MOT time on my Gal recently, was hoping for a sail through but failed on 3 items this year, 2 split balljoint rubbers (one on the nearside front lower arm and one on the offside front anti-roll bar drop link) and a broken rear spring! Not sure if busted rear springs are a common issue on the Mk2 but the offside spring had broken right in the lower cup, losing about 1/4 of a complete turn of coil (just visible on the right hand spring in the below picture). It hadn't affected the ride height or handling to a noticeable degree but had to be put right ::) :
[attachimg=1]
Next thing is I knew that the brake discs and pads weren't fantastic (rear especially)- the rear pads aren't worn out but it looks like some cheapskate has previously fitted new pads without replacing the discs and as a result they're both shot. As they weren't worn out I would have let them go a bit longer but I noticed my offside rear brake was running hot recently. I'd hoped new discs and pads and a good clean and grease of the caliper bracket would have sorted this but when I pulled the caliper off the caliper piston dust sealing boot had been split (whoever had wound the piston back when replacing the pads previously had obviously not been careful and had allowed the boot to rotate with the piston until it had torn) which must have allowed brake dust and other road dirt to ingress and make the piston bind- it was tight as hell to wind back in and was still binding after I'd cleaned the carrier etc up, greased the sliders and re-assembled it all which brings me to my next job:
[attachimg=3]
You can buy kits with new seals and a new piston to overhaul an existing caliper but as the old piston was obviously binding there's a chance the caliper piston bore is scored, plus getting the old piston out could be a nightmare, plus when you can get a pukka new original fitment (Lucas) caliper from the likes of [eBay] for 60 quid with no surcharge or need to return the old one, it's not a gamble worth taking IMO.
So next job is replace the rear discs and pads (no point in me sticking the replacements on until the binding caliper was sorted out) and the offside rear caliper, hopefully the nearside caliper won't be shot as well (though I know for a fact at least it isn't binding!). Which brings me to my final point, if you have to replace rear pads beware as there are a couple of different options- I think the V6 model has a slightly different setup with different (larger) pads. The new discs I bought from Euro were fine (268mm diameter) but there were 2 choices of pads- being that my Galaxy had 16" factory fit wheels I chose the pads listed for 16" wheels. However, instead of saying 'for 16" wheels' I think it possibly should have said 'V6 version' as the pads were not the same and would not fit, as you can see in the below comparison. I ended up having to re-order and swap the pads for those listed for 15" wheels, I think these must fit the majority of Mk2's except the V6:
[attachimg=2]
I've seen a few rear coils snap but I wouldn't say its a common sight on the Galaxy. (Compared to the Golf Estate which has a massive failure rate) but the rear calipers are a known area of weekness.
I too have fallen foul of the rear brake pad issues on many an occasion, it appears they fitted whatever they felt like TBH! I have had two 2004 130's in tha past, one of which used the V6 style ones and the other used the smaller ones! Since the calliper brackets phyically don't fit between the two (The mount points on the rear trailing arms are different) I fail to see how they picked the right stuff in the factory!
Interesting, I wonder how the dealers would differentiate between which parts to supply then unless they fitted type A to a certain run of chassis numbers with a clearly defined range/ cutoff and type B to another?! If the mounting points are different for the caliper brackets then that presumably means more than one type of trailing arm was used? I'd always assumed the trailing arms would be the same for all models!
Indeed, I can only assume its by chassis number. There are at least two variants of trailing arms as I upgraded the brakes on my own Galaxy when I broke a V6, the fronts just bolted on but the rears were impossible without changing the arms (which I didnt bother with)
Did you find the rear discs were still the same diameter with the 2 different pad setups or did they differ as well? I'm assuming if the pads & caliper brackets were different then the calipers themselves were also different? Makes it a bit of a minefield when it comes to replacing associated parts with the rear brakes!
No the setup was entirely different; bigger discs, pads and callipers. Obviously I had everything from the V6 but since it wouldnt bolt on I decided the hassle outweighed the benefit.
