4wd issues after MOT work

Well we're moving anyway, so it's the last time we'll be using them

It's obviously just another case of garage overcharging. Unless you have the skills, space and time you're kind of beholden to them. My husband has the first two but not the latter, unfortunately. I've been charged over £400 for bearings alone before. The hourly rate they charge I'm in the wrong job...

Im in that job, in the end of the day its not much left of the hourly rate im afraid when everything is paid. You get what you pay for in most cases, i dont think 800£ is too much for this job. Remember you also get warranty in that price, so this is something the shop should fix right away(atleast thats how we operate).

Yeah it's pretty obvious it's something to do with the work they did otherwise It's a hell of a coincidence, so I'm hoping the fix is free, as you say. They're usually pretty good actually, and even hunted down and fixed an annoying squeak foc when it was in.

The Oily substance round the inside of the wheel is a symptom of king pin bearing and inner axle oil seal failure. Would have expected that before they replaced them not after, unless they just didn't clean it up after they did the job which is a bit shoddy.

Perhaps a duff new oil seal then? New parts do fail I guess? If it was just not cleaning up after themselves the 4wd would be working surely.

How long/how many miles since the King pins were done? The oil has to make it's way past the inner seal, out of the axle tube, through the (hopefully new) grease in the swivel and out past the dust seal so wouldn't expect to see that for quite a few hundred, maybe a thousand miles after replacement. The king pin bearings or inner seal condition has no effect on the auto hubs working or not. Looks like they've jus not been put back together , (rubber pipes already mentioned) or over greased, when the components were taken apart to replace the King pins etc.

30th Jan the work was done and I've only done 100/200 miles since, if that. Husband says the pipes are attached, so I didn't know If something might be split/leaking

Sounds like the pipes might be on backwards on one or both hubs. They're just a push fit so easy enough to swap.

Thanks everyone. Just got back from the garage and all the pipes are attached and in the right place. The oil isn't axle oil, but from where they stuffed plenty in during the work. From discussion I have booked it in next week for them to troubleshoot the vacuum system to the hubs as they're stupidly busy today. Said it should be easy to trace. I'm hoping a perished tube or something simple. Thanks for all your ideas

For a start this garage needs to be ashamed of their sloppy work. Not testing everything that has been disturbed is a sin for a start. Not cleaning the mess is another. Unprofessional to say the least. And there is no way you should have to pay them anything as it was working when you asked them to carry out the work and you expect when they give it back to you that it still worked, so down to them, no questions. All work carried out, by law, has a 3 months warranty. So that's is what you stand by. And you should not have to wait for them to fix it either.

Wow....the Suzuki dealer I used to work at didn’t charge £800 for a MOT and kingpin bearings that is seriously expensive!! Unless you live in the centre of London I suppose! How anywhere can charge that price for parts alone is beyond me! That garage needs closing down if they can’t do that right, my girlfriend managed to do ours and she had never changed a wheel before. All she had was my socket set and the big Jimny how to guide! Really hope you get it fixed after their obvious cock up!