My E30's ride height is wonky. It's all stock (except for the M3 offset control arm bushings and the E36 steering rack) and all the bushings and ball joints have been replaced. It seems that the driver's rear sits oddly low, and that makes the passenger front sit oddly high. There's nothing heavy in the trunk, just some camping supplies. The left front and right rear have about the same wheel gap, the left rear is low, and the right front is high. What's the deal?
Heck, yes. My old Poncho looked like a lowrider in the back. I put OEM springs and new shocks under it, and now it's raked the right way.
If your car is crooked, however, I would look for an issue to be solved.
Could be sag, some do it, some don't, depends on the spring's design and metallurgy vs. the weight of the car. Stock rear 4runner coils are well known to sag for example.
Was it ever in a wreck?
It was in a very minor wreck, but that's not the side that's affected. I actually bought it wrecked. It was hit in the right rear wheel, had some quarter damage and the right rear trailing arm was bent. I put a trailing arm from the junk yard on it and it's been smooth sailing ever since. It's the opposite side that seems to be sagging.
How solid is the car? Its also possible that previous undisclosed crash damage resulted in a spring being replaced with the incorrect one.
if you are looking for coilovers and a chance to update to E36 Ti suspension.. let me know:) I will have a set of PSS9s for sale soon
Yes, springs sag. They even break... my f150 was pretty low in the front and when I put new springs in, I found an entire turn off the bottom of each side had broken off.
mad_machine wrote: if you are looking for coilovers and a chance to update to E36 Ti suspension.. let me know:) I will have a set of PSS9s for sale soon
Quite possibly! Hit me up when you're ready to sell!
andrave wrote: Yes, springs sag. They even break... my f150 was pretty low in the front and when I put new springs in, I found an entire turn off the bottom of each side had broken off.
I've seen plenty of them break, that's why I wasn't really sure. I didn't know if it was a "break before bend" sort of thing. I guess it just depends on the spring. I actually had a '96 Escort that I noticed that the bottom turn was broke off of both rear springs. I went to the junk yard to pick some up and out of 20 or so cars, they were ALL broke. I guess that was a common problem.
BMW springs do break. Mine did on my E36...
Never seen it on any other car I have owned though.
Check out the rubber parts first though - spring perches, spring pads, shock tower bushings, shock eyelet bushings and other rubber bushings.
A small bend in the subframe from the damage could also affect the geometry on either side
How old are the shocks and struts? Could be you've got a blown shock in the back, or possibly a top mount issue (though the latter may not apply; I can't recall the specifics of the E30 setup).
if its sagging in the back, refer to it as S.A.S(Saggy Ass Syndrome)
amg_rx7 wrote: BMW springs do break. Mine did on my E36... Never seen it on any other car I have owned though. Check out the rubber parts first though - spring perches, spring pads, shock tower bushings, shock eyelet bushings and other rubber bushings. A small bend in the subframe from the damage could also affect the geometry on either side
02Pilot wrote: How old are the shocks and struts? Could be you've got a blown shock in the back, or possibly a top mount issue (though the latter may not apply; I can't recall the specifics of the E30 setup).
I just put all new struts, strut bearings/mounts, subframe bushings, control arm bushings, etc. in it in July, so that's not the issue. And I believe the spring rubbers all looked fine then, too. I guess it's possible that the subframe is bent, but I don't remember the ride height being wonky when I got it, and I haven't hit anything or been hit since I originally fixed it. It seems to be getting progressively worse.
I think I know the answer, but is it safe to assume you've checked for any sort of rust issue serious enough to allow the spring to push through the bodywork?
If as you say you've noticed a measurable change over time, I'd think that the spring would be a pretty likely place to look. Why not pull both rears and check their respective heights uncompressed?
Springs definitely do sag over time. I saw a whole boatload of ML320's with broken rear springs, too.
$5 says you won't find a Toyota 4-Runner or Jeep CJ that's not hunkering down in the back.
02Pilot wrote: If as you say you've noticed a measurable change over time, I'd think that the spring would be a pretty likely place to look. Why not pull both rears and check their respective heights uncompressed?
Good start there.
Also, before pulling things apart, measure the compressed height of the spring on the car and compare side to side. Of course, make sure your driveway or wherever you are measuring is level so you're not jacking any corner of the car.
While on the car take a good hard look at the first coil on either end of the spring looking for small cracks/splits/breakage while under compression.
Also try and check how compressed the shock is and if there is any oil at the shock rod.
if it is on stock OEM springs.. there is a good chance one cracked or broke
914Driver wrote: $5 says you won't find a Toyota 4-Runner or Jeep CJ that's not hunkering down in the back.
As a 4runner owner I can confirm this!
Fit_Is_Slo (ceasarromero) wrote:914Driver wrote: $5 says you won't find a Toyota 4-Runner or Jeep CJ that's not hunkering down in the back.As a 4runner owner I can confirm this!
I actually thought 4-runners came that way from the factory, in a pre-runner kind of way.
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