Harsh ride from my suspension

ronsealdeath · May 31, 2014

Hi and apologies as this has been probably done to death but im struggling to find exactly what i need.
My 1997 300tdi crashes about going over bumps and potholes and seems to wobble on uneven roads. My RRC never rode this bad as for my previous 300tdi. Question is do i need new springs, dampers or both!
On poor roads the car feels like its shaking itself to bits and it shifts about as if its got damping issues.
What should i do in terms of springs/shocks? Standard or HD and would a set of standard 90 springs do the job ( seen some cheap!) Would new shocks be a cheap way to ty and help sort the issues and has anyone got any recommendations?
Thanks in advance

haigy · May 31, 2014

90 ones will fit.not 110 tho.

Try checking bushes aswell as they can wear.

Silverbeard50 · May 31, 2014

As has been suggested go for the bushes as the first point of call. replacing all of the front and rear axle location bushes on my 95 V8 transformed the handling and ride. The wayward steering and tendency to shake itself apart over a railway crossing disappeared completely.
Don't forget to check the front swivels as well.

jamesmartin · May 31, 2014

all 3 probably springs ,shocks and bushes,theres some reasonably good cheep poly type full bush kits available

ronsealdeath · May 31, 2014

Thanks, strangely it handles well and takes the corners well which my suggest hard springs? Unfortunately is havent got the time to tackle the bushes as its my daily driver, although i understand this would be the ideql first thing to tackle. Are the dampers or cokls worth dping first? I could probably do the shocks and springs over a couple of sessions rear then front. M and M are doing a set of 4 hd springs for £65plus vat, would these be ok? Or should i buy some standard springs from paddocks at £16 each plus vat? Are the britpart shocks a waste of time for £10 plus vat? They must be better than the ancient things on the vehicle now and i put a set on my series 3 and they were ok.
Im on a budget here and dont go offroading or anything.
Thanks again for the replies.
Cheers

Animal88 · May 31, 2014

my 200 D1 used to shake for a few hundred yards after some rough tarmac found that the wheels were out of balance and that calmed it then I have lifted it 2" and when taking the old front shocks out one had about 2-3" of no resistance on it's compression stroke and the other sheared the base of the canister. now I have better shocks the ride is damn near perfect loaded or unloaded no more shake no more dipping the nose under braking.
Take a look at the condition of your shocks and if they are looking scabby then you may be in the same position as me with well past dead shocks.

ronsealdeath · Jun 1, 2014

Thanks will check them out

Note: Just ordered some new shocks, saw the springs were only £19 a piece ish, so got two as well for the rear to start with. Shocks look tired as do springs, so will reportback the findings

ronsealdeath · Jul 3, 2014

I've made the ride much better not by messing with the suspension, but by changing the tyres. Put 4 new tyres on and it rides a lot better now. Replaced the rear shocks which has improved it a bit more. When I find the time I'll put the springs on the rear too.

PSI in the rear tyres made a big difference too if you've jacked up the pressure for towing something heavy. 35psi seems to give a much better ride than 45psi!

Animal88 · Jul 3, 2014

my standard pressures in my 2357016 road tyres are 28 front and 34 rear the haynes book of lies states 26 and 33 but that makes the steering a bit vague. For 7.50 16's I use 32 and 44 iirc.
If your running bigger tyres then the pressures shouldn't need to be changed too much as big 'balloon' tyres hold more volume of air and you can easily wear the centres out with over pressure or wear the shoulders with not enough pressure aswell as risking them running too hot and getting a blow out. If you are wearing one or other shoulder then that'll be a tracking issue, it's only an under pressure issue if both shoulders are wearing quicker than the centre at roughly the same rate

dyte · Jul 4, 2014

you might already have hd springs this could be your problem they are much firmer and driving without a load is harsh

Bardley · Jul 4, 2014

Are your tyres all matched, and have good tread left? They seem to be very prone to give vague ride/ handling with uneven wear or mismatched tyres.

It made a massive difference on both 300 and TD5.

Gas dampers all round and a set of std springs will help with a higher mileage car too- this is assuming that all your bushes and joints are serviceable.

May be best to get a local member to have a ride with you.. Second opinion is a good bet!

Harsh ride from my suspension

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