PROMOTIONAL CONTENT ON BEHALF OF EURO CAR PARTS
Staying on track with steering and suspension
With MOT season around the corner, Helen Robinson, marketing director at Euro Car Parts, looks at a component group that is increasingly becoming the cause of failure
If you were asked to name one of the highest causes of MOT failure, what answer would you give? Many vehicles fail on tyres, wipers and even illegible or damaged number plates which can be quick and relatively inexpensive repairs for customers. However, an increasing number of MOT failures are down to extensive wear or damage in the steering and suspension system which requires a costlier and more time-consuming solution.
It’s no coincidence that Section 2 of the MOT test is devoted to steering and suspension. These parts are often taken for granted when a vehicle is in operation, but potholes in the road can put suspension systems through a great deal of strain, potentially affecting alignment, which if left unchecked can lead to accelerated wear to components within the system. As these safety critical systems comprise many components and assemblies, repairers should take every opportunity to inspect them for customers, using only quality replacement parts from a trusted provider.
With more arms, links and bushes than ever before, plus increasing volumes of air suspension work reaching the aftermarket, the choice for replacement parts has never been larger. Euro Car Parts stocks all the steering and suspension components needed to cover an expanding range of cars with quick delivery to workshops.
The latest addition to our range is MOOG;a brand synonymous with quality steering and suspension products and recognised globally for its high-quality chassis parts. More than 2,500 product codes will be available through Euro Car Parts by March 2019, with further references to be added throughout the year. The introduction of MOOG® boosts our steering and suspension offering considerably, adding to a solid range which includes high quality chassis parts from Starline and ZF (Lemforder and TRW), among other leading manufacturers.
Although replacement parts are widely available, theimportance of also sourcing and using the correct tools when replacing steering and suspension components cannot be overstated. Air guns may seem like a quick and convenient solution to tightening nuts and bolts, but they should only be used for loosening, as they can overtighten. It is also important that repairers only fully tighten suspension arm fitting bolts once the wheel hub has been raised to its natural operating position. This can be done by measuring the distance from the wheel centre to the wheel arch at ground level. Once the arms are in place and the bolts loosely tightened, the wheel hub can be raised using a jack to the correct position prior to fully tightening using a torque wrench. Vehicle manufacturers recommend that bolts and nuts are replaced every time an axle component is replaced, and these are included with the component or available separately.
With vehicles becoming more sophisticated, repairers should also bear in mind ADAS when working on anything connected to the steering and suspension system, particularly when working on modern vehicles. European legislation introduced in 2004, requires new vehicles to have at least two ADAS systems installed. Common tasks, such as adjusting a vehicle’s wheel alignment, can affect the calibration for one or multiple ADAS systems. This means that an ADAS calibration would need to take place after the wheel alignment to realign the ADAS systems. It’s important to make sure this is done as the repairer has a duty of care to ensure the service is carried out in full as a vehicle returned to an owner uncalibrated leaves the workshop at risk of liability should the car be involved in an accident.
MOOG’s steering and suspension components are produced and tested to ISO standards. The Moog range also features Hybrid Core Technology which provides outstanding durability, even under extreme conditions. With this innovation, MOOG®can offer a distinguished product with up to fivefold increased durability. The system, which incorporates a carbon fibre bearing and induction heat treated ball stud, is applied to ball joints, track control arms, wishbones, axial rods and tie rod ends.
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