Mercedes Vito Brakes Job Turns up Horror Shock Absorber

Mercedes Vito Brakes

So, I must admit that I am a great fan of the Vito van. Because, a few years ago then I owned a beautiful red Mercedes mini-bus. Fortunately,  the vehicle was very reliable. Requiring very little maintenance apart from the normal servicing and the usual tyres and other renewable. As most of my readers now know then my wife and I had eight children. So we needed a large vehicle to transport the family about.

We also did much travelling! Especially, to France, where we spent most of our summer holidays. Unfortunately, the only downside came when we tried to sell the Vito. Positively, it was in great condition. Being a garage owner, then we had the van service at very regular intervals. Brakes were a prime consideration. Because the safety factor when travelling long distances.

So, we advertised the van in all the usual places. Including online web sites. Finally we received an offer from a taxi guy from Chester. The price he offered was below the price that we were asking but we reluctantly let the Vito go.

Same colour Vito in for Brakes

Last week when visiting the garage in Halifax . So, I noticed a red Vito on one of the ramps having some work done. Significantly, the rear wheel were removed and the brake calipers were hanging down. Dale one of my mechanics was working on the van at the time. Asking what was wrong , Dale explained that the van had braking problems and indeed required a full brake rebuild on the rear brakes.

However when removing the rear wheels then Dale discovered an horrific problem ! The rear shock-absorber had completely broke off and was just hanging there! This can be clearly seen in the above image. Unfortunately, the break was from part of the chassis. Serious rotting had taken place in the shocker mounting area. Welding was not an option ! So, to correct this problem then a complete new chassis box section would have to be engineered. Consequently, this is above our remit and would have to be done by a specialist body repair shop.

After contacting the customer we were instructed to carry on with the Mercedes Vito Brakes. As a foot note the customer said that he had never any banging or strange noises at all. I find this hard to believe with a shocker hanging down ?