Well that's the new rear brakes and caliper fitted, fortunately it was only the one caliper that was knackered, the dust seal was fine on the other one and the piston wound back dead easy! ??? Now just going to change the brake fluid. One of the rear dampers is leaking a bit so that's yet another job to tackle at some point........ ::)
[attachimg=1]
The reason for the binding caliper: ::)
[attachimg=2]
And just for the hell of it, I thought I'd see if the piston would come out- and it did without major trauma, I've never seen the internals so it was quite interesting! I think with a new seal kit and piston it would have been fine to go again, there are a few rust marks and a bit of pitting on the piston sealing surface and a deep score, I don't know how it would have got there as it's too deep to have been caused by dirt unless somebody previously slipped with a screwdriver skewering the dust boot and gouging the piston in the process!
If anyone out there wants a caliper to rebuild you can have this old one cheap! :D The bore in the caliper looks good to go again.
[attachimg=1]
The rear calliper is a job I have got to do for exactly same reason you did,looks like someone previously (pick Arthur oundle) used grips,screwdriver or some other tool rather than correct one to push piston back damaging boot and piston.
It wound back with my tool but was a tad tight and does stick slightly.
I've got a caliper going cheap, just needs a piston and seal kit if you're interested..... :P I had to hold the wind back tool body with an adjustable spanner and use a spanner on the screw to wind the piston back, and even then it was still bloody tough! Bizarre thing was the piston on the other side caliper went back with no hassle at all, but then the boot on that one was perfect. Strange how whoever 'worked' on it before got one back in fine and messed up the other. But then they also stuck new pads on a knackered pair of discs..... The discs I've just replaced had to be the factory fitted ones, now on 103k...... ???
Mine wasn't that tight offside went in fine the near side I had to get a spanner in handle to wind it in.
Amazing the stuff some people do on cars or should I say don't do,don't see point putting new pads on worn disks.
I have a new calliper ready to go when I find time to fit it,like you I thought pointless rebuilding when a replacement calliper is cheap enough.
The old dross I removed...... Absolutely knackered original factory fitted discs with Unipart pads, complete with rust ridges on the discs and corresponding grooves worn into the pads!:
[attachimg=1]
[attachimg=2]
Next up to replace, along with the rear spring seat cups to stop the new springs going the same way as the old ones!:
[attachimg=3]
Had monies worth out of them disks then?
According to receipts with mine it has had 2 sets of Brembo all round prior to me getting it at 150k. I have since changed all round again as they resembled what you removed from yours.
Always something needs doing on these ain't there? My latest project is the radio aerial reception not that great so wiring up the roof aerial it has had fitted previously along with the factory one.... Vw diversity style.
Yeah, I suppose they've done well to last to 103k (well the discs anyway)! As you say, always seems to be something to do, since failing the MOT I've done the work to remedy the MOT defects, and also replaced rear discs, pads and a caliper with the dampers and spring seats to follow. And then the pollen filter. Then the driver's seat base foam. Which should bring to a close my Galaxy related tasks before the onset of winter! I'll leave cleaning the inlet tract for next spring! At least (touchwood) the new cam position sensor seems to have cured that intermittent starting issue which has bugged me ever since buying the vehicle!
Certainly been busy lately then?
Have you sourced a replacement seat base foam for yours or have you acquired a used seat?
Mines iffy on the edge where metal bar has worn it out,I used some foam under cover to pack it out but want to sort properly at some point.
That's good news the intermittent starting problem seems to have been resolved.
Yeah, glad to put that issue to bed, it's infuriating to get in the car only for it to crank and crank and crank, but then for it to run fine once it does eventually start!
I bought a new seat base foam pad, because of the vehicle height the outside edge 'wing' of the seat base pad suffers after prolonged use with shuffling bums getting in and out of the vehicle. My old one isn't terrible really but I'm a fussy bugger so decided to replace it. I'll post a couple pictures of my old one when I do the swap, if it's better than what you've got you can have it for not silly money if you're interested!
[attachimg=1]
Mine is disintegrated completely in that area.
What did the cushion set you back,assume it was from a dealer?
If once yours is out its better than mine I might well take you up on that.
I'm interested in where you found the seat cushion as well.
I got it from VW actually although the last time I checked with my pals at Ford it was still available from them as well. Chris previously posted about it here (https://www.fordmpv.com/smf2/ford-galaxy/seat-cushions). I just paid Ã,£95 including VAT for the thing (and that was with the dealer giving me a 10% discount) so you've got to be quite enthusiastic to want to pay that amount of money for it!
