Ssangyong Kyron Inner Tie Rods/Track Rods

Kyron Tie rods, or inner tie rods, or track rods as they are also known are prone to wear out, as with all suspension components on all vehicles, roughly at the point they bolt on to the steering rack as this is more or less a universal joint.  A ball within a socket that can rotate 360 degrees to allow the hub, to which the road wheel is attached, to move up and down with the suspension, and back and forth (in and out) as the steering wheel pushes it in and out (every direction).  For some reason Ssangyong Kyron tie rods seem to tire faster than most.  It is a common MOT/NCT road safety test failure point.  Whereas tie rods for most vehicles are readily available, this wasn't the case with Ssangyong Kyron tie rods - the only way to acquire one (or a pair, which is what is normally needed) was to buy a complete steering rack from Ssangyong themselves at a high price.

Our company Commonsense Car Parts, based in Dundalk, Ireland, recognised the demand for these components and having been in the motor trade 20 years we were well placed and had the appropriate contacts to obtain a quality replacement component at a fraction of the cost of buying a new rack.   These components have proven over the last 4 years to be of a much higher standard than the ones that come as standard on the Ssangyong vehicle.  As we acquire these in bulk quantities we can wholesale them or retail them.  Contact us at info@commonsensecarparts.com or visit us at www.commonsensecarparts.com .  Find us on Facebook

Sangyong Rexton Inner Tie Rods/Track Rods

Rexton Tie rods, or inner tie rods, or track rods as they are also known are prone to wear out, as with all suspension components on all vehicles, roughly at the point they bolt on to the steering rack as this is more or less a universal joint.  A ball within a socket that can rotate 360 degrees to allow the hub, to which the road wheel is attached, to move up and down with the suspension, and back and forth (in and out) as the steering wheel pushes it in and out (every direction).  For some reason Ssangyong Rexton tie rods seem to tire faster than most.  It is a common MOT/NCT road safety test failure point.  Whereas tie rods for most vehicles are readily available, this wasn't the case with Ssangyong Rexton tie rods - the only way to acquire one (or a pair, which is what is normally needed) was to buy a complete steering rack from Ssangyong themselves at a high price.

Our company Commonsense Car Parts, based in Dundalk, Ireland, recognised the demand for these components and having been in the motor trade 20 years we were well placed and had the appropriate contacts to obtain a quality replacement component at a fraction of the cost of buying a new rack.   These components have proven over the last 4 years to be of a much higher standard than the ones that come as standard on the Ssangyong vehicle.  As we acquire these in bulk quantities we can wholesale them or retail them.  Contact us on info@commonsensecarparts.com or visit us at www.commonsensecarparts.com  Find us on Facebook.

Ssangyong Rodius Inner Tie Rod End/Track Rod

Rodius Tie rods, or inner tie rods, or track rods as they are also known are prone to wear out, as with all suspension components on all vehicles, roughly at the point they bolt on to the steering rack as this is more or less a universal joint.  A ball within a socket that can rotate 360 degrees to allow the hub, to which the road wheel is attached, to move up and down with the suspension, and back and forth (in and out) as the steering wheel pushes it in and out (every direction).  For some reason Ssangyong Rodius tie rods seem to tire faster than most.  It is a common MOT/NCT road safety test failure point.  Whereas tie rods for most vehicles are readily available, this wasn't the case with Ssangyong Rodius tie rods - the only way to acquire one (or a pair, which is what is normally needed) was to buy a complete steering rack from Ssangyong themselves at a high price.

Our company Commonsense Car Parts, based in Dundalk, Ireland, recognised the demand for these components and having been in the motor trade 20 years we were well placed and had the appropriate contacts to obtain a quality replacement component at a fraction of the cost of buying a new rack.   These components have proven over the last 4 years to be of a much higher standard than the ones that come as standard on the Ssangyong vehicle.  As we acquire these in bulk quantities we can wholesale them or retail them.

Every man's problems......

