suspension gremlins

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deian
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suspension gremlins

Post by deian »

Hi people,

suddenly last night my suspension is playing silly games, i've not had much time to look at it much, but would like a quick opinion based on my symptoms before i do something silly/expensive...

started last night, and the back didn't got up (it is anti-sink, but it does sink about half way in about 30 seconds upon shutting the engine down). So I stopped and did some citrobeotics and so on, ran the height selector thorugh all the range to free it up, then tried again, this did make it go up and down, but on when on the bottom the two red lights didn't come up, suggesting it wasn't completely de-pressuring, anyway, the front is fine, it's the back that is being weird. I drove again and the back was still quite low, so i fiddled with the height corrector while driving and took it up to the one higher level for a few seconds and back to normal, and this cured it, then over night i put the height selector on the lower setting to see if it would rid itself of any internal air leak, this morning i fiddled, started the engine, red lights came on and it acted as normal, i put it up to normal height, but the lights didn't come up as they should do when lifting the car.

but it came up, so i lowered it again, left it a bit, opened the bleed valve next to the regulator and the light came on (as it should), closed it, lights went off, lifted the car to normal height, lights came on as they should, front came up, back didn't, lift it to higher setting, back came up, left it a bit, light comes on when high, check level, topped up, lowered, back didn't come down, back up, all down, back came down, back to normal, back doesn't come up, back to high, back came up, back to normal, back stayed up, and so on....

so they points are:
1). random back suspension behaviour
2). i topped the fluid
3). did citrobeotics
4). 'assume' height correctors are clean and free to move as they were in the summer (i gave them a good clean in the summer), will check them later anyway
5). it's anti-sink, but still sinks a bit when left
6). still a bit harsh ride when it's worked last, as it always has, mayeb it's just me (when it worked last night it was spot on, the best i've had off her yet)

So are there any clues there? Really annoying with bumpy ride!
Thanks in advance

Deian
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Post by RichardW »

Rear height corrector has seized, and the link has popped off probably. At the least I expect you will need to remove and get it freed off. At worst you will need to replace :cry: .
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Post by Peter.N. »

...and lubricate the linkage.
philhoward

Post by philhoward »

I concurr...rear height corrector playing up..
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Post by deian »

indeed... you are all right!... i got under the car with a torch, keeping all important limbs out of the way of any sudden drops, and there she was, the clip had indeed popped off, so i lowered it (had to do) so i could pop it back on... i think a new clip may be needed, it seemed to pop on a little too easy, i drowned all moving parts in WD40 to reduce any strain on the clip, i will take a look at it tomorrow to see if the clip is still holding on...

so i can buy the clip alone? how much is it?

thanks guys
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Post by Peter.N. »

Give it another squirt of WD40 when you put it back together and then smear the linkage with grease.
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Post by Richard Gallagher »

[quote so i can buy the clip alone? how much is it?
[/quote]
Part number 5291 03 @ £1.88 :D
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deian
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Post by deian »

ideal! thanks
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Post by deian »

is is easy to replace?
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Post by Mandrake »

If it seems too easy to clip on then yes its probably worn - a new one is tight as hell and needs a good squeeze with a pair of bull nose plyers to get it to snap on. (you can't do it with your fingers)

Don't forget/lose the little felt washers - if the new clip doesn't come with any remember to refit the originals...(also try to avoid removing the new one once fitted as its hard to remove them without damaging them when they're new and tight)

I've replaced both of mine as a preventative measure and the old ones were quite worn and loose even though they hadn't jumped off yet...(the slack was affecting the accuracy of the height correction though, which is why I replaced them initially)

Regards,
Simon
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Post by deian »

...which answers my biggest question since coming on to this forum... why have i got a harsh ride?? because the little plastic clip is worn down, therefore making the back not ride at the right height!! Cost to fix.. £1.88 and 15mins of fiddling! What a cool car!
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Post by Mandrake »

But did it fix the harsh ride ?

When I say inaccuracy in the height correction, I mean that normally the height should be within about 10mm of the correct height, but a worn clip can approx double that so that its only within 20mm. (This is random error within that range after a height correction)

A 20mm error in height is definately quite noticable in the ride/handling characteristics, (too high makes the handling feel funny, too low makes the ride a bit bumpy) but how much effect it might have is hard to say..

Regards,
Simon
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Post by deian »

oh oh, i got round to ooking at the plastic clip... the new one clips on too easily too, unless it's me that not pushing on it hard enough, is it possible the little bobble has rusted so much the clip will fall off anyway? I think this may be the case... not good:

So does this mean I need a new height corrector, or can I buy a/the part that has the metal bobble the clip snaps onto? are there any quick fixes for the short term? I hate having to jump under the car every couple of days to check the thing... it's quite wet these days you see.

thanks thanks
deian
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Post by Stewart(oily) »

I have successfully tightened up similar balljoint type linkages by including a layer or two of nylon net curtain between the ball and cup, this can be impregnated with grease before fitting too.
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Post by deian »

genius idea, thanks stewart
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