Coil spring - replace both ?

Skint_yet_Again

Sorry am a total dunce when it comes to cars

My coil spring drivers side snapped yesterday. Corsa (04). Breakdown recovery cover to local garage which replaced one spring £97

I have since been looking on corsa forums and there seems to be mixed opinions over whether both springs should be replaced on these occasions.

Does anyone on here have experience as to whether its likely the other spring will also snap in the near future ?

I do budget for car repairs but will be a bit miffed if the other spring goes in the next few months when they could have replaced both at same time.
Thanks

Hintza

Up to you really but the other will probably go in 1 day - 24 months down the line (so it is the norm to have them done together). You won't save much by having them done together, so since they haven't been just leave i just now (but be on your guard).

A few years ago I change the middle cox on an exhaust and was muttering at the end of the job that I should have changed the lot. The guy who fixe it (a friend) said it would be fine for ages. The increase in pressure blew it 5 iles own the road.

Sods law applies in these situations.

bungle4by4

i do springs as they break, and shocks in pairs.

Skint_yet_Again

Thanks for the quick response.

When it snapped I was pulling away from the kerb outside my home. The car was fine when i parked it the night before but "felt/sounded funny" when I drove off next morning and then there was a clanging sound which was part of the spring dropping off.

Is there usually any warning when the spring is wearing thin/about to snap ? Am worried I could be on motorway

Muscle750

The joys of pothole britain im afraid i would replace both be cheaper to buy in pairs then one this week and another next. shame im not nearer id of done it for you in a hour. bothsides

keith1950

Hi, the main causes of broken springs are not "wearing thin" but sudden jolts such as going up and down kerbs and speed humps, Vauxhalls seem more sensitive to this than other manufacturers so you are probably better off with an "aftermarket" spring than a Vauxhall one.

As was said above , you wouldn't save much be having both done together.

Muscle750

One of the worst to snap are renaults especially lagunas and clios

colino

No real engineering reason to replace in pairs. If the car was second-hand to you, maybe the other side was replaced in isolation too. Even with a new car in a volume car like this, theres no reason to believe both sides were out of the same batch or even the same age on the production line.
Parts wear at different rates too. The N/S is always in the gutter with the puddles, drains and potholes.

Strider590

Definitely change in pairs, they wear a drop in height with age, you'll have a slightly uneven car if nothing else..... But more importantly, when these go they can send shards into your tyre and cause a blowout, won't feel daft if you change one spring and the other then takes out a tyre 3 weeks later? and im not sure the insurance company would be very sympathetic either.

s_b

Strider590 wrote: »

Definitely change in pairs, they wear a drop in height with age, you'll have a slightly uneven car if nothing else..... But more importantly, when these go they can send shards into your tyre and cause a blowout, won't feel daft if you change one spring and the other then takes out a tyre 3 weeks later? and im not sure the insurance company would be very sympathetic either.

pure scaremongering

how can you say a new spring is any better than a good used one

ive yet to see a modern car look to be saggy on one side because
only one new spring fitted on an axle

its purely conjecture to replace both

Strider590

s_b wrote: »

pure scaremongering

how can you say a new spring is any better than a good used one

ive yet to see a modern car look to be saggy on one side because
only one new spring fitted on an axle

its purely conjecture to replace both

If one spring has gone, it's likely the other isn't far off..... That's logic, not scaremongery.

If a spring breaks, there's a pretty good chance it'll send bits of spring sticking out an angle, if this gets into your tyre and it'll wear through the tyre until it eventually causes a blowout.... This is not scaremongering its A FACT!!