The Garage 277
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29<br />
focus Steering and suspension<br />
wear, including the Fiat<br />
Fiorino (and Citroen- and<br />
Peugeot-badged variants) as<br />
well as on Doblo, Grande<br />
Punto and Ducato models.<br />
Some of this failure, First<br />
Line notes, is down to designs<br />
that have allowed water<br />
and grit ingress, but also<br />
from wheelarch jet washing.<br />
Struts should be replaced<br />
in pairs, and the top mounts<br />
at the same time as a precaution<br />
against having to do<br />
them not long after shock absorbers<br />
are changed.<br />
“Failure to replace a worn<br />
top mount will cause it to deteriorate<br />
very quickly, which<br />
will have a knock-on effect<br />
to other components, such<br />
as the shock absorbers and<br />
even the tyres, as these can<br />
start to wear unevenly and<br />
may cause the vehicle’s steering<br />
to pull to one side, an effect<br />
that if left too long, can<br />
then remain even after a new<br />
top strut mount has been installed,”<br />
First Line says.<br />
Stabiliser assemblies, like<br />
any other suspension component,<br />
will wear out and<br />
Meyle has added 14 new<br />
references. Supported by a<br />
four-year guarantee, the stabilizer<br />
assembly comes with<br />
mounts and, in most cases,<br />
retaining latches. Rubber-tometal<br />
bonds feature vulcanized<br />
mounts and a design<br />
with which the ball pin pits<br />
into a clip-on plastic socket<br />
made from polyoxymethylene<br />
plastic.<br />
<strong>The</strong> constant need for replacement<br />
steering and suspension<br />
parts – driven not<br />
only by the MoT test but poor<br />
roads, negligent driving and<br />
general wear and tear means<br />
this sector will bring plenty<br />
of regular work to garages.<br />
And meeting the challenge of<br />
constant replacement parts<br />
demand is Euro Car Parts’<br />
Starline offering.<br />
“Steering and suspension<br />
systems have remained<br />
largely mechanical throughout<br />
the past few years, with<br />
manufacturers developing<br />
parts that last longer, with<br />
finer tolerances. Starline is<br />
no different and has been<br />
expanding with a focus on a<br />
broadening range of applications,”<br />
says Euro Car Parts<br />
chief commercial officer Paula<br />
Huesca De Crean.<br />
“We are noticing that the<br />
most common support requests<br />
our team receives<br />
for steering and suspension<br />
are in relation to fitment. We<br />
spoke to one repairer, for example,<br />
who was fitting a new<br />
suspension arm to a vehicle<br />
on a ramp and had tightened<br />
the bolts with the hub hanging<br />
down. This created pretension<br />
of the bushes which<br />
shortens their working life<br />
and it forced the geometry<br />
to change. We advised that<br />
bolts should be hand tightened<br />
on the ramp, while the<br />
car is still suspended. <strong>The</strong><br />
repairer then used a trolley<br />
jack under the hub to lift it to<br />
the normal ride height before<br />
fully torqueing the bolts.<br />
“We can’t stress enough how<br />
important it is to measure<br />
the distance from the centre<br />
of the wheel hub to the<br />
wheel arch before commencing<br />
any suspension<br />
related work.”<br />
Starline also recommends<br />
replacing components<br />
in axle pairs and<br />
that safety systems (such<br />
as ABS and traction control)<br />
require superior<br />
quality components if they<br />
are to work properly.<br />
24, 25, 26, 28 Steering and Suspension.indd 5 30/05/2018 17:13
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