Lowering Suspension

[FFFRacing]

G'day,

I need to lower the rear end of a Defender Extreme by 10 mm to make it fit under the house.

Can I cut down the rear coils springs? Any other ideas?

Cheers

[rick130]

G'day,
<snip>
Can I cut down the rear coils springs? Any other ideas?

Cheers

No.
Apart from it increasing the spring rate, you have closed and ground ends, so it won't work.

Stick a bag of cement in the back, or just get the springs reset. Any competent spring maker can do it.

A long, long time ago, the cheap skates way when racing in production classes where you couldn't change the springs was just to stick your coils in the oven at some bloody hot temp for a few hours so it annealed them, but they will continue to sag thereafter, so not a good idea. ;)

[Bush65]

Yes you could.

Other methods would be to deflate the tyres, or rig some method to pull the suspension down.

Edit: Rick posted while I was typing the above.

What he said about the closed and ground springs is correct. Although it is desirable to have closed and ground springs, it is not essential. The end of the coil should be ground to make it flat and tapered packer could be used.

Reducing the number of active coils, does increase the spring rate, but the closed and ground coil is not active, so the change to the spring rate will probably be minor, but it depends on how the spring is changed.

[smally4.6]

[QUOTE=FFFRacing;759325]G'day,

I need to lower the rear end of a Defender Extreme by 10 mm to make it fit under the house.

Can I cut down the rear coils springs? Any other ideas?

Cheers
It wont fit under roller doors or tilt a doors ? more info
cheers brett:angel:

[Dougal]

A long, long time ago, the cheap skates way when racing in production classes where you couldn't change the springs was just to stick your coils in the oven at some bloody hot temp for a few hours so it annealed them, but they will continue to sag thereafter, so not a good idea. ;)

A similar method is still in use by dumbass ricers.
Stick jack under car at wanted height, heat springs with gas torch until that height is reached.
I don't recommend it.:D

[FFFRacing]

Thanks for the info,

The area I need to get the car into is under the house. The area of obstruction is 2 large I beams which cannot be altered and the floor is a concrete slab. It's only 10mm

Could I replaced the shocks with adjustable air bags?

Cheers

[mcrover]

Do not cut or grind coils.......EVER...:(

It not only lowers your ride hight which is the desired effect but it also changes the heat treatment so at best it will continue to sag but at worst (and the most likely outcome) is that the spring will break under load resulting in a loss of control at best or a roll over at worst (which is also the most likely outcome with a LR).

Have them reset, go for smaller tyres, air down (would be really good to fit an system that at the flick of a switch can lower the pressure or when you leave your house pumps them back up again).

Air suspention would also be good but would be more expensive than an air monitoring system which can air up and down the tyres for you.

[Bushie]

G'day,

I need to lower the rear end of a Defender Extreme by 10 mm to make it fit under the house.

Can I cut down the rear coils springs? Any other ideas?

Cheers

Throw some weight in the back that will bring it down then you can easily go back to full height if you need to.

I don't imagine it will need much to drop by 10mm

A few 20 litre water containers or the like.


Martyn

[mike 90 RR]

Do not cut or grind coils.......EVER...:(

x2 ;)

and never heat them ... stuffs them up ...

[loanrangie]

What about digging it out by 20mm or so ?

[dmdigital]

You could always change to a lower profile tyre. 235/85R16, you could drop that down to 245/75R16 and it would fit - about 20mm lower. You'll loose diff clearance though!

[mike 90 RR]

What about digging it out by 20mm or so ?

Top idea

Being in the building trade myself
Drill test holes (Hammer drill with half inch drill) and find out how thick the concrete is

If 75mm with construction joints (no mesh & has groove lines in surface of concrete)

Hire a Diamond blade floor saw cutter (send everyone out for the day)
Cut 2 wheel tracks in the concrete floor (600mm wide each) and fill with paving bricks

[mcrover]

The thing is your not leaving much room for any bounce if you do get it in there.

