Tony Posted December 30, 2009 Report Share Posted December 30, 2009 (edited) As most now we have lowering coils for the Mazda MX5 Mk3 and now some for the Mk2 and Mk1.... To proof these i offer them to owners in the clubs stupid cheap for visible feedback. Today a Mk1 (20yr old) came in for his fitting..... Due to complications with the fitting and the fact that during this we were unbelievably busy the install took 4 hours, twice the expected time (remember the fee is locked) Eventually i got the car on the Geo rig and began calibrating...... Until i was stopped by a stubborn OSF steering arm lock nut, after about 30min of grrr and grunt i finally unlocked the nut... Then the arm wouldn't move, will it's an old car so i headed to me stillsions, it was tight but without much real force this happened..... Yep i snapped the steering arm not only is the arm scrap now so is the end........ So what now, order a new arm and end well yes but our suppliers don't hold them for such an old car!!...... I now have two people waiting for a solution who in truth had been with us way to long anyway, "PLUS" the next customer is waiting for his Geo 3/4 an hour late and the next one after his is due in 15min. I'll write the outcome in a minute once i wipe the water from my eyes....... Edited December 30, 2009 by Tony pants spelling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted December 30, 2009 Report Share Posted December 30, 2009 Oh dear But surely things like this are unavoidable...if it was that seized it would've sheared anyway? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted December 30, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2009 In my 99 yrs in calibration i've never known or seen a non-redundant part like this snap.... In pic number two you can see a witness mark where a fracture has grown but as said i've never seen a fail like this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SMARTLY Posted December 30, 2009 Report Share Posted December 30, 2009 Would a scrappy have them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tango Posted December 30, 2009 Report Share Posted December 30, 2009 In my 99 yrs in calibration i've never known or seen a non-redundant part like this snap.... In pic number two you can see a witness mark where a fracture has grown but as said i've never seen a fail like this. I wouldn't mind seeing a close up of that fracture. It's possible you did the owner a good turn (no pun intended ) as there may have been an existing crack or deep stress raiser in the arm at the end of the nut which may have propagated and failed while driving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted December 30, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2009 Would a scrappy have them? Chance of finding one and the time frame didn't allow this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted December 30, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2009 Eyes dry, lets continue...... The owner and his partner where really tolerant of the fitting situation, i think they could see we was swamped with customers plus he was getting a really good deal so some patience was polite. When the arm snapped it was obvious this was a freak situation and the fact our suppliers don't hold the parts really hits a time issue what with the new year coming. He located a link in Portsmouth and was prepared to collect the parts. We will collect him and the parts in the morning and 30 min later sorted!!! The work waiting this afternoon and the work lost in the morning will cost me around 2k ..... additional cost to the owner £0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted December 30, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2009 In my 99 yrs in calibration i've never known or seen a non-redundant part like this snap.... In pic number two you can see a witness mark where a fracture has grown but as said i've never seen a fail like this. I wouldn't mind seeing a close up of that fracture. It's possible you did the owner a good turn (no pun intended ) as there may have been an existing crack or deep stress raiser in the arm at the end of the nut which may have propagated and failed while driving. Definetly a stress issue here..... If you look at the arm there's no visible trauma by the stillsons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tango Posted December 30, 2009 Report Share Posted December 30, 2009 Eyes dry, lets continue...... The owner and his partner where really tolerant of the fitting situation, i think they could see we was swamped with customers plus he was getting a really good deal so some patience was polite. When the arm snapped it was obvious this was a freak situation and the fact our suppliers don't hold the parts really hits a time issue what with the new year coming. He located a link in Portsmouth and was prepared to collect the parts. We will collect him and the parts in the morning and 30 min later sorted!!! The work waiting this afternoon and the work lost in the morning will cost me around 2k ..... additional cost to the owner £0 Couldn't you have welded it together just to get it off the ramps to allow other work to continue??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted December 30, 2009 Report Share Posted December 30, 2009 Was he local then, could he get home? Did the customers you had to turn away come far? Let's hope it's only a one off, sounds like a ball ache Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted December 30, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2009 Eyes dry, lets continue...... The owner and his partner where really tolerant of the fitting situation, i think they could see we was swamped with customers plus he was getting a really good deal so some patience was polite. When the arm snapped it was obvious this was a freak situation and the fact our suppliers don't hold the parts really hits a time issue what with the new year coming. He located a link in Portsmouth and was prepared to collect the parts. We will collect him and the parts in the morning and 30 min later sorted!!! The work waiting this afternoon and the work lost in the morning will cost me around 2k ..... additional cost to the owner £0 Couldn't you have welded it together just to get it off the ramps to allow other work to continue??? Yes/no..... The brake was between the arm and the cast end, i wasn't happy to risk the cast snapping during transport.... what was done was done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noel Posted December 30, 2009 Report Share Posted December 30, 2009 In my 99 yrs in calibration i've