1.9 Sport broken coil spring

darkman · Post by **darkman** » Thu Apr 28, 2005 10:52 pm

Hello everyone. New member here in need of feedback! Having been a very satisfied 1.9 TDI Sport owner for exactly 3 years from new (just the odd dashboard rattle that comes and goes, familiar I know), suddenly I have a failed MOT due to a broken coil spring offside front. I realised there was an odd clanking sound for a few days before I took it for the test but never imagined that as the problem.

The car is unsafe to drive. The dealer in Crewe put it down to wear and tear and our potholed roads as the likely reason. However, the ride on these Sport models is very firm and I do tend to memorise the location of and avoid potholes. Annoying thing is that they are having to send to Germany for the spring, not a single one to be had in the UK and time given to obtain 7 - 10 working days. I would conclude this is a very rare occurence due to the scarcity of the part. Price to fix by the way is Â£175. Any other members experience this problem? cheers

DAZZA_TDI · Post by **DAZZA_TDI** » Fri Apr 29, 2005 9:28 pm

Hi m8 i`ve got the 1.9 sport and am not surprised by the broken spring as the roads are hellish, well up in scotland they are

the sport model is a very firm and harsh ride especially driving over rough roads, summit u get used to tho eh

if any of my springs broke think that would just give me an excuse to put a lowering spring kit on as i feel even the sport model sits way too high
Cheers Dazza

darkman · Post by **darkman** » Fri Apr 29, 2005 10:28 pm

Hi Dazza. Yeah you're right about the state of the roads and I guess it just increases the chance of this sort of thing happening. I've heard it said that if you make a claim against almost any local council, you have to take a photo of the pothole, measure the depth and another complaint has to have been made previously. They certainly fight every single case rather than pay a penny.

Oh well!

I have to say I can't wait to get back behind the wheel of my TDI though. I have been borrowing my sisters Ford Puma 1.7 for the last week and while the handling is good, I miss the low down pulling power and the brakes on the Polo are much better. Lowering the springs? That is something to think about. The car would look better although I am very happy with the handling on smooth roads. cheers for now

GaryUK · Post by **GaryUK** » Sat Apr 30, 2005 3:39 pm

Hello,

I got my car from the dealer in Crewe!

Been abit unlucky with pot holes myself lately, one on the way to Liverpool comes to mind which should have been classed as a crater! Some roads round here are terrible at the moment, plus speed bumps just add to the problem!

KeBwOb · Post by **KeBwOb** » Sat Apr 30, 2005 9:23 pm

I was thinking of lowering my 9n GT, but judging by the complete f**k-up Bradford Councils lowest bidder is making of the new 'traffic calming' features in our area, it would be a bad move. Believe it or not, the standard setup is just enough to clear the traps they have already put up.

It was supposed to have taken them 2 weekends, currently 4 & counting, and they are not even bothering this weekend with it being a bank holiday. They have still left a series of trenches running across the road (foundations for flat-tops) with horrendous edges on them that have taken out at least 2 sumps (tell-tale oil trails leading away from them), god only knows what these are doing to the tyres/wheels/suspension, even if taken carefully.

And absolutely no-one wants them. The motorist is being punished at every single opportunity from every imaginable direction, and it does not matter one iota who gets into power after Thursday, it will not make any difference.

Oops, bit of politics there! Rant over.