Yeah its the top bearings that suffer from water ingress and seize up. It makes the spring grab when you turn the steering. If they are bad enough you will be able to see the spring vibrating. Glad its helped you out 👍
Thank you. Make sure you have some penetrating oil for the threads on top of the shocker and when you refit grease the threads. This van still has the original front shocks as i managed to get the nut off without damaging them. Glad its helped you out 👍
Hi, thanks for this video. Couple of questions, Where’s the best place to buy a top mount bearing from and do you know or recommend anyone southwest London or anywhere near that could fix this for me. As I think my Fiorino has this problem on the front left. Thanks so much
@@soundslight7754 Thank You. You dont have to change mounts as pairs as they are bolted solid to the car. If it was a moving part like a spring or a shocker then it is recommended to change them in pairs.
The way I worked out this problem was jacking the car up and turning the actual road wheel left and right by hand where you can feel it's stiff and snagging. You'll hear the spring twang too. Not surprised they're a problem, that's what happens when you make stuff out of plastic instead of metal I must say if saw you put grips on a shock shaft, I'd sack you. You only need to hold the top mount to torque up once the nut is nipped with the impact.
The tops of the thread were completely rusted solid origionally so no other way of doing it. I put a rag around the shaft the first time. No other way of doing it when its in that condition unless you want to snap all your allen key bits trying to hold the shock? If you watch i put the grips as far up the shocker as possible as that bit dosent go past the seal. Done this van a few times now due to the poor design and not had a problem with either shock leaking ect. Only thing i do is grease the threads to stop them corroding again.
And the same on the 2010 - 2018 Fiat Qubo plus the top mounts are the cause of the god-awful squeaking from the front suspension on the Fiorino and Qubo
Thanks mate appreciate the video, must get mine done now drivers side doing the same thing, quick question how come you have replaced it a few times? Is that a bad quality aftermarket part? Im sure you know more than me with cars etc, bit of a tip watch your fingers with the spring if the worst was to happen when using the compressor bye bye finger lol thanks for the video.
Hi Michael. Ive replaced it a few times under warranty as the first 2 parts I fitted failed again within a year due to water ingress. These ones have lasted since 2016. Yeah your right. Usually you can see the spring move but I had to feel the spring with this one, Ive never had a spring snap on me but theres always a chance I suppose 🤣. Glat the videos helped you out 👌.
Unfortunately no. To service the bearing is a full strip down and if you use spray grease while it is fitted to the van it just makes mud and salt stick to it and wear it out faster.
@@lifes.projects thought as much , what a poorly (or well thought out design for the dealers aNd parts lot) I get best one could do is give it a blast out with some water and air to keep any salt at bay
Probably the engine stabilizer mounting that's worn. Best way to see is if you have a lot of slop/vibration when changing gear or setting off. Try and push the engine back and forth to see how much it moves. This will indicate how worn the engine stabilizer is. Also check the exhaust is secure and not catching anything
i had the same problem....the knocking was noticeable only if the absorber was wet, after heavy rain. Bad design of car, bacause rain going right into absorber rod and makes it rusty
1/4 Milwaukee gun hadnt been brought out when this video was made. As I said with the rust on the thread this is the only way to do it. And that was at the highest point so a decent seat of grips, plenty of penatrating oil and working on and off does no damage to the shock
Ive found whatever brand you get they dont generally last that long. Fitted loads of genuine ones too and they are the same. Think its also depending on the terrain. Dusty/muddy conditions seem to seize them up quicker.
Plastic bearing carrier distorts when under load from new because the top of the suspension spring does not sit with an even pressure around the top, the rain also pools in the cup on top of the plate rusting the nut and threaded part of the shock absorber. I have fitted a plastic cover over this part to shield it from rain so at least when I have to change the top mount bearings the shock absorber will not have rusted again, it may help with the life of the bearing also. all in all a very bad design and inferior design of the top mount not fit for purpose.
Totally agreed. Very poor design. The threads at the top of the shocker were a complete mess so were a bit of a pig to remove. I fill the top up with grease to stop the water now and they do seem to last a lot longer.
Depends on how seized it is and how much up and down movement it has in the bearing. If it is seized it will be really harsh which is a failure as the bearing is likely to fail. If there is excessive movement thats a fail too.
@@lifes.projects thank you for the reply wasn’t expecting one. Iv just picked up a little gem of a bipper from copart but it’s definitely suffering from this problem. Tempted to just buy the whole spring assembly and save the hassle!! Thanks again for the video
Thank you. Unfortunately the threads were so corroded there is no other way to do it. I have modified my grips so they are blunt and cause no damage to the shock. I have these vans in all the time and so far have had no problems with leaky shock absorbers.
