Droopy drivers side.

[jonnyb]

I have noticed that my car is somewhat lop sided with the drivers side being about an inch lower than the nearside. The car is an August 1960 mk2. The car was renovated after a long retirement by the previous owner so I don't know whether any work/renewal was done on the torsion bars.

My question is can I adjust the height by modest amounts on the torsion bar adjusters (maybe 1/2" up one side and vice versa the other) or is it necessary to go through the full procedure as in the WSM. I am in no hurry as other jobs are more pressing and I would like to get a few miles in once the weather improves but a little advice now will allow me to plan ahead.

[vue from the north]

if its the same side as the leaky rear damper then id be starting with the dampers all round, look for the easiest fixes first,

[kiwimc]

Hi Jonny,

the ride height at each corner depends on the other 3 corners.  The workshop manual definitely has the settings you will want, and for simple adjustment is not a procedure tedious or to be feared of. 

At the rear you can't do much except hope your springs are of equal temper/sag.  Then, if you want to set your Mk II to Mk III ride height, find some genuine factory Mk III lowering blocks (1/2").  Most of the MM parts suppliers seem to list lowering blocks, but unless you want to 'slam' it then you will find these are too much (being at least 3/4").  When you tweak the front you will find the rear ride measurements respond too.

[If you do the 1/2" lowering blocks the standard U-bolts over the axle should be long enough to cope with the extra spacing.  Throw in new rubbers while you are at it, and check there is enough clearance between bump stop and body.  The Mk III ones look like someone has sawn the point off a Mk I/II one.]

At the front, unless you are unlucky you should be able to do enough adjustment with the screw adjusters and not have to raise or lower a spline.  Do the adjustment with front weight off the ground (i.e. torsion bar unloaded).  Do perhaps 4 threads at a time, then lower car, bounce up and down and move car back and forth to get correct track again and remeasure.  Again you can set your Mk II to Mk III settings, but be aware the bump stops under the guard will need shortening by 1/2" (or better still, exchanged for the correct length Mk III ones).

As with the rear, when you tweak one, the other three corners will respond, so you may only require 1/2" down on the left or 1/2" up on the right to correct your current 1" sag.

Bruce and I have both been through all this and you should find at least one thread somewhere on the forum.

John

[jonnyb]

Thanks for the replies. Once the weather improves I will get underneath again to do the leaky damper, check the rear to see if it has lowering blocks and check clearances to bump stops all round. I had a feeling that some adjustment was available without having to move splines so glad to have that confirmed.

[ozieagle]

Hi,

I made a simple gauge to measure the adjustment, and set the height to the workshop manual specs.

Herb

Attachments:

[canuck]

Jonathan,

John is spot on we have both discussed this until our collective heads hurt.

Here is a read if you wish;

rileymotorclub.proboards.com/thread/1160/ride-height-continued

To help you deduce what you are up against, when one moves ONE spline on the torsion bar we get 1.25" of movement, higher or lower depending, and there is splines at either end of the torsion bar.



Crawl under the middle of the car and at the rear crossmember you will find the torsion bar adjusters. 



If the adjuster screws are even length, then previous adjustment may have been done by a spline movement.  This may explain the 'droop'? 
In any event adjustment can be done by these screws but best done without full weight of the car on the suspension. 

Careful as you go, there is a mega amount of energy in these loaded torsion bars. 

Bruce

 

 

[jonnyb]

Thanks Herb and Bruce, very, very useful pics and notes. I have read that thread previously Bruce, more than once! I only want to bring my car back level so hopefully there is enough movement on the adjusters so I don't have to rotate to next splines.
Thanks all for sharing.

[jonnyb]

Well I finally got round to this job. If only everything was this simple! I raised the drivers side quite a lot and lowered the nearside a little just using the adjusters until the heights were fairly "equal" judged on the lower suspension arm heights, clearance to the bump stops, tyre clearance to the wing lip and whether the car looked level. It will "do" for now until the chassis leg repair is done and I dismantle and rebuild the front suspension. The car steers nicely and runs true "hands off" so I am happy. Next off to dismantle nearside tie rod to see how many bits are worn there!