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Bumpy suspension
- Thread starter Jonny1*2
- Start date
Astra van,Mk1 nova
Open the boot and push the car down hard. Do this a few times. If it comes straight back up and rigid the shocks should be fine. If it bounces and doesnt feel like theres pressure pushing the car back up somethings not working. Its old skool but has always worked for me. Check the shocks from underneath for leaks also, but i have heard of rear shocks going and there has been no visable leakage.
The bounce technique might have been a good test on a Mk1 Escort, but anyone who can bounce an RS Clio is obviously a lot stronger and heavier than me ! But the main point of the test is that if your dampers are shot, the car continues to oscillate. The springs will always push back.
When my rear damper dumped all it's oil I'd describe the rear end as wallowing in the bends with a little more roll and being a bit floaty over uneven bits on the motorway. Feeling bumpy would not have been a term I'd have used, but as you say it's hard to describe.
It did make the back a little looser but then so did the tyres when they they wore past a certain point (still well within legal limits). Oh, and the recent ice. In fact, I went through a spell of getting paranoid about the back end letting go and this made things worse as I started subconciously lifting off in corners and unloading the rears.
I guess what I'm trying to say in my morning waffle is that there are lots of reasons why the back end can come unstuck, but rear dampers are a common failure (mine went at 28K) and are a major contributing factor to Clios going through hedges backwards so if you're worried about them get them looked out. They are not very expensive (about £50-£60 each) and easily fitted by someone with a little mechanical ability so shouldn't cost much to have you local friendly garage fit them if you don't want to take it on yourself.
When my rear damper dumped all it's oil I'd describe the rear end as wallowing in the bends with a little more roll and being a bit floaty over uneven bits on the motorway. Feeling bumpy would not have been a term I'd have used, but as you say it's hard to describe.
It did make the back a little looser but then so did the tyres when they they wore past a certain point (still well within legal limits). Oh, and the recent ice. In fact, I went through a spell of getting paranoid about the back end letting go and this made things worse as I started subconciously lifting off in corners and unloading the rears.
I guess what I'm trying to say in my morning waffle is that there are lots of reasons why the back end can come unstuck, but rear dampers are a common failure (mine went at 28K) and are a major contributing factor to Clios going through hedges backwards so if you're worried about them get them looked out. They are not very expensive (about £50-£60 each) and easily fitted by someone with a little mechanical ability so shouldn't cost much to have you local friendly garage fit them if you don't want to take it on yourself.
Golf GTD Mk7
I had the wheels off the other week but couldn't see any leaking from the dampers. I had the car on 4 axle stands at the time. I did notice that even on a flat, the passenger side rear axle wasn't sitting on the stands at all when the drivers side was. All stands were in the same place under the car. Both front and back.
This is common a lightweight hatch, the front balances the car and gives a true gauge of "level" and it's common to just have one balanced on the rear. I assume it wasn't far off the axle stand though?
Golf GTD Mk7
about 3 inch
The rear's are not hard to remove (even without jacking the vehicle up.)
What you want to do is place them in a vice (not on the tube section though!) to hold one end solidly. Then you want to compress and extend them by hand through their full stroke multiple times.
They should provide even resistance in both directions. From memory they are gas shocks and should extend slowly by themselves if compressed and then released.
They should be very hard to compress and extend (my 182 Cup rears are the hardest shocks I've ever tried to do that test on.)
What you want to do is place them in a vice (not on the tube section though!) to hold one end solidly. Then you want to compress and extend them by hand through their full stroke multiple times.
They should provide even resistance in both directions. From memory they are gas shocks and should extend slowly by themselves if compressed and then released.
They should be very hard to compress and extend (my 182 Cup rears are the hardest shocks I've ever tried to do that test on.)
