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Thread: Suspension/Ride Quality

  1. #1
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    Suspension/Ride Quality

    Hi All,

    The ride quality on my RRC suddenly seems harsher than usual, I might even describe it as jarring or overly stiff, especially over speed bumps, with the front right wheel in particular seeming to send a 'crash' through the structure. I haven't yet crawled under it to see if anything is amiss but does anyone have any suggestions on where to look. It is stock apart from Bilstein dampers which don't appear to be worn ie it's not wallowing or rocking around.

    TIA

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
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    Have a close and critical look at suspension rubbers - especially on that big long metal bar what locates the front axle., swivel hub lash, condition of the bump stops.
    Poly bushes are best left to Jap 4WDs, the Classic was designed for/with soft-ish, compliant RUBBER bushes, change them at your peril... - for road comfort.
    Checked all wheel nuts recently?

    Are the tyres much rounder at the top than the bottom ???

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by Classic88 View Post
    .... It is stock apart from Bilstein dampers which don't appear to be worn ie it's not wallowing or rocking around.

    TIA
    So can we assume that the springs are original?
    If so .. almost 99.975% to be the cause of your harshness.
    You don't notice the sag as time goes by, but if you have before and after pics, it may be illuminating.
    Could also be a broken spring(not unheard of) .. I had one on the rear on my RRC, but it wasn't actually a full break. Mechanic was doing stuff to the brakes or axles(can't really remember) and noted that there was a crack on the LHS spring. Changed before it actually broke tho.

    As for Poly bushes .. personally I'd never consider anything else when it comes time to replace most of the big bushes on my LR's.
    Some of the smaller bushes don't matter too much, except maybe the panhard bushes.
    (it's a rover and Rovers leak oil(usually from the engine bay) and engine bay oil follows the laws of gravity and drips down .. usually onto panhard rod bushes .. and well ... there goes your steering .. again, and again .. and again!!

    When I did my 79RRC with Nolathanes, way back when, made no difference to ride comfort in any way .. but they lasted 3x longer .. and still had lots of life remaining(after many trips to central Aus areas), but the car was rusted to the point of no return(was scrapped).

    A major mistake made which ends up upsetting ride comfort, is the use of 'incorrect' springs(ie. heavy duty types) .. and more so some brands of dampers.
    In my RRC, I went from the original shocks(10yo at that stage) to fitting Monroe, on recommendation from a mechanic friend .. to hating how they destroyed the ride .. and in no time went back to a new set of Armstrongs(I think) originals bought cheaply too!
    After it's zillionth mile clocked up, my parts man had some Koni's cheap(adjustable but oil type, not gas), so I got a set .. and loved them. Less wallowy than the Armstongs(?) but much more controlled.

    As to what you could do quickly and easily to assess what's happened: If and when you have the time and inclination, get a small ruler of some type or something that you can use to measure the clearance between the front bump stops and the axle tube .. same for rear bump stop clearances.
    If you can have an assistant sit in the drivers seat too and also measure those same clearances .. it may help to confirm or dismiss springs as the issue.
    Arthur.

    '99 D1 300Tdi Auto
    '03 D2 Td5 Auto

  4. #4
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    Thank you! Very comprehensive run down.

  5. #5
    Join Date
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    try removing the shocks and going for a short careful drive... and test them when they are cold vs warmed up. maybe someone pumped the tyres up hard w/o telling you - that is a fun trick by teenagers / mates.

    i would stick with rubber bushes. they dampen noise much better too - but maybe they went hard / cracked out and fell out so now the radius rods are metal to metal / seized in one position?

  6. #6
    Join Date
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    Rubber bushes are all good and fine ....................... But where can you buy quality bushes
    Proper cars--
    '92 Range Rover 3.8V8 ... 5spd manual
    '85 Series II CX2500 GTi Turbo I :burnrubber:
    '63 ID19 x 2 :wheelchair:
    '72 DS21 ie 5spd pallas
    Modern Junk:
    '07 Poogoe 407 HDi 6spd manual :zzz:
    '11 Poogoe RCZ HDI 6spd manual

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