Well, I had thought about writing a wee post about my first 6 months of ownership and how everything was sweetness & light. The thought alone must've been enough to tempt the fates as there was a loud clunk this morning as the car was reversed out of its parking spot. After taking the front wheel off I could see the suspension coil had snapped (see attached photo).

Are there any difficulties involved in taking the shock & coil off and replacing them?

I'll need to buy a spring compressor, any recommendations for a make/model/type?

Any suggestions about recommended makes of shock & coil would be appreciated too.

Not an easy job with diy compressors,but certainly not impossible.
You have to undo the antiroll bar link at one end at least & this rarely comes undone, due to corrosion.
It's often easier to buy a new one & cut the old off with a cutting disc.
At leat put some penetrating oil on it now, so it can soak in whilst you think about what to get.

You're  lucky that you didn't lose your tyre . There should be a protective collar round the spring seat to stop the broken coil digging into the tyre sidewall

I've got draper 14173 compressors , the clamps move from both ends , most of the others only move from one end , if you see what I mean.  The small driving hex head means you can get a socket on and off quite easily.

Hi there is a Haynes Manual on the site which would be most useful, have a search and download it.

Also look on You Tube as you will likely see all you need.

Oh and yes definitely doable as DIY , would agree with Lighty on the drop links best to fit new ( cheap ).

(02-04-2017, 07:11 AM)Lighty Wrote:  Not an easy job with diy compressors,but certainly not impossible.

Gulp!

(02-04-2017, 07:11 AM)Lighty Wrote:  At leat put some penetrating oil on it now, so it can soak in whilst you think about what to get.

Good suggestion. I'll give everything a good clean and squirt some oil on it now

(02-04-2017, 07:26 AM)brodfather11 Wrote:  You're  lucky that you didn't lose your tyre .

Well, indeed. It was a miracle the tyre wasn't shredded. You can probably see in the photo that the spring broke with two sharp points. Luckily, this snap happened at crawling speed and the car was only moved a couple of metres. If it happened on a busy main road at speed...

(02-04-2017, 07:26 AM)brodfather11 Wrote:  There should be a protective collar round the spring seat to stop the broken coil digging into the tyre sidewall

I did some searching around the Internet on this topic and noticed there had been a recall to fit these cups. Looks like my vehicle missed the recall.

(02-04-2017, 07:26 AM)brodfather11 Wrote:  I've got draper 14173 compressors , the clamps move from both ends , most of the others only move from one end , if you see what I mean.  The small driving hex head means you can get a socket on and off quite easily.

Thanks! I'll look for them on that well known online auction site.

(02-04-2017, 08:03 AM)geoff Wrote:  Hi there is a Haynes Manual on the site which would be most useful, have a search and download it.

That would be useful. I'll go and search for it now.

(02-04-2017, 08:03 AM)geoff Wrote:  Also look on You Tube as you will likely see all you need.

I thought that too but I'm not finding anything specific. I looked for both Combi and Bingo but didn't find anything.

As the good folk say, a DIY job - worth double checking that the top end of the spring is located in the top cup correctly on reassembly , with the cut end of the spring coil sitting at the stop in the cup, before releasing spring compressor in situ. A decent lever is useful to help lower the bottom wishbone when getting the strut in and out. and a short chisel is good for opening the strut clamp slot in the hub assembly. Allow a morning for the job - if you then do the other side it'll only take an hour, as you'll have got the hang of it!

That spring still has stickers on it, can't be too old. Our drivers side broke a couple of years ago but it was the original and the safety collar stopped it from dropping down the strut. I took the strut off and stripped it down then took it round to a friendly local garage where we fitted my new spring using a foot operated hydraulic spring compressor. I wouldn't have attempted it with my old screw compressors as the spring is too long for them. I wish I had changed the top plate bearing at the same time as it is now grinding a bit but it will have to wait for nicer weather.

(02-04-2017, 08:03 AM)geoff Wrote:  Hi there is a Haynes Manual on the site which would be most useful

Got it!

The forum post with the link is here:
https://www.berlingoforum.com/Thread-Haynes-manual-link

That's great, I'll go and read it now