Hi all,

I bought an ok condition 2a last year. Within a few months it started to droop on drivers side of vehicle. Knackered road springs I thought, especially when I read the blue label on them - they are well known for only lasting a short life. These were less than 2 yr old. The springs actually looked in ok condition but rear drivers one was flattened out a bit, and it definitely lost its bounce. After months of saving, I just replaced them with GM parabolics at weekend. Trouble is they are still sitting low on the drivers side. Why is this? There was no left or right markings on the springs so I presume it didn't matter which side they went. I checked them sat next to each other are we're same. The spring chassis mounts look fine no major rust or distortion.

Any suggestions very welcome- it needs an mot and I fear they might fail it on the droop saying it is the new springs - which it can't be. What else could it be?

Cheers,

Ralph

Tis considered polite to tell us a little about yourself in the ....ummm....what's it called?

Ignore section?

No that can't be right.

Anyway :welcome: 88 or 109?

Thanks, it's an 88, 2a from 1968, hard top. He's Not going to get any prizes at shows but generally sounded so I would like to keep him going for another 40 yrs

I can do most mechanics or at least willing to try. Any suggestions are gratefully received!

Cheers,

Ralph

Not sure about GM springs. Some are some aren't handed. Might be worth checking the distance between spring hangers in case they've been replaced and the geometry is out and shackle plate lengths but other than that a side to side swap.

Did you let the Landy sit on it's own weight on level ground before tightening up the u bolts?

Most Landys have a bit of a lean and I doubt very much it would lead to an mot failure unless it was extreme

Howdy, first off I'd get yer measuring tape out and check that your chassis is straight and the spring mounts/hangers are in the right place, this is the manual for a series III but I believe the measurements you need are the same for the IIa:


Next off slacken the spring bolts and rock the Landy side to side - does it level out? If not try swapping the drivers and passenger side springs. Let the Landy settle under it's own weight before tightening up the bolts to the correct torque (can't remember off the top of my head but it's in the manual).

Is your Landy standard? ie standard engine, fuel tanks, no heavy accessories mounted on one side?

Slacken off all the spring bolts, lock nuts and shackles about 1mm and ride it over some bumps to make sure everything's free park it on the level and use jacks if necessary to preload the bushes before nipping up tight. If you have to apply too much pre-load you will reduce the life of the bushes.

Other thing is measure the actual distance between spring and chassis on each side - it's highly likely your body work is not on straight....mine looks like its had a stroke at the moment.

General concensus on here usually gravitates towards GB Springs as being the solution to the uneven weight distribution of a Landy - they come marked up for left and right hand sides and are very reasonable pricewise

I would send yours back if they are not handed I tried three sets of unmarked sets before I eventually got fed up, obtained a refund from Paddocks
and went to GB..... fitted perfectly!

Many thanks everyone for your help - much appreciated!

I hadn't tightened up any of the spring, shackle or U bolts, gave it a good shake all round and left it a couple if days but it was still sitting lower on the drivers side.

Tonight I took it for a slow drive over some bumps and pot holes (I'm sure people thought I was driving weird) then bk on level ground - still drooping. I did what suggested and loaded it as much as I could find and a bit more on the passenger side to make it a bit more level, then tightened up the bolts to 70lb ft. Took everything out and it looked a lot better - still a wee bit of droop but a lot better. I'm going to check the spring to chassis measurements tomorrow night as he has had a lot of welding in the past so maybe the body or chassis is never going to be 100%. As I say he won't win any prizes,but he does the job.

I then tightened the u-bolt nuts up to 70 lb ft, rear was fine, but when doing it on the front (adjusting up in a balanced way) the u-bolts thread sheared on one of each u-bolt! I cannot believe I did anything wrong? These were brand new bought with the springs and new dampers. They were 17mm nuts, therefore smaller ubolts than the 19mm bolted ones at rear, I presume this is normal as less load rated. I've heard some cheap u-bolts can stretch in a short time but for the thread to shear when fitting is very disappointing. Was it me or are some parts these days just not up to the job? I'll be contacting the supplier tomorrow - let me know if I did anything wrong.

At least the droop is better.......will see if it stays that way

Cheers

Just saw your input ozawoza, I'll double check - I'm pretty sure they had the same numbers on the springs. I'll contact the supplier, you know who.

Here's the link to GB Springs....give them a call as paul has an immense knowledge about this subject and happy to explain (I've had mine on for about 3 years now and still perfect (just slightly rustier than the shiny blue springs that were delivered) and when I bought them they were actually the same price as the cheap nasty things I had been provided before

Land Rover Parabolic Springs - GB Springs