never known or seen a non-redundant part like this snap.... In pic number two you can see a witness mark where a fracture has grown but as said i've never seen a fail like this. I wouldn't mind seeing a close up of that fracture. It's possible you did the owner a good turn (no pun intended ) as there may have been an existing crack or deep stress raiser in the arm at the end of the nut which may have propagated and failed while driving. I suspect heat damage from a previous incident has weakened it and unfortuantely now it has snapped, i think the blow torch is used too frequently to overcome issues without thinking about the concequences to normal metal tempering Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted December 31, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 31, 2009 Was he local then, could he get home? Did the customers you had to turn away come far? Let's hope it's only a one off, sounds like a ball ache About an hour away.... Ditto the never again comment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hms Posted January 1, 2010 Report Share Posted January 1, 2010 Bit! of a bugger Tony. The good thing is though that incidents like this show how well WIM respond to things like this. Incidents like this do go round the forums so indirectly you may benefit. Ditch the BFO stilsons, if it cannot be undone by 'normal' tools you then you need to stop and appraise the customer of potentially something breaking, especially in a 20 year old car. (Sorry if grandmother eggs and sucks come to mind.) The reason I don't like breaker bars is that often the don't loosen the nut but shear the stud or bolt the nut is on, leaving you wiht a bigger problem than when you started! Southampton is probably Andrew of Autolink, he breaks and sells 5's so has a good stock of new and used bits for 5's and some other jap imports. (Impreza's FTO's etc.) Well respected chap who know's his stuff. For new parts both Mazda and pattern for the 5, best bet is MX5parts. h Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CIH Posted January 1, 2010 Report Share Posted January 1, 2010 I have some snap-on pipe wrench pliers (external). Kinda like large locking vice grips but not as heavy-duty as Stilsons. Didn't like 'em at first but they've come to be useful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted January 1, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2010 Tools and witness marks will follow tomorrow since the energy on this arm was remarkably small..... To be continued. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr S. Hill Posted January 7, 2010 Report Share Posted January 7, 2010 That would be my car that had this happen to. Really I saw Tony at it when it snapped and to be honest if it snapped with what little pressure he put on it gives me chills thinking how easily it could have snapped on a pot hole on the road. Overall, yes the install did take longer then expected, but the attention to detail the chap who did it put into it, well I was impressed. And I got to oogle a ferrari and read through car mags while I waited. When it did happen they tried to get the part but it was late in the day and I managed to get a company down in Portsmouth to get me them, popped down there with a mate, came back, next morning got picked up from my house by a nice man, taken to WIM where the car was fixed and allignment done and WOW is all I could say after driving it. Now having driven it just over 400 miles in the last week or so, vast majority of it being for pleasure, well says it all really. Overall totally chuffed by the service I recieved, the general attitude of the staff, and the springs and allignment are top notch too. Ohh I went back to WIM to straighten a slightly buckled lip on the wheels I wanted refurbing anyway, the chap said yeah give us a few mins, I start reading the article on the elise on the wall, half way through it and he is back adn the wheel is better then new. I honestly couldn't tell where the buckle had been. Tony mate top job and want to give you a proper thank you next time I am down there. Want to get some good tyres on there and drive it on roads that aren't snowed over before I put up a proper proper review but even on the crappy budget tyres I have the car handels very well, is stable, and I can almost call it comfortable on our rough roads. EDIT: @HMS: Yes it was Autolink who I phoned up and the nice chap agreed to put it in a bag outside the door for me since I was getting there quite late. Saw some wheels I wanted while I was down there but he wouldn't sell me them beacuse they were his . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted January 7, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2010 I think you where unbelievably patient during the install and very understanding when the arm broke. As you could see we was stupid busy for the time of year and all my time windows were blown away. In wim every car is booked so in your case when things started to go wrong the staff started to distill themselves into other commitments. This was wrong and i've dealt with this now, nevertheless your car took way to much time for a simple suspension install, so i apologize for that. Reads like the coils are working well a few more 100 miles i would like to look at the geometry again when you have time..... Oh and good news about the wheel, i assume they didn't charge you for the repair? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr S. Hill Posted January 7, 2010 Report Share Posted January 7, 2010 No problem man, I have been to my friend's garage before for a brake change and ended up spending all day there. Being around garages is fun . The coils gave me exactly what I was looking for so I am very pleased with them, and I should probably be through the next couple hundred miles in a week or so, so I shall bell you then to arrange. Yeah I was uberly impressed, when I first got there he said the machine can't do it so I was a bit , but then he goes but I can give it a couple wacks with a hammer if you would like. I thought well since it needs doing anyway to look good might as well, so he went off and wacked it a few times and just wow, I honstly couldn't tell the lip had ever been buckled. And he didn't charge me to boot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted January 7, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2010 I just need to check how the coils have settled and the geometry positions, after that we are done really unless you have any issuses? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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