Heavy Duty Suspension problem

Afternoon all,

I currently own a 1990 Discovery 1 and recently had the suspension replaced (at a garage). I provided the parts, which were heavy duty Bearmach springs with Pro Comp Gas Shocks (purchased as a kit from mailorder4x4).

I've also removed the anti-roll bars and have had shock towers put on the front springs.

However the problem i have is that the suspension (especially the rear) doesn't seem to be "heavy duty". I have to slow right down for speed bump or risk bottoming the car. And any substantial load (as in people, camping gear, etc...) on the rear seats or in the boot makes the back of the car sink right down.

I didn't expect this from "heavy duty" suspension at all, and it's actually quite embarassing.

Any help would be needed and much appreciated.

Thanks

welcome to the forum...did they put springs on wrong way round.

Paulmitchell1984 said:

welcome to the forum...did they put springs on wrong way round.

Click to expand...

That's exactly what I was thinking.

most likely thing that couldve happened. bearmach are a good make. the thicker ones should be on the back and the longer thinner ones on the front

Thanks for that guys,

I didn't think you could put springs on the wrong way round (goes to show how much i know...).

By the wrong way round do you mean upside-down or the wrong pair on the wrong axle? I do remember 2 of the springs were a little shorter than the other 2...

It's a start anyway, thanks a lot, any more tips you could have will be much appreciated, just want that car to be how it should and not a bouncy castle

Speak to them at mailorder4x4, they've been most helpful for me.

Does the garage you went to know feck-all about Landies? Might be worth finding a wee Landy specialist round your way to do a proper job for you. Or invest in a trolley jack, axle stands, socket set and spanners, have a look at Busters Photo Freds and do it yourself. I did my fronts in an evening - never done it before and that included having to drill off some corroded on nuts.

Best of luck.

I had my HD springs fitted by a m8 of a m8 and he put them on wrong ends looked like I had a ton of concrete in the boot

Cheers Dom,

The garage i went to had been so far very reliable and professional (very well priced as well, cheaper than the web for tyres!!), and i did trust them. But now i think they don't know much about older cars and Land Rover, small jobs they can do no problem, but they seemed a bit lost when i asked them to do the suspension:doh:... Looks like i need to find a Landie specialist in the area.

I'll check with mailorder and see what info i get from them, but when you say to check Busters Photo Fred i can't seem to find it on the forum or Google search. Is it a post on here or something esle?

Thanks for the help

Where in Surrey (darling) are you? As I remember from when I lived up that way there's loads.

busters-photo-tour-landrover-repairs - Land Rover Zone is what's you're looking for.

Cheers for the link Dom, will come in handy.

For now i live near weybridge, and apart from Land Rover themselves, i haen't found any Land Rover specialised garages. When the gearbox broke (after 250000miles and 20 years) I took it to LRR which is near the O2 in London, they specialise in Land Rover exclusively but it's a bit of a trek.

Thanks

I've got some mates round your way who've got Landies (not on here though). I know they've got a good local garage, I'll try and get details for you...

That would be ace, thanks a lot mate!

I hope the weather is kind enough to back off so i can check which springs are on each axle. I hope in a way the garage did it wrong and it's a "simple" matter of getting them to swap them around.

Cheers Dom and all the others of course

Hi Guys,

I contacted the "garage" that fitted the springs and they confessed having put the longer springs on the front. Which, after having contacted mailorder4x4, is the wrong way wrong, like manyof you suggested.

However they now refuse to put it right for free on the basis that I just gave them the parts with no explanation on how to fit it, and that there were are no markings on the springs (lies as they are markings), and also that when taking the old set off, the fronts were longer (again lies as when we had it done last time 10/15 years ago the car was fine).

Any advice on what i should do? I thought of small claims court but the time it will take is just not worth it, and no guarantee it will work.

Cheers

Trading Standards
Read the "crock of ****" thread.

Your stance has to be that you gave them the job in their capacity as "experts". If they did not have the knowledge to carry out the work in a satisfactory manner, they should have informed you before starting the work. At the end of the day, they are obliged to rectify the work they carried out, or you should be entitled to have the work carried out elsewhere and they foot the bill. A letter to that effect, with a "reasonable" timeframe specified should be sent recorded delivery, whilst you contact TS & the CAB.

might be worth while contacting the supplier and ask them if they have any fitting instructions. As a minimum the garage could have asked that question?

Afternoon,

Well as it turns out after spending time underneath the car myself, that the springs and shocks were put on correctly by the garage i took it to in the first place (a formal apology was given to them).

I thought the rear springs might have been faulty so i got a spare set which i put on and the same results (bouncing and bottoming) occured.

Deducted that the shocks were faulty. Haven't had time to look at them yet, but 2 sets of sprins can't both be wrong...

Cheers

Which pro comps did you fit? I had a problem a few years back with pro comp and since then never said or heard a good word about them.The shocks are too soft for any on road use and don't last long either. Sorry that hasn't helped and hope you get it sorted.

Hi,

I've got Pro-comp 0-25mm extension. BR 0645P on the front and BR 1077P on the rear.

Does it makes a difference (i.e do i need to modify the car), if i get like 0-50mm extension, or even 50-100mm?

Tuffback seems like a popular choice. Is it worth changing the rears to them?

Cheers

i have terrafirma shocks and springs on mine that are spot on!
do you have any pictures of how your disco stands now?

I haven't got pictures right now, but can post some later on.

Basically it sags a lot on the driver's side (left hand drive). The manager at mailorder 4x4 has been very helpful and given the sheer amount of heavy duty kits they have sold i have reason to trust the pro-comps will work.

but basically if i get terrafirma do i need to change my heavy duty springs? Wouldn't think so but just checking. I've got BA 2101 on the rear (255lbs rating).

Cheers

Hi, Can't help technically I'm afraid but thought it worth mentioning that I have the exact same heavy duty suspension kit as you, bought from mailorder 4x4! The disco sits nice and level and looks spot on, I've never had any trouble with this setup and have been pleased with how it's done.

On Sunday I had 7 people in the car, plus luggage and kids stuff etc and it felt no different to when it's just me in it. The disco handled well on the road and speed bumps/potholes etc weren't a problem at all.

Hope you manage to get this sorted out.