Fitted the new dampers, pretty easy job on these vehicles (will do a writeup at some point), the nearside rear damper has had a slight leak for a while now so I decided to order up some new ones during one of Euro car parts frequent X% off 'sales', and I'm glad I did as the leaking damper has just given up completely, I'd only cleaned the oil misting off of it when I did the rear brakes recently and there was a load more oil on it when I checked yesterday- it had started to leak properly instead of just misting, plus I could hear it creaking whilst driving over bumps and when I took it off and inspected it the damping action had gone as well.
Comparison of the O.E / replacement Sachs dampers- the new ones are a bit slimmer and have a plastic shroud instead of the metal shroud fitted to the O.E ones. You can see the oil on the old one!:
[attachimg=1]
To replace them it's simply a case of two bolts, you don't even need to take the wheel off unless you want to- though you do need to jack up the corner you are working on to take the weight off of the suspension. The top (18mm) headed bolt is accessed through the wheelarch at the rear by removing the 2 rearmost size 25 torx wheelarch liner screws and pulling the liner forward a bit. The lower bolt has a 21mm head and a 21mm nut on the (outside) end of it instead of it bolting directly into a threaded hole in the trailing arm. You can simply hold the nut with a 21mm spanner whilst you unscrew the bolt from the inside.
I also replaced the rear spring seat lower cups after renewing the rear springs recently, below shows why I needed to!:
[attachimg=2]
Although the design means it's easy to remove and refit the rear springs, I don't like the (I.M.O) overly small spring seating surface on the trailing arm (i.e, moving) end. I would have preferred a much broader in diameter spring seat with a correspondingly larger rubber seat cup to give more bearing surface, as you can see after prolonged use the spring just wears through the cup and rubs directly on the metal trailing arm, when this happens the protective paint/ coating on the spring wears through and the spring begins to rust, which is ultimately why one of my springs had broken- the rubber cup had worn through and the spring had rusted until it failed.
The below image shows the spring seating area on the trailing arm with the cup removed. Too small for my liking- I also couldn't get a satisfactory (to me anyway) fit between the spring, trailing arm and cup because when I fitted it up and tried putting the vehicle weight back onto the rear suspension, the spring kept on riding off of the seat slightly on the inside, this will accelerate wear on the seat, the spring and the cup as the load isn't being transmitted evenly. I haven't worked out yet if I'm doing something wrong or if that's just the way it is but I've tried every damn thing I can to keep it square and every time I load it up the spring partly rides off of the lip. Maybe I worry too much! ::) :
[attachimg=3]
The below picture shows the issue- where the arrow is, you can see the spring has slightly 'ridden off' the cup/ seat on the left but isn't contacting it much on the right. I don't think I can get it any better, due to the way in which the rear trailing arm pivots when the suspension is working it'll probably only settle back into the position it's shown in the picture in anyway!:
[attachimg=4]
Hi,
I agree with you about the rear spring cap being too small. On mine there was a grinding noise as I was driving along as the spring grinded on the triling arm metal to metal. I use to spray WD40 on it every few weeks to get rid of the noise. Eventually I replaced them, 1 side disappeared after a couple of weeks and the other onewas worn away. I replaced them again and after a short time the noise was back. This time I replaced both coil springs and the seat caps and so far ok.
Glad it's not just me then! Anybody else out there interested in checking their rear spring seat cups to see what state they're in and if the springs are seated in a similar way to mine?!
I will take a look under mine later and report back what I find
[THANKS] Much obliged!
See what you mean,difficult to see but I think the rubber seat on mine is a bit knackered from Spring end rubbing.
[attachimg=1]
[attachimg=2]
Thanks for that, it's not easy to see like you say. Just as a side note, it may be the perspective but that second image you posted- that spring doesn't look at all central on the seat- you haven't got a busted nearside spring have you?! :o
I hadn't even noticed that but looking now I think you are spot on there it don't look right does it?
Looks like couple of springs and seats are next job now...... To change them did you jack up and release axle from shock to extract the springs?
Lower the anti roll bar first (6x 13mm headed bolts- though you only need to slacken the 2 bolts clamping the bar to the axle- fully remove the clamps that secure the bar to the trailing arms though) - it's much easier if you do ;) Then just loosen and remove the bottom damper bolt (hold the nut on the wheel side with a 21mm spanner and unbolt it from the inside- 21mm headed bolt), you can actually do all of it without removing the wheel but you'll get better access if you do. The trailing arm will then drop- you'll need a jack able to jack the vehicle up sufficiently high in order to drop the arm far enough so that you can wangle the spring out.
