Suspension ride height and other issues - advice please
 

When I got the Tourer last October, I noticed the rear seemed to be sitting high on both sides. Both shocks looked in good order, at least one having been replaced 8 years ago at 77k miles (57k miles ago) for MoT. There are no maintenance records for the car. The only other rear suspension issues recorded on the MoT history are 3 years/20k miles ago for both sides:- Rear Suspension component attachment bracket/mounting corroded and seriously weakened (5.3.3 (b) (i)). I don't know what that was.

I've done 2.5k miles since I got the car and have replaced shocks/dampers/ARB links/control arms & bushes on the front suspension as they were all shot. I've done nothing to the back as it's seemed all right, except for an occasional loud bang if the rear left side wheel is allowed to undergo a sudden drop e.g. exiting a speed hump, or driving onto a newly-planed section of road works where the level suddenly drops down. Technically, it would seem to indicate a problem when the damper is pulled open to maximum; I can see nothing out the ordinary anywhere on that side so I'm thinking perhaps it's a weak damper and the aid spring/bump stop is banging when the weight is removed. Anyhoo, that's one issue probably on its own. The main thing I would like insight on is this.

I had the undertray off for a couple of months before & after the suspension repairs and the lowest suspension point frequently hit the road when driving over undulations or going over kerbs etc. After refitting the undertray two weeks ago, it's now more noticeable as the tray is a little lower still and more frequently strikes the road surface etc.

The new front shocks were aftermarket. The label under the rear seat was obliterated and I was unable to obtain the CI codes. I checked the coil diameters and lengths which were very close to the ones I removed. I couldn't see paint daubs on the old ones so have assumed they were not original.

Wing-to-wheel-centre measurements are:
Rear: 420mm
Front: 389mm

So to summarise:
The rear appears to sit high but handles fine.
The front appears to sit normally but is clearly low underneath
The car handling is excellent - no wallowing or twitching, and good cornering
As it happens, the MoT is booked in next week

What's the opinion on these issues please? Thanks.

Dougie.

https://dougie.guru/imgs/2022-02-24-01.jpeg

https://dougie.guru/imgs/2022-02-24-02.jpeg

https://dougie.guru/imgs/2022-02-24-03.jpeg

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Can't offer much help here except to say that this-

Would probably have been the rear shock absorber top mounts.


https://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTYwMFgxM..._id=8800005007

https://www.ecarparts.org/ROVER-75--...hoCHu8QAvD_BwE

It does look, compared my 75 tourer very high on the back end. The front looks about the same as mine.:shrug: I often get asked "What are you carrying in the boot"

That rear end is way too high!!

It looks like its affecting the rear wheel camber to me (A la Triumph Herald)

I have Sachs heavy duty rear springs on my tourer and it does not sit as high as that but is stiffer on the springs
The bang you describe will probably the the suspension travel been stopped by the shock absorbers as they will be near the extent of travel
Has the car got /had a tow bar on and if so has a previous owner fitted different springs or even blocks to stiffen the rear suspension ?


Just had a measure of my Suspension heights from wheel centre to wing Mine measure about 390mm at the rear and 400mm at the front

Mine sat exactly as yours sits in photo until I fitted the Sachs Heavy duty springs . They made a world of difference to the ride of the car

Might help a bit http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y19...ons_Saloon.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y19...pse8ae7dc6.jpg

So that would be what I've guessed at above i.e. aid spring/bump stop?

Yes to the towbar, don't know to the blocks. Having had to recently troubleshoot some wiring issues with it, I'd say it was fitted not long after the car was built (not factory wiring). Where would the blocks go if they had been fitted?

Mine are 420mm rear and 389mm front. I also checked the ground clearance from the centre of the undertray: 3.5 in./90mm contrasting with the factory 6.1 in./155 mm! :eek: (Thanks Suzulu for the diagram.)

I had all the tracking checked in January and wasn't too bad (but corrected obviously). The camber's always appeared to be in order. :shrug:

So:
• ground clearance is 2.6 in./65mm too low (short/soft new front springs?)
• rear wing-to-wheel centres are 30mm higher than TourerSteves (blocks/longer or heavy duty springs?)
• front wing-to-wheel centres are 11mm lower than TourerSteves (short/soft new front springs?)

:shrug:

Dougie.

It might be me just thinking out loud after having a couple of single malts, but I'm wondering if the car has had new rear arms fitted and they have been tightened up with the suspension hanging rather than sat on her wheels. If so the inner bushes will be under a lot of stress.

As I say I'm just thinking out loud as that looks so wrong. :eek:

Certainly not recently - by that I mean they look fine but certainly not new.

Dougie.