Date: Fri, 27 Apr 2001 09:23:33 -1000
From: "Peter Ogilvie" <konacoffee2@hotmail.com>
Subject: LRO: Re: Sagging springs, why.
>How come series rovers always sag, usually to the right side?? Don't give me
any of the handed spring crap as it hasn't been a factor for ages. If jeep
suppliers can provide springs that sit level, why can't the Rover crowd make
stock multi leaf springs do the same.
Why should they? There seems to be an obsession among a lot of Series owners about the
fact their vehicles don't sit level. The fact is they never did and never will, at least
not with the stock springs and bushings. I think this is largely due to the nature of the
bushings, which can resist a spring's tendency to return to its "normal"
arch. Also, as you may have gathered if you have worked on or changed a Land
Rover's springs, the things are about as crudely and inconsistently made as it's
possible to be without resorting to using wood as a component. Rover Parts uses
a lot of different suppliers for things like springs, and I suspect the specs are REALLY
sloppy in terms of defining the metal and other characteristics. So I'm willing to bet that
the actual spring rates among even a brand new set of springs are all over the map. Any
consistency will be totally by accident. The company seemed to know this, as the
tolerances for body corner height off the floor given in the shop manual are pretty wide.
My own SIII leans with
no consistency whatsoever, and his has done so from the day it left the factory, or at
least the day I took delivery in 1973. It all depends on who or what was in it last, the direction of
the last corner it went around, and so on. Sometimes it leans a bit to the left. Sometimes
it leans a bit to the right. Sometimes it doesn't lean at all. If you don't like the way it's sitting,
reach up after you get out and push up or pull down on the rain gutter on your side of the vehicle
until it's sitting the way you like it. It will stay that way until you get back in it again. It's the
nature of the beast, and short of going to completely different springs and bushings, the thing's
gonna lean one way or the other most of the time.
But who's to say your Land Rover's leaning?
Maybe it's your part of the planet that's off kilter. Don't overlook that possibility....
_________________________________________
C. Marin Faure
Producer/Director, Boeing Video Services
telephone (425)393-7721
mobile (206)650-5622
fax: (425)393-7741
e-mail: marin.faure@boeing.com
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