Front strut bearing plates and RWS.
Hi guys,well the VL failed a rws,one of the points was the above,apparently cracked.
Anyone know what he's talking about?I can see rubber cracked at the top mount,
surely he's not talking about cracked and perished rubber.
He also reckons it has a diff leak,can't see a drop of oil on the garage floor,but i'll grant
him it does have some oil around the front of the motor.And he pulled me up on the rear wiper
and washer not working,well they haven't worked since '94 and it passed a test 3 years ago.
I think he's been to tough so i'll try someone else.
regards
colin
if the top strut mount is cracked it a road worthy item.
Nil Bastardo Carborundum
ColOriginally Posted by leslloyd
When those top strut plates fail completely, and they do when they get old and tired, the centre shaft of the strut pushes up to strik the bonnet and leave you with a lovely big pimple in it. The steel sleeve in the centre of the strut plate pulls away from the rubber completely. Those cracks you can see means the plate is getting to the point where it can fail completely. Do as your mechanic says and replace them pronto.
Any safety related equipment such as rear wipers and washers are a roadworthy item and should be repaired. It sounds like your previous examiners have been very slack if they passed these things in past years and you have now found a bloke who treats the inspection process properly.
Your mum's new boyfriend
My VL just recently got a RWC done, and my guy pulled me up on all my rubbers under the car because they were all cracked, and he said he had to fail me on those, so from what you've wrote, I think your mechanic was doing his job well.
But if you want to get another check, and it passes, good, but promise us you'll fix it.
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Ok thanks guys,i'll call up our traveling mechanic,see what he says but this all sounds pretty costly.May have to consider trading up
after all.
colin
Donating Member
strut tops aren't that hard or expensive to do. but if you wanna go a even cheaper route do what i did for my VB commodore, i bought a good pair of front struts off ebay 2nd hand complete and chuck em in, no adjustments....
I scored for $50 a pair of vp v8 berlina struts with good tops, springs, inserts and v8 calipers and rotors and a pair of rear sedan shocks.
So for $50 i got struts replaced instead of $130+ for strut tops. upgraded to vl turbo/vn v8 brakes and got a slightly firmer ride.
link pin rubbers are pretty cheap and are easy to replace using a shifter to hold the pin and a 14mm spanner on the nuts.
you dont have to spend heaps of money to maintain your car and there's heaps you can do yourself with rudimentary tools if you take your time and think it all through before doing it yourself for the first time.
Your mum's new boyfriend
Yeah brand new is pretty pricey, after a 5 second search on eBay, there's this:
GENUINE KMAC STRUT TOP PLATES TO SUIT VC VH VK VL VN VP | eBay
But since I know shit-all about this area of suspension, I have no idea what the f-ck I am going on about haha, but I assume this is what you're after.
But I do know that if someone says replace them because they're worn/cracked/ready to go, replace them damn quick!
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All good information guys,but the struts are only 3 years old,they were done about the time the car was re-registered in Qld.Pity the plates weren't done then.
The only thing that concerns me with doing the job myself is compressing the springs so i would need to send it in.Been doing all the maintenance my self for on
the VL since '92.
I was thinking of just lifting the front high enough to release spring pressure and dropping in the plates,then lowering it down again,anyone tried this?
regards
colin
Are you sure this is what i need?or have they failed to show the rubber part of the plate.
colin
Yeah brand new is pretty pricey, after a 5 second search on eBay, there's this:
GENUINE KMAC STRUT TOP PLATES TO SUIT VC VH VK VL VN VP | eBay
But since I know shit-all about this area of suspension, I have no idea what the f-ck I am going on about haha, but I assume this is what you're after.
But I do know that if someone says replace them because they're worn/cracked/ready to go, replace them damn quick!
they are just a dress/cover plate that bolts on the top of the tower, not the bearing plate/strut mount.
crazzy if you pay that much for them.
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