Broken spring.

I recently had my car mot done and it failed on a broken front spring.
I was shown one coil of a spring and he said hadn't you noticed it rattling.

I hadn't noticed anything.
Anyway he couldn't get a new one to fit immediately so I had to take it back a couple of days later.
In the meantime I thought I'd have a look, but with the dodgy knees I couldn't get underneath to look, so I measured the height of the weel arch to the ground, it was exactly the same each side.

Still wondering if I was ripped off, I consider the bloke a mate, but I'm beginning to wonder.
Any thoughts, shouldn't the car been lower one side with complete coil missing or doesn't it work like that.

 

I don't know the answer, but I was a car tinkerer in my younger years, so just a suggestion worth trying.
The suspension is a combination of the coil spring and hydraulics.
When the car is stationary neither coil nor the hydraulics are doing anything so that's why you see no difference.
It's only when the car is moving and going over uneven surfaces you may notice something.

If you stand on one side of the car by a front wheel and push the bonnet down hard, notice how the suspension bounces the car, then repeat on the other side - you may notice a difference in how the car bounces back.
That's how I used to do it decades ago - of course things may have changed since then.
If the coil is snapped but still in position, then you may not notice anything.

Hope you manage to get it sorted.

 

We always get our vehicles fully checked by qualified mechanics before it's MOT. If we were to experience a failed MOT, then we would question the garage and their protocol for not noticing any defects in the first place. I would of thought if your car failed it's MOT test, then it should of been repaired and issued with a valid MOT certificate before you could drive it.

 

It's all done now, just in hindsight I was wondering why I hadn't noticed a broken spring when I was driving it.

The place I go is a proper business and he usually gets the mot done first and then goes back to fix any thing the mot shows up then runs it back up to the mot centre, I think it's some kind of arrangement he has with them.

He had to order the spring so he couldn't get it same day.
My old mot still had a few valid days to run.

 

Hi @pete,

Broken springs on older cars ( is yours ?) are not that uncommon, and if the break is near the top or bottom of the spring it might not appear to affect things too much.

However there is one thing thats worth mentioning, as things like springs, dampers, brake pads and discs should ideally be replaced in axle pairs, though if it is a newish car perhaps not such a problem.
Did your "mate" replace both front springs ?

If just one side is done then there could be an imbalance, more problematic for brake parts, but the springs could affect the ride a bit ?

 

If that was happening with commercial vehicles, the haulage company would likely to be fined by the transport ministry. Having defects found during an MOT suggest the fitters are not doing their job properly, they should be competent enough to identify, repair and replace any defects before putting the vehicle through it's test. By not doing so, gives the impression that general maintenance of the vehicle is not adequate. If I was interested in purchasing a second hand vehicle and there was issues when it had been put through it's test or tests, I would be less likely to purchase it

 

It's not a commercial vehicle it's my car.

I think he only replaced the one @ricky101 it's a 10 yr old vehicle, and the reason I asked is because it feels no different now than it did before it was done.
It's a focus st so the suspension is quite hard anyway add the low profile tyres and its a rough ride at the best of times around pothole alley here.

 

No off side, probably my weight.