs is seated in the "cups" if you're not buying a complete unit.
The ********** bit of the job was getting the bottom of the assembly back into the front hub as it was a blooming tight interference fit. We used two lump hammers if memory serves, one across the bottom of the hub as a target and then about 10-15 minutes of tapping the hub assembly gently upwards onto the bottom of the shock/spring assembly.
Edit: I should also say that we did manage to separate the strut assembly from the car without removing any ball joints etc., which did make it more fiddly getting the assembly out but was one less thing to worry about on reassembly. This is probably not possible on all cars.