front springs and suspension issue

[Owain Lloyd]

hi,

the passenger side front of my car has been sitting lower than the drivers side. i had a set of new lowered springs so i thought i’d put them in and see if it sits even. if so, i’ll probably buy some new non-lowered springs.

i took out the passenger spring and compared it to my new one and the new spring is about 1" shorter ( http://owainlloyd.no-ip.com:8080/photos … G2932.html ).

after putting it in, i compared the height of the lower fulcrum pin from the ground and the passenger side is now 1/2" lower. i haven’t done the drivers side yet, but the first problem applies to both sides and that is that after i bounce the car from the fender, it doesn’t really come back up unless i jack it up again! after the bounce both sides are 1/2" lower and no longer have any ‘bounce’ at all.

i illustrate the issue with these 4 pictures:
– right/before bounce: http://owainlloyd.no-ip.com:8080/photos … G2947.html
– right/after bounce: http://owainlloyd.no-ip.com:8080/photos … G2949.html
– left/before bounce: http://owainlloyd.no-ip.com:8080/photos … G2948.html
– left/after bounce: http://owainlloyd.no-ip.com:8080/photos … G2950.html

what should i be looking for to solve this? are the link bushes tightened too much? how much should they be tightened?

thanks.

[v-mad]

Hi Frank. About the ride height difference, have you considered that the difference in sides might be due to uneven rear springs? I think these are more prone to sagging than the coil springs. I managed to fix my rear springs and now the car sits level (although mine sagged on the drivers side which is most common).

Your point about the suspension not returning after the bounce may be due to shock absorbers; are they in good condition?

Also, try bouncing the car in the middle to ensure both sides get compressed evenly otherwise your ride height checks will be misleading.

Finally, dont rule out a chassis twist unless of course you know its history.

[Owain Lloyd]

thanks chris,

the rear springs are certainly sagging on that side too. i have new replacements. maybe i should swap them in first and then revisit the front.

i have red konis in the front. they were on the car when i got it so i’m not sure of the history. how can i adjust them? just twist the rod anticlockwise to soften them? i suppose i could check the bounce with the shocks removed. if its still the same i’ll know its not the shocks.

there is no sway bar installed at present, btw.

[Owain Lloyd]

thanks for those who responded to me about this.

it turned out that my link bushes were simply too tight and preventing the arms from moving freely.

i loosened them off until the washers were freely rotating, dropped the car on its wheels and then tightened just until i couldn’t not (easily) rotate the washer with my fingers.

now the car bounces correctly.

what its the correct method for knowing how tight to put these nuts? is there a torque value i can use or just some method? i suspect i may have left them too loose now.

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