Why not go soft top?:o

Thats why they are a big mechano set isnt it :D

[Reads90]

Ok my sujested options. Get some nackered springs which will sag at the back and do the job. , Put a set of disco tyes on and that will reduce the height.

Or finally get a small winch and fit under the back body/ chassis and contect to the axel. When going under the house wind the winch in and this will compress the shocks and lower the back of the car. And the relese when back out of the under of the house :):)

[LandyAndy]

Im with the smaller tyres.
Keep your big set for off-roading,get a set of Disco wheel/tyres as stated for every day use,may even increase the fuel economy around town as its working easier to turn them.Will also give you a turn of speed in the traffic light dragrace:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:
Opening the concreate up is also feasabile,but could open up a can of worms,ie plumbing etc set in the concreate.
Goodluck
Andrew

[Bush65]

Thanks for the info,

The area I need to get the car into is under the house. The area of obstruction is 2 large I beams which cannot be altered and the floor is a concrete slab. It's only 10mm

Could I replaced the shocks with adjustable air bags?

Cheers
No you can't.

You could use softer, sagged or re-set springs with air bags. The air bags go inside the coil springs.

To do this at the front it would be necessary to relocate the shock absorbers (similar to rangies with air suspension).

This would allow you to adjust the ride height by deflating/inflating the air bags.

You mentioned 2 large I beams. Are these steel or laminated timber. It may be possible to replace them with sections that are not so deep, but it wont be as cheap as most of the alternatives posted above.

[CaverD3]

Get a quote from a builder to lower the floor before you spend money altering the vehicle.
It should only need the vehicle width plus a couple of feet.
Existing concrete slab would need to be cut old slab section removed' ground excavated new slab section with reo poured.

[JDNSW]

Compare your tyres to other brands, same size, and you may find a tyre that is 20mm smaller in diameter - you would probably be surprised how much they vary between brands. Also, it may be possible to change tyre size.

Otherwise, I agree with the suggestion to carry a few water containers.

It is probably possible, depending where you live, to find a contractor with concrete grinding equipment (used by some councils to grind down the raised edges of footpath concrete paving to avoid being sued). A pair of wheel tracks two feet wide, 20mm deep, and the length of the vehicle, would probably not cost much, and may be the cheapest and simplest solution.

John

[Reads90]

Don't need to dig out all the floor. Just dig out two tracks for the wheels to go in and then that will sort out the problem. So alot easyer and cheaper than digging out the whole floor area

[Bush65]

I think those suggesting modifying the concrete are assuming it is non structural.

If it is structural, or includes footings, then it is probably not an option. Even reducing the concrete cover to reinforcement can allow moisture to penetrate to the reinforcement, leading to corrosion of the reinforcement and so called concrete cancer, resulting in failure.

Get some professional advise (don't just listen to builders) before going down this route.

[100I]

Cutting trenches in the floor would make it a bugger to slide around underneath (and I lurve my creeper trolley) my driveway ATM has fake paver pattern in it and I curse it every time I service the cars.

[matbor]

have seen someone rig up one of those cheap winches off ebay, the $100 ATV ones, to pull the axle up closer to the body so that he could fit his car in the garage, seemed to work well ! Hate to forget to do it though :)

[mcrover]

have seen someone rig up one of those cheap winches off ebay, the $100 ATV ones, to pull the axle up closer to the body so that he could fit his car in the garage, seemed to work well ! Hate to forget to do it though :)

I'd hate for cable to break while parked and the roof end up with a couple of 10mm deep dents from the RSJ's he was talking about before.:eek:

[Reads90]

Cutting trenches in the floor would make it a bugger to slide around underneath (and I lurve my creeper trolley) my driveway ATM has fake paver pattern in it and I curse it every time I service the cars.


Christ you want everything don't you :D:D:D

[matbor]

Cutting trenches in the floor would make it a bugger to slide around underneath (and I lurve my creeper trolley) my driveway ATM has fake paver pattern in it and I curse it every time I service the cars.

cut trenches for the creeper too :):)