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Loose Rear Suspension


Best Answer cal844 , 16 March 2020 - 03:03 PM

Yes tighten it just enough so there is nothing loose but tight enough not to raise the ride height. Once the suspension settles you can adjust as needed Go to the full post


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#1 kkeith

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Posted 16 March 2020 - 01:57 PM

Hi, sorry if this has been answered before but despite searching I can’t find a specific answer.

Problem:
Having fitted new shocks (KYB Gas Adjust), Red Dot Cones, Hilos and new trumpets etc, the front adjusts as expected and after a few weeks settled nicely to about a height of between 3 and 4 fingers. The rear is a different story. With the car jacked up and tyre off (only way I can get to the adjustment) if I adjust such that everything is solid (no free movement in rod and Hilo/cone) then the height with tyre back on is a full hand. If I adjust down to 4 finger height the suspension is loose with car jacked up (seems solid once tyre back on).

Question
Is it normal to have to adjust the rear such that it all feels loose? Surely as it settles it will become even more loose? I appreciate the rear will take longer to settle than the from due to weight but this just doesn’t seem right to me to have everything moving around (until tyre back on). Surely going over a large bump in the road would create it to become loose?

Thanks in advance

#2 cal844

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Posted 16 March 2020 - 02:07 PM

You are correct it should be just tight enough so the suspdoesnt go loose

#3 kkeith

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Posted 16 March 2020 - 02:08 PM

You are correct it should be just tight enough so the suspdoesnt go loose


So literally just tighten to stop it moving and that essentially is the lowest it would be until it settles more?

#4 imack

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Posted 16 March 2020 - 02:15 PM

Sounds pretty normal but not desirable. Are you running shocks for lowered suspension as this helps reduce the problem. I have read that some people fit an oil pressure relief valve spring into the rod before fitting the knuckle joint. As the car is jacked up and the weight comes off the suspension the spring essentially lengthens the rod by pushing on the knuckle and prevents everything getting loose. The relief valve spring may need shortening to allow the knuckle to seat fully in the rod.

#5 kkeith

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Posted 16 March 2020 - 02:19 PM

Sounds pretty normal but not desirable. Are you running shocks for lowered suspension as this helps reduce the problem. I have read that some people fit an oil pressure relief valve spring into the rod before fitting the knuckle joint. As the car is jacked up and the weight comes off the suspension the spring essentially lengthens the rod by pushing on the knuckle and prevents everything getting loose. The relief valve spring may need shortening to allow the knuckle to seat fully in the rod.


Hi, no I used standard height shocks and just connected everything up (Knuckle, rod into knuckle, Hilo into rod and come into Hilo)

:-(

#6 DeadSquare

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Posted 16 March 2020 - 02:20 PM

 

You are correct it should be just tight enough so the suspdoesnt go loose


So literally just tighten to stop it moving and that essentially is the lowest it would be until it settles more?

 

 

 

When people came and asked me to machine "a bit" off their trumpets, I made them bring me the "Lowered Mini" shocks before I started cutting.


Edited by DeadSquare, 16 March 2020 - 02:23 PM.


#7 kkeith

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Posted 16 March 2020 - 02:28 PM

[quote name="DeadSquare" post="3637906" timestamp="1584368449"][quote name="kkeith" post="3637902" timestamp="1584367738"]
[quote name="cal844" post="3637901" timestamp="1584367658"]
You are correct it should be just tight enough so the suspdoesnt go loose
[/quote]

So literally just tighten to stop it moving and that essentially is the lowest it would be until it settles more?
[/quote]
 
 
When people came and asked me to machine "a bit" off their trumpets, I made them bring me the "Lowered Mini" shocks before I started cutting.[/quote

??

#8 cal844

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Posted 16 March 2020 - 03:03 PM   Best Answer

Yes tighten it just enough so there is nothing loose but tight enough not to raise the ride height. Once the suspension settles you can adjust as needed

#9 kkeith

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Posted 16 March 2020 - 03:04 PM

Yes tighten it just enough so there is nothing loose but tight enough not to raise the ride height. Once the suspension settles you can adjust as needed


Thanks very much. ??

#10 DeadSquare

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Posted 16 March 2020 - 03:12 PM

Every time the suspension settles, you will have to adjust it back up to the standard ride height.



#11 dyshipfakta

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Posted 16 March 2020 - 09:12 PM

No weight in the back so takes much much longer to settle then front

#12 Algordo1100

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Posted 17 March 2020 - 11:32 PM

Same problem, same set up. It's as if the shocker is too long fully open.

Mine have settled down a lot though. Still a bit loose when jacked up but not loose enough to come out of place. Standard set up is like that anyway in my experience. Except usually the cone is rust welded to the trumpet and the sub frame making it seem tight, but actually the knuckle has pulled out of the radius arm slightly on full droop. Not enough to pop the rubber cover away though.

#13 nicklouse

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Posted 18 March 2020 - 01:50 AM

basically you have a shock that is too long for the suspension ride height you want. either live with the original ride height or get shocks for a lowered ride height. or you could fit a check strap to do the job that the correct length shock would do.

 

it will only get worse and is an MOT failure.



#14 imack

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Posted 18 March 2020 - 05:54 AM

I bolted a piece of angle iron to my subframe that the knuckle cup on the radius arm hits and prevents everything getting loose at full droop.

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#15 kkeith

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Posted 20 July 2020 - 05:35 PM

I bolted a piece of angle iron to my subframe that the knuckle cup on the radius arm hits and prevents everything getting loose at full droop.

That's a neat fix, nice one.

The suspension has finally settled now and with a small adjustment we now have no loose bits! 

Cheers to all. 






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