Rear Axle MOT Failure.

[scatcat1994]

Hi guys, 

My beloved 1.9D 2005 van has failed it's MOT.

The tester says that the rear bushes are too worn and I need an entirely new rear axle.

They seem to go for like £250 and will be an additional £200 ish to fit.

I'm not sure I can justify this cost.  Does anyone have any ideas? It seems to me that surely the bushes could just be replaced? Perhaps get a 2nd opinion?

Cheers guys.

-scott

[polar]

Yes you can change the bushes but to keep the costs down you will need to do it yourself. It should all be in a Haynes manual how to do.

[ffrenchie]

Hi guys, 

My beloved 1.9D 2005 van has failed it's MOT.

The tester says that the rear bushes are too worn and I need an entirely new rear axle.


-scott

Is he saying to do the axle at the same time as the bushes, do the wheels lean in at the top at all ? Go back and ask if you need a new axle or just bushes because you may end up doing the job twice.

[brodfather11]

I heard a rumour that MOTs had been suspended for 6 Months due to the covid thingy.
True or fake news ?

[Pedronicus]

I heard a rumour that MOTs had been suspended for 6 Months due to the covid thingy.
True or fake news ?

Not strictly right.  If your MOT expired after 30 March 2020 then six months has been added on to the expiry date.  If you continue driving the vehicle it has to be in a roadworthy condition though.

[brodfather11]

OK it wasn't all fake news then ,

thanks

[Gadgetman]

Rear bushes?

As in bushings?
Or a bearing?

There's 2 set of bearings on the rear axle of a Berlingo.
The twin row bearings in the hubs, and the needlebearings where the arm pivots.

The Bearings in the hubs are 'easy' to do yourself(but you need to buy complete hub sets because the bearings aren't sold separately)

The needle bearings is a completely different matter. That's a 'replace the whole enchilada' type job. you will NOT find an explanation of how to do that in the Gospel of Haynes.
Because the torsion bars needs to be pre-tensioned when you install them.
The good news, though, is that if you have to do that, you can ship the old axle assembly back and get a few quids back when you buy a recon unit, because they can recon and resell it.

For the axle swap job will also need new hubs(you can't get the old ones off complete) and it doesn't hurt to swap shocks at the same time. There's also the rear rubber mounts that may be in need of replacement(may as well do it while you have the car up on jackstands)
If you have everything lined up, it can be done in an afternoon/evening.

Note that the hubs come in a few different versions. you need to check if it's ABS, and if so how many teeth are on the sensor ring, and probably also the Inner diameter. Get complete kits, because you probably won't be able to reuse he metal cup that's protecting it from dirt.