In article <3ADA501F.2F883EDC@erols.com>, Nolan Penney
<npenney@erols.com> writes
>Those numbers sound like mounted and loaded numbers, which really don't tell
>you
>anything about the springs themselves.
They are. I don't really have the tools (or the guts!) to start
disassembling major mechanical parts.
> The only way to measure coil springs
>effectively is to remove them and measure their freelength, and then their
>compression rates on a bench. Go ahead and swap the shock units up front, but
>I
>doubt it will do anything good or bad.
This will be one of the little jobs for my garage whilst I am away on
holiday. :-)
>
>If the car has a twisted frame, just as you get cockeyed loading out back that
>you
>can see, you get cockeyed loading up front, it just isn't as visible. You can
>detect this cockeyed loading up front by looking at the clearance between the
>wheels
>and the fender lips, though that isn't terribly precise. Another way to
>detect
>this
>sort of twisting is to measure the lengths of the shocks with the car sitting
>on
>the
>wheels, which is actually what you did. You didn't actually measure the
>springs,
>you measured shock extension. A usefull number for determining that the two
>sides
>don't match in their position, but it doesn't tell you anything about the coils
>themselves.
I think I understand this. Are you saying that swapping the springs will
only help solve the problem if one is weaker than the other, and that if
the problem remains, then the springs are fine, and I must have a
twisted car?
>
>So you've verified that there is a cross chassis twist of some sort, but we
>still
>don't know the actuall cause of it. You've got more investigation to do.
:-(
>
>You can get a pretty good idea of frame twist by parking the car somewhere that
>allows you to get back from it a ways and look along its length from either
>end,
>at
>a distance. Look for perfect parallelness. If you don't see perfection in how
>things match along the frame, you've got a twisted chassis.
Allowing for the fact that both doors are a less-than-perfect fit, I
have perfect parallelism.
>
>Open the bonnet and examine the two front suspension sides. Make sure
>everything is
>parallel or at least reflective of each other. If one tower is collapsed in
>compared to the other, or something like that, this will probably be at least
>part
>of the problem. You're looking for accident damage pretty much.
No sign of any twists or bends.
>
>Examine the front springs to ensure they are a matched set. Take a spanner
>wrench
>and select one that barely fits over the wire the spring on one side, and
>compare it
>to the other. With the bonnet up kneel on that ledge below the bonnet latch
>and
>deflect that side of the car, repeat on the other. If the springs measure up
>the
>same, and the car deflects pretty closely to the same amount, the springs are a
>pretty close match.
I haven't got to this bit yet - will try shortly and report back.
>
>Unbolt the sway bar as another mentioned and check it like he (she?) described.
Will do.
>
>But don't go buying new front coils, I doubt you need them, and you haven't
>actually
>checked them yet.
Thanks for the advice. I like the idea of not spending any more money
than I have to!
>
>P.S.
>While you're having fun with your car, jack up the rear end by the
>differential.
>The rear wheels should be hanging exactly the same. If they are not, you've
>got
>something buggering up the rear. Now go try to lift each wheel on the rear,
>the
>reaction to your efforts should be idential. Again, if they are not, you've
>got
>something buggering up the rear. This doesn't eliminate front end troubles,
>but
>it
>does help you zero in on at least one aspect of the problem (there can be
>multiple
>sources).
Again, I didn't manage to get to this, but will try to do so before I go
off on holiday on Thursday.
ATB
Mike
--
Michael Hargreave Mawson, author of "Eyewitness in the Crimea,"
published by Greenhill Books on 28th March, 2001:
http://www.greenhillbooks.com/booksheets/eyewitness_in_the_crimea.html
///
/// spitfires@autox.team.net mailing list
/// To unsubscribe send a plain text message to majordomo@autox.team.net
/// with nothing in it but
///
/// unsubscribe spitfires
///
///
|