If your seat cups are knackered I don't think you can get aftermarket ones- genuine ones available here (https://www.fordpartsuk.com/shop/ford_galaxy_rear_spring_seat_cap_2000-2006_f_1072429_c_555.htm). I opted for Sachs springs which I'd hoped would be identical to the O.E ones but the O.E springs differ slightly in that they taper right at the ends- the wire diameter reduces right at the end both top and bottom, whereas my replacements don't. I can't see this really affecting the spring centralising on the seat though so I don't know if it has any bearing on my issue.
Nice one for the advise on replacing them makes it more clear.
Thanks for link about the cups I have seen some for Ã,£10 a piece so will order them along with springs and get a crack on next week.
Will see how they sit when replaced and see if same as yours.
No worries, it'll be interesting to see if you find the same thing or if an alternative brand of spring sits better on the seat. The tapered ends of the O.E springs seem to make more of a difference to the upper spring seat cup because the upper cup has lugs which fit round the uppermost coil of the spring, the new springs being thicker at the ends don't fit these lugs as nicely as the original springs but I still can't see that making much difference to the way the spring seats on the lower cup unless the spring is being forced out of line (the upper spring seat cup pushes over the bump stop which fits through the centre of the cup).
[attachimg=1]
When I fitted the lowering kit at 60k mine were knackered and like yours, metal on metal was occuring. I replaced them with OEM and they are still looking OKish at 115k.
Was it a factory or aftermarket lowering kit that you fitted? Can you recall if the lowering springs you fitted tapered off right at the ends of the top/ bottom coils?
The factory 35mm kit from Eibach, iirc they are strait cut and fitted against the 'stop' on the seat with a gap. Looking now the cup seems to have distorted to accept them more readily.
Thanks Mark, I think I may have not explained what I mean very well- the wire diameter of the original spring 'reduces' at the ends both top and bottom. It's not that obvious but if you look closely at the below picture of my original spring you can just about see it:
[attachimg=1]
Ahh I get it, yes thats the same on the kit and most modern springs tbh. It allows a twin level of compression so you get comfort normally and then strength when pushing it...
Consider me surprised then that the Sachs springs I bought as replacements (which I'd hoped would have been as good as like for like) don't have the tapered ends!
[attachimg=1]
The Sachs also doesn't look as if the ends are in the same place around the longitudinal axis as the original.
Here's the Sachs spring catalogue. Some interesting information about spring forms but no mention of tapered wires.
https://mediaservices.zf.com/Redirect.do?urlId=qefojNa%2FOC8%3D
You are correct, the coil ends are not in the same place as on the original spring- they were virtually 'in line' on the O.E spring whereas there's around a 90 degree 'gap' with the Sachs ones. Which isn't the end of the world as although the lower cup is fixed on the trailing arm by a locating nub and the spring end has to butt up against it, the upper mounting cup can be orientated in any direction. Perhaps the thicker wire ends and slightly different orientation are contributing to the less than perfect way (I.M.O) that the spring centralises on the lower seat cup which seems to put the cup under undue stress and leave it susceptible to rapid wear though. This issue does seem to occur with the O.E springs as well though and is of course the reason my original spring failed, so having just paid eighty odd quid for these springs I'm loathed to go and buy genuine ones at what will undoubtedly be over a hundred quid each as an educated guess.... sod it, I'll run it and see how the Sachs ones last. It's not the best of designs as I've said previously.
Are the length's the same? (new and old springs)
Would it be possible to grind some off and add the taper.
Then repaint lacquer it afterwards?
Just a thought.
Stuart.
Given the forces on them, you would expect those spring cups to be made from PTFE or polyurethane rather than, as they appear, neoprene.
I think I'll have a look at my original 150,000mile setup at the weekend.....
Exactly, given the small contact area of the seat I would expect the cups to a) be broader and b) made of nylon or polyurethane etc, something tougher like you say. I had a quick look but it doesn't look like you can get uprated aftermarket seat cups either.