Over the Christmas and New Year’s holidays of 2002/3 I went to bed one night and woke up the next day a different person, it’s as simple as that.  The week before I had had a little job done – a bit like laser surgery or a bridge fitted to my teeth…………. something like that…………..no big deal I was told over and over, nothing to worry about, you’ll be good as new in no time, different people said.

Roll forward 12 years.  In the lead up to the Christmas and New Year’s holidays of 2014/2015 things were as mad as a bag of frogs on Ecstasy, customer after customer looking to get sorted, even though a lot of them were told don’t put me under pressure Christmas week.  One day I left home on top of the world and came home the same day having being to a different planet and Christ did I feel alien!  Sure I knew by the short breath, back ache, head ache……it is  only the flu, 2 Lemsips and the hot whiskey mix 3 times and by the time I had got a few hours in the cot sure I’d be  good as new, no big deal I told myself over and over.  I went to bed thinking tomorrow I’ll be the finest………….

Tomorrow came and I felt like a comet had hit me when  I was  in melt down mode  while feeling alien, doctors/pills/more pills /and 3 or 4 stomachs of  projectile vomiting and even more pills later I now feel like I’m coming back into land again on my own planet……. Planet Keith, and pretty soon I’ll be back on top of my world again.  (Turns out my temperature had skyrocketed to the point if it hadn’t been caught I was on the verge of sepsis)

It’s being 12 years now since the 2002/2003 Christmas/New Year break and it has taken the 2014/2015 holiday break and a silly little lung infection/virus to knock a few things into place. About  the holiday break 12 years ago, the little job that I just had done was the removal of 70% of the biggest aquist newrooma (sic)  (Editor’s Note:  Acoustic neuroma -brain tumour) ever found in Ireland, the going to bed one person and waking up another was 3 major strokes in 6 days with death all around me.  Waking up  and finding out I had lost the use of my entire left side, walking/driving independent living were now all a thing of the past or so I was told over and over.

 The few things that have fallen into place have left the following carved in my mind:

1     1.  I’m a lot more able in a lot of ways than a lot of people out there – the blind, the homeless, the elderly and the ill
2.     I see laziness everywhere in brilliant people I know, who could be playing a part in changing the world for others worse off than them
3.    Most people  go down at night  taking it for granted they will rise the following morning the same person and life will go on as all they  have always known it. One day they may wake up to a new world where they become very ill, blind or homeless………….. it’s as simple as that
4.    I know better than most we all have our own lives to live and that every man’s problems are the worst in the world to themselves.  
5.    I now know that there is nothing in this world that cannot be helped in some way no matter how bad things seem. 

For me the worst problem in the world is knowing nobody has to be homeless, and that blindness and ill health can be helped or at least slowed down.  I’m not a lazy person, brilliant maybe, but not lazy, and this year, 2015, I’m going to do all in my power to help.  

Airbags and brain injuries

Its not the name of a band, its a very real situation, that's developing and getting bigger all the time.  The reality is fake airbags are now a very common item, being used in the repair of damaged vehicles and returning to the road all over the world.

There are already documented issues in Ireland where drivers of vehicles have died following an accident and the surgeons who worked on them have blamed the lack of a functioning airbag causing the driver to smash his face off the steering wheel resulting in brain injuries.  People need to take on board the importance of buying their replacement airbags from a genuine traceable source.  The most reliable statement I can offer is if it seems too good to be true it probably is.  If airbags are offered to you as a mechanic or end-customer at extremely low prices chances are they are fake or have been modified to 'trick' the airbag system in your car to believe they will function in the event of a crash - they won't.  Keep away from anyone using the word resistors when talking about fixing your airbag system.  Resistors simply bypass the airbag system circuitry and your airbag will not 'blow' if you are in a crash. 

Your airbag system is not just your airbag - this includes your seatbelts, which are your first line of defence.  There is a mini-explosion in a ratchet when you are in a crash, causing your seatbelt to pull in tight pinning you to the seat.  Your airbag then stops you bashing your face off the steering wheel.  Neither of these will work if the circuitry is incomplete or bypassed (think of Christmas tree lights and how one loose bulb stops the whole set working).  Seatbelts that are not functioning properly will cut you in two like a piece of cheesewire.

