Thread: S 111 SWB choppy ride - parabolics?

Rocky Mountain parabolics have a good reputation but are expensive.

As long as the springs haven't disintegrated or broken, they may be saveable by stripping the stack and cleaning them with molasses, or sanding with an angle grinder and then grinding off the wear-steps on each leaf.

Do a search in the S3 forum using "Parabolic springs" as the search term and you will find info on both options,

Cheers Charlie

I agree with Chazza - first thing would be to see if the springs can be salvaged. Remove, disassemble, clean, paint, lubricate and reassemble - you would probably be astounded by the difference.

John

Just a question but might be relevent what sort of ride is he expecting from a swb series landy half a ton of wood in the back also makes for a much better ride

Originally Posted by JDNSW

I agree with Chazza - first thing would be to see if the springs can be salvaged. Remove, disassemble, clean, paint, lubricate and reassemble - you would probably be astounded by the difference.

John

^ x2

I fitted new springs to a LWB Series III once and the ride was shocking. However, after greasing between the leaves the transformation was staggering, resulting in the best riding leaf sprung Landy I have owned.

He finds his Series 11A 109 ute almost limousine like by comparison...not to mention his 130 HCPU "town car!"

^ -----


Cheers.

my swb springs were rusted into a solid block but hadn't deformed, i just jacked the chassis up so there was almost no weight on the springs which allowed the leaves to relax and open in places slightly...

i then wire brushed them as best as possible and washed them with diesel, used that to soak into the rust ..

i then used a high pressure oil can (the type that you squirt with your thumb) and used capillary action to draw waste oil in between the leaves, i threw a couple of cwt into the tub and drove it around for a few days, worked the suspension hard to break up the rest of the rust ....

washed the leaves down again and more wire brushing and re-oiled them, i repeated this exercise for about 4 weeks and it transformed the ride quality (it's never going to ride like a Rolls Royce) ....

keep your springs oiled and don't waste your money on parabolics unless you want/need a greater ride height and more articulation/body roll ...

to get a decent ride in my 88" now that i have fitted parabolics (no idea of the make as they were cheap and secondhand) i have to carry weight in the tub, empty and it's still choppy i only bought them because everyone said i really needed them (my landrover is my daily driver)

My father used to keep his caravan springs oiled and wrapped an old towel around them to keep the dirt out. It was high maintenance, but it worked.
That was back when Aussie roads were only about 50% tarred. Might not help with your situation, but, the more, the merrier.


Cheers.