Well, despite renewing the lower spring seats as well as the springs themselves I can hear the bloody things creaking (which is driving me nuts! [bash] ) which means that the springs are rubbing directly against the metal of the trailing arm as I feared previously when I said that I wasn't happy with the way the springs seemed to be riding off of the lower seats. Ho hum, I wonder if the non-tapered spring ends of the Sachs springs that I fitted are exacerbating the problem. A job for spring I think, can't be doing with messing around with that now that winter is upon us, assuming that I don't drive the thing into the canal before then when the noise finally makes me snap! [WHACK]
Nightmare,you going to fit genuine springs after winter then?
I still haven't got round to fitting mine yet,got some genuine springs and seats all ready to go if I ever find the time to do it.
I can't be doing with the hassle of doing it now with the dark nights and winter in general to be honest, I'll revisit it in spring if I can put up with the noise until then- don't get me wrong, it's not loud, it's quite subtle but it grates on me because I know it's not bloody right! [CRY]
Just out of interest, how much did you pay for genuine springs? And did you get 'em from Ford or VW?
I know what you mean about knowing something not right and getting on nerves.
Paid Ã,£10 a piece for the cups from ford.
Pair of OE febi rear springs with blue stripe was Ã,£100 through a friend who works at VW dealer in brum.
Short term peace of mind:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Draper-41923-400mm-Silicone-Lubricant/dp/B000TOFOSU/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1478769577&sr=8-3&keywords=silicone+spray
Well I've just had a quick look at the rear springs by lying underneath the car, both lower spring seats that I replaced have puckered up under the load from the springs, no wonder it's rubbing. :( Bloody hell, those Sachs springs are gonna have to go. I can only think that the non-tapered wire ends/ end coils that do not match the original spring profile and position are to blame for the bad fit. [bash]
Just been under mine turns out springs and cups are fairly new they were changed at ford shortly before I got the car. Reason nearside looked odd I can only assume was because I had just dropped car of the jack on one side when I took the picture? All is ok now and springs in good condition and sitting ok.
Needless to say new springs on way back to my mate for a refund.
I do have 2 brand new ford cups if you need them for when you change springs again? Yours for cost of postage.
Shame you've sent the springs back, I might've made you an offer for 'em! If the cups are surplus then I'll take 'em off your hands, happy to pay you for them, I wouldn't expect 'em for nowt, even if I did pay the postage! cheers
Sorry I didn't think about offering them on here,just thought get them back and get refund before leaving it to late to.
Yes they are surplus just cost of postage is fine as they will only sit there doing nothing. PayPal me a fiver and your address and I will get them posted to you.
cheers If you're happy with that then thanks very much, will paypal the money in due course! Now I'll have to decide which brand of springs to try next........ To buy 'em from Ford or VW they're likely to cost Ã,£100 each plus VAT, so maybe I'll look at the Febi ones.
Yes happy with that,ok I will get them ready to go.
Quote from: johnnyroper on November 09, 2016, 08:04:05 PM
Pair of OE febi rear springs with blue stripe was Ã,£100 through a friend who works at VW dealer in brum.
The Febi springs you bought- when you say they had the blue stripe on them do you mean they were virtually identical to the O.E springs with the colour coded markings on them as well? I've just been looking at Febi's online catalogue (see the attached PDF) and the only rear spring they list for my vehicle (their part no. 38675) doesn't seem to have any paint markings on it to denote it's spec, load rating etc, nor can I find the exact VW O.E number that it cross references for it (7M0 511 115 AN) on the Sharan parts diagram (http://volkswagen.7zap.com/en/rdw/sharan+syncro+4motion/sha/2005-406/5/511-511000/), but in the blurb it says it's 263mm long- I was looking at Ford's E-CAT earlier and it says the rear spring with the single blue stripe (which is the standard one I assume and what was fitted to my Galaxy) is only 249mm long, which says to me that the springs you got couldn't have been the same as Febi ref. 38675? Maybe they're just slightly heavier duty springs than the standard O.E ones........ as long as they don't grind I don't care!
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Yes they were identical to what is fitted with the blue stripe as I already have fitted. Correct size and shape.
Can't recall part number off top of head but can check that's the ones I had and sent back. The blue stripe denotes standard spring rather than sports spring.
Febi made the oe springs for vw my mate reckons although no febi markings on them.
Tony, any chance of you finding out if those Febi springs you bought and then returned were Febi ref. 38675 or something different? If they were something different, can you find out if you can get another pair and if so how much? I want to take another look at this problem now that spring has arrived. cheers
Ok paul will text him now,probably be tomorrow when I find out though.