For more information and a professional service contact us at info@airbagsireland.com .  You can visit us at our website www.airbagsireland.com

I know what I'm talking about - I've had a brain injury (from a brain tumour) and have had 4 brain haemorrhages, all from falls to the ground,  and I've been in the airbags business for 20 years. 

www.airbagsireland.com

Keith McGahon - Miracle Man

I was born and reared in Dundalk town, the son of a long-standing Fine Gael TD.  An engineer by trade I went out on my own in business in the early 90’s , and ran a successful motor factor business, importing airbags from around the world and retailing them here in Ireland to the crash repair industry.  I was living the fast life, riding and racing motorbikes, travelling world-wide buying stock, partying and living it up. I remember overtaking a lorry at speed on my motorbike one night, and thinking to myself if I ever went under one of them I would surely end up in a wheelchair, disabled for life.  A 40 ft 30 tonne monster.   Little did I know that a silly little brain tumour would nearly wipe me out in the blink of an eye. 

My workload got heavier in the late 90’s, so heavy that when I started getting ever increasing headaches I was more interested in the instant relief that painkillers gave me.  After two and a half years of taking prescribed painkillers from my then-GP, I collapsed in November 2002, and was rapidly diagnosed as having a large Acoustic Neuroma (brain tumour).  In many ways I was relieved to know it was a brain tumour because I was starting to feel like a hypochondriac with my many visits to the doctor.  70% of my tumour was removed in Beaumont Hospital Christmas week of 2002. I got home 6 days later on Christmas Eve.  Having felt weak and tired I put it down to having spent almost a month in bed awaiting the tumour removal.  But unfortunately on Christmas Day I collapsed, and a couple of days later on my re-admittance to Beaumont it was discovered I had had a massive stroke.  In the subsequent 6 days while being treated for an infection in my incision, I had a further two more major strokes.  The result of the strokes was the complete loss of use of my left arm, and majority of my left leg.  The  tumour also left me deaf in my left ear, and the trauma of the strokes it is believed caused the loss of  25% of my hearing in my right ear (thank God for small mercies when my girlfriend, Frances, is giving me a hard time……Ho! Ho! Ho! …..no she’s not Santy, but she is quite good to me!)  After a 3 month wait I went into the National Rehabilitation Hospital in Dun Laoghaire on the 18^th March 2003.  I had been told that I would never walk or drive again.  But over the next 6 months I learned to walk again, although my dancing days were over.  I can now walk more like a wardrobe, but who cares! I left Dun Laoghaire Hospital on July the 4^th 2003, still not fully walking but nonetheless – freedom!

I spent the next few months under the instruction of the Hospital living with my mother, before on a check up I begged them to take me back – I could no longer do it! (Just kidding Mum!!)  It was then agreed I had made a good enough recovery to be deemed fit to live alone. 

I went back to work part-time for myself, and mainstream living kicked in once again.  My troubles were far from over, as over the next 6 months I experienced some serious painful times, before it was discovered that the blood supply to both my hips had been killed off by the large amount of steroids pumped into my body to reduce the size of the tumour – a condition called avascular necrosis.  The pain got worse as my right hip deteriorated, but once again I continued on dealing with the pain in the best way I could, sometimes forgetting about it completely. 

Unfortunately in August of 2007, my hip locked coming down a flight of stairs, causing me to lose my step and I fell to the bottom, fracturing my skull and having 3 brain haemorrhages – 2 external, and 1 internal.  I got over this fast, and was back on my feet in a flash.  (Unfortunately – again!) in March 2008 as I walked down the street there was a loud crack and I collapsed on the footpath.  I at first thought I had stood on a twig, but was to find out after spending a good hour screaming like a maniac in pain, that my left upper leg bone structure had shattered – again related to the overload of steroids keeping my tumour under control in 2002.  After one month in hospital and the total rebuild of my upper left leg with titanium rods and plates, I then went to spend a month in a nursing home, by choice, as my home was not suitable to return to, and my parents were too elderly to care for me. While my sisters and brothers were very supportive, they had their own lives and families to take care of.  It was a learning experience that I’ve never gathered so much from.  All around me were old people in various states of mental and physical decay.  Believe it or not, it was only then did I become grateful for how lucky I really was, in many ways.

