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  #1  
Old 10-24-2002, 12:06 PM
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Question When bushings are tightened off ground

When rear suspesion links and bushings are tightened with the car in the air, no jack/lift under the control arms ... this is BAD, right?

It would cause the car to ride heigher and wear out the bushings/links ?

What parts are most sensitive to causing this?

I believe the backend of my 87 300D is too high because the mechanic that installed the bushings/links tightened everything while the car was on the lift, no wheels, nothing to level out the control arms...

Thanks for any comments, suggestions.

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Old 10-24-2002, 12:46 PM
it leaks, its german
 
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I know the bushing will over flex when set in the air but, I'm not sure about ability to affect ride height. I've never replaced a bushing and tightened unloaded. You can put the car on ramps and loosen the bolts a bit, bounce the car and retighten.


Joe
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  #3  
Old 10-25-2002, 03:20 PM
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Were just the bushings replaced, or gas shocks too? I would expect improperly tightened bushings to affect ride height only a small amount - but they will deteriorate prematurely and the ride will suffer.

Steve
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  #4  
Old 10-25-2002, 03:47 PM
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just did the links in mine. the cd instruction says not to tighten without the axle being level. my mechanic jacked up the wheel before tightening. i thought it looked a little higher. am i going to need an alignment now?
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  #5  
Old 10-27-2002, 11:55 AM
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I replaced the shocks 2-3Kmi ago. The rear suspension links were done in Dec'01 (60Kmi ago). The old shocks were Bilstein Comfort, the new shocks I got from the dealer. The suspension links don't seem torn looking at the outside, but the ride is not real good. Rear end seem to react too much to road in an uncontrolled way.

jsmith, ride height changes alignment. if Its a very small change it may still be within spec, I would have it checked at a minimum. If the tie rod, or camber link were changed I'd hope your mechanic would have it aligned. I don't believe for the thrust or torque arms it matters.

regards,
Brian
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  #6  
Old 10-27-2002, 12:38 PM
LarryBible
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This is actually a question on the ASE Suspension and Steering test. They say that the bushings should be tightened with suspension loaded. I don't understand why though.

Good luck,
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Old 10-27-2002, 01:07 PM
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Larry,

When the compoonents are tightened against their "natural" position of a loaded suspension, and then forced into the loaded suspension, the rubber must stretch into this new position. Therefore, the ruuber is essentially ALWAYS under stress and wears out prematurely. My theory is that the rubber is not stretching ALL the way and my ride is higher than it should be. I'm hoping to find out that YES, this is what's going on, before I spend money on an alignment after doing what joe p suggests. Furthermore, if the rubber has been stretched for 60Kmi then maybe I should just pony up the money for new links in rear , yuk yuk and then get an alignment...

Brian
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Old 10-27-2002, 02:11 PM
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my post was premature, i guess my eyes were playing tricks on me. the ride height is as it was but the ride sure tightened up. some looseness that i thought was coming from the front end disappeared! a note on the condition of the old links - they showed no wear, maybe the bushings had just degenerated and gotten all mushy but you couldn't see it just by looking.
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Old 10-28-2002, 12:11 PM
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"some looseness that i thought was coming from the front end disappeared! a note on the condition of the old links - they showed no wear, maybe the bushings had just degenerated and gotten all mushy but you couldn't see it just by looking."

'Mushy' I don't think, but rubber does harden with cracks, losing integrity. Question is - did you check the suspension before the repair yourself? In my case, a corkscrewing motion over bumps turned out to be just a loose bolt in the rear suspension. Check was to test with car on ground, grasping each tire at various places 180 degrees apart with both hands, then shake vigorously. Left rear was solid - no movement. Right showed significant play. Loose track-rod mounting bolt at frame was culprit, and easy fix (NOT so easy to reach with car on ground, but possible).

Front wheels showed some movement independent of steering wheel, traced to worn idler frame bushings - easy and cheap replacement.

I started this whole diagnostic by replacing rear shocks, since dust booties rotted loose and some leakage evident. Result of that was slight increase in ride tightness, but old shocks would have been fine if retained. Those were purchased from dealer at $300/pair. Moral - the proper diagnosis is cheaper than the shotgun approach - or the dealer.

Steve
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  #10  
Old 11-03-2002, 10:48 PM
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I have seen no evidence that tightening links off the ground would change ride height as others have pointed out. I'm looking for other reasons.

Thanks for everyones comments.

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