Did you get anywhere with this Tony? I can get hold of Febi 38675 (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FEBI-38675-Coil-Spring-Rear-Axle-/401291312079?hash=item5d6ed37bcf:g:CUIAAOSwgQ9VkIIp) easily enough but it doesn't look like they have the blue stripe on them so I'm thinking you must have been sent something else?
Sorry forgot to reply it was Febi 38675 equivalent to vw 7mo 511 115 apparantly.
cheers Will give them a go, at least I know they'll have the tapered ends!
In the end I ordered Spidan 55305 (https://www.autodoc.co.uk/spidan/7445075) springs to replace the Sachs ones (from the Autodoc site I just linked- they seem to have a large selection of parts from a range of manufacturers, although the stuff is shipped from Germany. I think somebody here has linked them before as well), I went for the Spidan ones because the listing showed them as being 249mm long with blue stripe which is what my original springs were, the Febi (https://www.autodoc.co.uk/febi-bilstein/7106438) ones were shown as being 14mm longer and 'violet' stripe which if I've read it correctly equates to 'heavy duty' suspension (for towing etc?). It probably wouldn't make much difference but the Galaxy suspension is already soft enough I.M.O without making the back end even higher!
The Spidan springs are indeed a much closer match to the O.E springs with the tapered wire ends and pattern so I think they'll be a much better fit. Interestingly, the Sachs springs I bought from Euro car parts have a part number on them (Sachs part number, not Euro's own stock code for them) which is nothing like the part number in Sach's own catalogue listed for my vehicle (996 640) or on the Autodoc (https://www.autodoc.co.uk/sachs/1232488) website, so actually I'm not sure just what they're supposed to fit! I think I'm going to take them back and complain they were not a proper fit and see if I can get a refund.
Fitted the Spidan springs with new seat rubbers, no issues and they fit properly unlike the Sachs springs previously fitted, so all issues I had were down to the incorrect spring profile/ pattern and the fact that the Sachs springs didn't have the tapered wire ends. I'll do a writeup at 'some point'! LOL
New Spidan spring (with blue stripe as per the factory fitted springs) and replacement seat rubbers:
[attachimg=4]
Poorly fitting/ incorrect Sachs spring 'riding off' of the seat rubber allowing metal on metal contact between the spring and trailing arm:
[attachimg=1]
Same view but with the new Spidan spring, contacts the seat rubber nicely around the full contact area:
[attachimg=2]
Another view of the Spidan spring showing the tapered wire end, sitting nicely against the stop in the rubber seat cup- something that the incorrect Sachs springs would just not do!:
[attachimg=3]
Glad to see the back of that problem and hopefully no more creaking and grinding when driving along! woohoo [WHACK] [bash]
Got my money back from Euro car parts for the springs after showing them the difference between the Sachs springs I bought from them and the factory fitted tapered wire springs, so that's good. I had previously emailed ZF (Sach's parent company) asking for clarification on what exactly the springs I had bought from Euro were meant to fit as the part number on the box and springs themselves was nothing like anything Sachs listed, and certainly not what their online catalogue said should have been fitted to the Galaxy. Their response wasn't very helpful though:
QuoteUnfortunately ZF Services has no control or information on the Sachs spring range in the UK. This is operated here by Euro Car Parts. If you have an issue with the parts supplied by them please contact them so that they can address this issue for you. The online catalogue is showing parts under the Sachs numbers available outside the UK all parts in the UK are that of Euro Car Parts product numbering."
Also finally got round to replacing the driver's seat base foam, I've always found dismantling seats on cars (e.g, stripping and replacing frames, covers and cushions) one of the most tedious jobs you can do on a car due to the hassle of trying to get at the wire hog rings they insist on using to hold the covers to the cushions. Will do a writeup on this 'at some point' LOL
@johnnyroper, this one's for you if the want the old foam, you can see where it's started to disintegrate on the outer 'wing' where constantly shuffling bums from getting in and out of the vehicle take their toll but it may be better than what you've got (click image for full res):
[attachimg=1]
Thanks paul it's much like mine is with the split allowing bar to protrude,looks like I will need to go same route as you and pay for new one. Thanks anyway👍
No worries, I'll see if anybody else is interested as it might be in a better state compared to what some people have got, otherwise it can go in ze bin!