Rear Suspension

[Ian4160]

Hello, I have recently bought a ZX avantage diesel automatic (1995 N reg)

The rear suspension seems a bit soft and when I put the kids and the dog in the back it bottoms out over quite gentle bumps.

We can`t find anything wrong with shock absorbers or torsion bars etc.

I am trying to find out what the ride height should be on the back as there seems to be quite a bit of clearance between tyre and wheel arch on the front of the car but very little on the rear.

It is also scrubbing the inside of the rear tyres slightly.

 

Has anyone any idea what the problem is and how to correct it.

Many thanks,

Ian.

[Guest Colin Hunter]

Hello, I have recently bought a ZX avantage diesel automatic (1995 N reg)

The rear suspension seems a bit soft and when I put the kids and the dog in the back it bottoms out over quite gentle bumps.

We can`t find anything wrong with shock absorbers or torsion bars etc.

I am trying to find out what the ride height should be on the back as there seems to be quite a bit of clearance between tyre and wheel arch on the front of the car but very little on the rear.

It is also scrubbing the inside of the rear tyres slightly.

 

Has anyone any idea what the problem is and how to correct it.

Many thanks,

Ian.

 

The Haynes manual gives the ride height for your car as 167 mm +/- 10 mm Front and 200 mm +/- 10 mm rear. Drop me an email and I'll copy the relevant page for you. Alternatively you can get a manual from Halfords or any good auto parts shop. The heights are measured with the vehicle laden (4 occupants and 40 kg of luggage!) and the rear one is measured fom the ground to the narrow part of the axle tube next to the shocker mount. The rear height can be adjusted by altering the position of the torsion bars within the mounting splines, and it's not unknown for the "Boy Racer" fraternity to take advantage of this. The wear on your tyres may be due to faulty bearings within the tube itself causing a change in the geometry of the rear end. The good news is that complete rear axle assemblies in good nick can be got from breakers for £ 100 or so, and apart from the brake pipes and cables, they are held on by 6 mounting bolts easily accessible from inside the car. If it's any help the height of my son's 1.4i (Unladen) is 630mm to the front wheel arch and 550mm to the rear. Unladen heights are unreliable as the torsion bars may have weakened with age and be deflecting more than they should when loaded. Cheers, Hope this helps.

[Ian4160]

The Haynes manual gives the ride height for your car as 167 mm +/- 10 mm Front and 200 mm +/- 10 mm rear. Drop me an email and I'll copy the relevant page for you. Alternatively you can get a manual from Halfords or any good auto parts shop. The heights are measured with the vehicle laden (4 occupants and 40 kg of luggage!) and the rear one is measured fom the ground to the narrow part of the axle tube next to the shocker mount. The rear height can be adjusted by altering the position of the torsion bars within the mounting splines, and it's not unknown for the "Boy Racer" fraternity to take advantage of this. The wear on your tyres may be due to faulty bearings within the tube itself causing a change in the geometry of the rear end. The good news is that complete rear axle assemblies in good nick can be got from breakers for £ 100 or so, and apart from the brake pipes and cables, they are held on by 6 mounting bolts easily accessible from inside the car. If it's any help the height of my son's 1.4i (Unladen) is 630mm to the front wheel arch and 550mm to the rear. Unladen heights are unreliable as the torsion bars may have weakened with age and be deflecting more than they should when loaded. Cheers, Hope this helps.

Hi Colin

Thanks for the info.

The car is going in to the garage tomorrow morning to have new brake shoes fitted on the rear, I`ll give the engineer the info and get him to see if he can set the suspension up for me.

 

I have printed your reply to pass on to him.

I do have a Haynes manual for the car but we have recently moved house and it`s still packed in a box somewhere.

 

Many thanks,

Ian.

[Shemer]

No point in putting new brake pads, since you'll probably need, as written, to change the whole rear beam (as your current one is bad, as written above)

[Guest 105ps]

has the bearing broken?

[Ian4160]

Hello, I have recently bought a ZX avantage diesel automatic (1995 N reg)

The rear suspension seems a bit soft and when I put the kids and the dog in the back it bottoms out over quite gentle bumps.

We can`t find anything wrong with shock absorbers or torsion bars etc.

I am trying to find out what the ride height should be on the back as there seems to be quite a bit of clearance between tyre and wheel arch on the front of the car but very little on the rear.

It is also scrubbing the inside of the rear tyres slightly.

 

Has anyone any idea what the problem is and how to correct it.

Many thanks,

Ian.

Thank you for the replies, information and suggestions.

The problem is now resolved, it was a problem with the shock absorbers which have now been renewed. Everything seems fine now.

Thanks again,

Ian.

[Shemer]

It's strange that they told you it's only the shock absorbers.

 

Are you sure that your torsion bars are OK? they're ususaly the first point of failure. The shock absorbers are supposed to stop the car from wobbling, but the torsion bars are actualy the spring in the rear suspension.

 

Check before you spend money for nothing.