The summer of 2008 was good until a joy-rider knocked me down breaking two ribs and causing me to have a further brain haemorrhage the following evening – my 4^th in 12 months.  I met my now-girlfriend the day before and she came to see me in hospital while I was recovering, and it was then I realised she was a very good person, and more or less what I needed to keep going. 

In early December of 2008 after a 4 year wait I had my right hip replaced in the Mater Private Hospital.  This had been my greatest demon since my downfall in 2002.  January 2009 kicked off with a bang and I was all brand new. 

Looking back on my experiences over the last few years I realise now I have swam oceans and climbed mountains in my recovery.  Though I am still waiting for my first state-sponsored physiotherapy session, or occupational therapy, I am very grateful to all of those who have helped me – the doctors and nurses, and my family, who I think still struggle more than I do to understand the impact of my disability.  Now 37, my business more or less wiped out by my illness and the shrinking Irish economy, I understand there is only one way and that is forward.  I have to stay focused and strong.  I am planning maybe on returning to college, or starting another business – who knows………the way I see it the day I fell ill, I was down South in Cork City, had I been up North I could have won the lottery.  One thing I understand now more than ever is Shit Happens, life is short and we must ride it hard. Every man’s problems are the worst in the world to himself, no matter how trivial.  I’d like to say to any other sufferers of Acquired Brain Injuries your greatest cure is acceptance and belief in yourself.  These days laughter is the fuel I run on (ask Frances who has to listen to me rattling off jokes at 4 o’clock in the morning!).  I’m now extremely driven, fearless and of the belief there is nothing I cannot do with perseverance, and nothing that can take me down now. Maybe one day I’ll write a book……………

Keith McGahon 2009

Update:  2013.  Mum passed away in February 2012, after a tough battle with emphysema - from someone like me who has had to cling to life, don't go down that road.  I'm now 41 and going strong.  Having fractured a vertebra and dislocated my shoulder in June 2011, when my van ran me over (I kid you not) I found out the Avascular Necrosis had spread. In October 2011 I had my left shoulder replaced, and the following April my right shoulder.  That’s me done for the moment although I will need to have all the major joints done again at some point in the future.  Local rags have tagged me the miracle man - I don't see myself that way, I just think of myself as a regular joe.  All’s good.

http://www.independent.ie/regionals/argus/news/miracle-man-26933752.html

Renault Megane Subframe Bushings

A subframe front or rear basically holds the car's running gear (suspension, shock absorber and springs) or struts (combined shock absorber and spring) and the car's drivetrain (drive shaft and hub). A hub or stub axle as it is known by some people is the part of the car the wheels are mounted to via a  drive flange.  A wishbone, also know as a bottom arm, keeps the hub in place and attached to the sub frame.

With the help of ball joints, inner and outer tie/track rod ends (which are another form of ball joint but attached to the steering system) allow the suspension and drivetrain to move in a controlled manner. The sub frame must never move at any time in order to keep the geometry of the front of the vehicle locked safely in place and the timing of all these steering and suspension components correct that they will never crash into one another and/or hit the body of the vehicle thus  keeping us safe on the roads as we travel from A to B, amongst other cars/vans/jeeps, trucks and motorbikes, never mind people and buildings.

The Renault Megane - all models, 3,4 and 5 door - Scenic and Grand Scenic from 2003 onwards to the new model just released, have two large bushes which locate the front subframe on the car.  These bushes are pressed into the subframe behind the steering rack and accurately locate the subframe in place stopping any form of movement caused by vibration, knocks or bangs in every day use.
These bushes break down with old age or high use causing movement and  MOT/NCT test failure.  You can't buy these bushes from Renault alone, instead you must buy a complete subframe which has the two bushes in it for £400+ .

Until recently this was the only means of purchasing these bushings, but replacement bushings are now available through Commonsense Car Parts Ltd (www.commonsensecarparts.com)