Disgusted of Grange!

[Staghound]

Last evening we were working under the Stag, fitting the shinny new exhaust, when my buddy said I think you ought to look under here, he pointed to the rubber drive shaft cover it had split and the rubber was perished...then he pointed out the rubber at the base of the shock absorber has began to perish...I realise this is not the quickest of rebuilds and it will be 12 months since these were fitted...BUT the car has NEVER MOVED, ensconced in this garage the whole time...I have to ask, what other crap have I been sold to fit to my precious old car??

A disgusted and saddened Andrew.

[marshman]

I'm afraid it's a common problem with remanufactured non OEM rubber parts. 6 months is not unheard of before the rubber disintegrates. Just have a quick look at some recent threads - "Fed up of cheap chinese rubbish" and one by Bruce on his failed engine mounts on his newly rebuilt GT6. It also applies to spares on moderns. My kids have Peugeot 106's and rear brake cylinders have been know to last as little as 6 months before the seals give up on "cheap" pattern parts from a well known purveyor of cheap VR1! Fortunatly I have a choice and now I pay for genuine ones from Peugeot and they seem to last. Unfortunatley on an old classic car you don't often have that luxury.

The only way we are going to stop it as a classic car movement is to return the parts to the suppliers under the sale of goods act as not fit for purpose. If enough people did it then the suppliers would get onto the manufacturers and the problem would eventually get sorted. Expect to see the price increase though. So get in touch with the supplier - even if it was a year ago.

Roger

[new to this]

andrew

you can buy the rubbers for the shock absorbers in poly now,the rubber for the drive shaft dont last long have had trouble with these myself

dave

[tractorjames]

The rubbers on both my front shock absorbers have done this, out of interest will this be brought up in the MOT?

I have found issues in the past with rubber parts, usually the rubber boots on track rod ends, which only need to sit outside for a year or so before cracking and going brittle (brand new, non genuine), also the rubber surrounds of ammeters on older machines.

James

[DJT]

The rubbers on both my front shock absorbers have done this, out of interest will this be brought up in the MOT?

I have found issues in the past with rubber parts, usually the rubber boots on track rod ends, which only need to sit outside for a year or so before cracking and going brittle (brand new, non genuine), also the rubber surrounds of ammeters on older machines.

James

Not part of the MOT James, but to save aggro get in there with some long nosed pliers and pull all the remnants out. Jif the tester sees knackered rubbers he may make out that they should be intact, but if there are no remains he won't know they were there in the first place.

[jeffsstag]

hi,it isn't an mot failure and only advisory,i would be tempted not to pull out any remaining rubber as this does give a small amount of protection against ingress of dirt/grit etc until you can replace the rubber

[staginhiding]

With my front and rear suspension rebuild we have used where we can and condition allows the original rubbers and gaiters.
I also stored away many years ago new BL parts that I am now using rather than some of the poor quality items that we seem to not be able to avoid..

Sam

[73stagman]

My drive shaft rubbers came via trgb. They are still fine after twelve months or more..... I bought two spares at the same time and they are also still ok. The spares are still wrapped in the plastic bags and are in a dark cupboard so would be disappointed if they weren't!

[Valleyforge]

Bu**er. Not Good. I put Spax shocks all round 3 years ago - Those bushes are fine but the shame is I threw the old ones (which were ok) away otherwise you could have gladly had them.
Have had several new sets of Stromberg float valves, all rubbish, now have an ancient pair from some old weber DCOE40's and their fine (and surprisingly appear to be the same).

[Staghound]

Thank you all for your support and ideas, I rather think my parts supplier will be taking delivery of a sizeable and diverse box of not fit for purpose items, with a suggestion they revise there QA and that I shall be expecting re-embursment in full...

Thank you all,Andrew.

[StagnJag]

Apparently SOC spares had a batch of drive shaft rubbers made last year. I wouls phone around hte suppliers and ask if htey stock them. They should last a reasonable amount of time. Most of them are rubbish, I have got through several sets.

The front drive shaft gaiters will only fail the MOT if they are installed and failed. If they aren't there they aren't tested!

Regards

Dave

[Ian Durrant]

Dont SOC spares sell on eBay as british car spares or something? Buying direct should ensure you get the right ones if they really are better.

[jleyton]

The front drive shaft gaiters will only fail the MOT if they are installed and failed. If they aren't there they aren't tested!

Regards

Dave

There's only one 4x4 Stag around - Sorry Dave, only kidding, I know what you mean.

Cheers

Julian

[DJT]

There's only one 4x4 Stag around - Sorry Dave, only kidding, I know what you mean.

Cheers

Julian

2, but only one on here AFAIK - 4x4 (who has been quiet since mid-December )

[Staghound]

I read somewhere the power steering gaiters can be used on the drive shafts, once sized to fit and are much more resilient to ageing and ware, is this something you chaps would sanction?

Andrew.