v6 struts

[marko]

anyone got a pic of how the front struts go together (mainly the bearing) been changing the springs today and they kind of fell apart, bits shooting off allover the place, before i had chance to see how they went.

[marko]

never mind, all back together now, replaced both front springs (40 drop) both wishbones and droplinks, just got the rear springs to do now. how hard are the rears to do - heard its just a matter of unbolting bottom shock and pulling out, is this correct! - hope so as the fronts were a bit of a pain

[MarkV6]

<!--QuoteBegin-marko+--><div class='quotetop'>(marko)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--QuoteEBegin-->how hard are the rears to do - heard its just a matter of unbolting bottom shock and pulling out, is this correct!<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
That's about right yep.

But are you only replacing the springs or are you doing the dampers as well???

Using lowering springs on standard dampers isn't really something I'd recommend anyone to do.....

To improve the handling you need lowering springs and 'matched' or short throw dampers.

Remember when you were a kid and you rode someone elses bike which was waaaay to small and even when the pedal was at the bottom your knee was still half bent?? Remember the effort it took to ride any distance on it??

Same principle applies here.....

[marko]

i get you - i need another set of pedals.!!!!

didnt want to lower the car at all but the front springs failed the mot, Vauxhall can no longer get the springs for the v6, they would have to be specially made, which would cost a fortune. the drop on the fronts isnt that much, dont know weather itl drop any more once they have been on for a while. you may be right about the handling, i dont know but it definately feels better to drive - not rolling as much eaven under heavy braking + ride feels just as smooth over bumps. going to change the backs tomorrow once it comes back from the retest.

[marko]

back springs done as well now, looks quit nice, doesnt look like a 40mm drop but then i suppose the old springs were a bit tired. still practical to drive, not scraped on anythig yet!

[Cozy]

what springs did you use mate, did you use diff ones for the front and back and did you get uprated shocks or just put them on the standard shocks

[marko]

used the j-tec ones off e-bay - just springs, didnt change the shocks.

[Fortuna]

I did exactly the same as Marco. The car still rides very smoothly. Standard shocks work well. The travel is dictated by the spring so they only move the same distance as a purpose made short set. The bike analogy isnt relevant.

[MarkV6]

<!--QuoteBegin-Fortuna+--><div class='quotetop'>(Fortuna)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--QuoteEBegin-->I did exactly the same as Marco. The car still rides very smoothly. Standard shocks work well. The travel is dictated by the spring so they only move the same distance as a purpose made short set. The bike analogy isnt relevant.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
The point I was trying to make was that the 'damper' is now working further into the stroke and may not be as effective as a matched set.

Marko's dampers may have a few miles on them and be a little worn. Putting on new springs will effectively make his car 'under damped' where the dampers cannot control the reaction of the spring to the conditions of the road.

Marko may have a problem when he comes to jack his car up as the release of the weight of the car allows the original dampers to extend to their full travel. His springs may become dislodged and not relocated properly.

Springs set the ride height and absorb the shocks from the road. The damper just controls the reaction of the spring.

[RobbieV]

Borrowed from another site

Shock absorbers
Strangely enough, absorb shocks. Actually they dampen the vertical motion induced by driving your car along a rough surface. If your car only had springs, it would boat and wallow along the road until you got physically sick and had to get out. Or at least until it fell apart.
Shock absorbers perform two functions. Firstly, they absorb any larger-than-average bumps in the road so that the shock isn't transmitted to the car chassis. Secondly, they keep the suspension at as full a travel as possible for the given road conditions. Shock absorbers keep your wheels planted on the road. Without them, your car would be a travelling deathtrap.
You want more technical terms? Technically they are called dampers. Even more technically, they are velocity-sensitive hydraulic damping devices - in other words, the faster they move, the more resistance there is to that movement. They work in conjunction with the springs. The spring allows movement of the wheel to allow the energy in the road shock to be transformed into kinetic energy of the unsprung mass, whereupon it is dissipated by the damper. The damper does this by forcing gas or oil through a constriction valve (a small hole). Adjustable shock absorbers allow you to change the size of this constriction, and thus control the rate of damping. The smaller the constriction, the stiffer the suspension.

[marko]

there is no way the springs will move from their seats even when jacked up, the rears especially were a bit tight to get in with the shock disconnected. the old ones came out easy!. you are right about the shocks, they probably are showing their age and if i had enough wedge would probably replaced them too. cant belive the front ones are welded to the hub carrier - no pinch bolt - just a 1 inch weld either side. must be like that from factory.

[MarkV6]

<!--QuoteBegin-marko+--><div class='quotetop'>(marko)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--QuoteEBegin-->cant belive the front ones are welded to the hub carrier - no pinch bolt - just a 1 inch weld either side. must be like that from factory.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Yep they are. Where the damper rod goes into the strut there should be a big nut. Undo that and you can remove the damper cartridge.

<!--QuoteBegin-RobbieV+--><div class='quotetop'>(RobbieV)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--QuoteEBegin-->blah blah blah<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd--> [img]/smile.gif[/img]

Was that not what I said but in bigger words???

[marko]

so its just the cartridge you replace, ill put the grinder away then!! not seen that before

[RobbieV]

<!--QuoteBegin-MarkV6+--><div class='quotetop'>(MarkV6)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Yep they are. Where the damper rod goes into the strut there should be a big nut. Undo that and you can remove the damper cartridge.

[img]/smile.gif[/img]

Was that not what I said but in bigger words???<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

Yes it was................... Blah blah blah :icon_mrgr