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| Car leaning to the left | Rate Topic |
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| Posted: 03-17-2006 12:12 pm |
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1st Post |
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#19853 Member
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After looking for a JH for some time I have just become the proud owner of #19853 (Imported from Switzerland) The chassis and interior is in quite good condition, not to much rust. The biggest problem I see at the moment is that the car is leaning to the left when parked on a level surface. The springs look OK. I would appreciate any ideas, help in what to look for to find the source of this problem. Regards Stig Kristiansen Norway
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| Posted: 03-17-2006 03:25 pm |
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2nd Post |
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Jensen Healey Super Moderator 
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Your rear bushings are worn. Gas shock absorbers with un-even pressure can also cause one side to sag. When you replace the bushings your springs will be out, switch them to opposite sides, just in case.
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| Posted: 03-30-2006 06:49 am |
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3rd Post |
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#19853 Member
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Thanks for the reply! After disassembly of the suspension front and rear it turned out not only that the LHS rear bushings were gone, but in addition also the mounting assembly - front subframe to chassis on the LHS! (the special front suspension mount assembly that connects the front suspension subframe to the chassis) What is the easiest way of exchanging this assembly with the engine and transmission still in the car?
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| Posted: 03-30-2006 02:51 pm |
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4th Post |
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Jensen Healey Super Moderator
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I have never replaced those bushings for obvious reasons. It seems pretty clear that you need to jack or block the engine and un-bolt the motor mounts. Then remove the two bolts at the rear of the subframe and the nuts from the top mounts and drop the entire subframe. Let us know how it goes. Kurt JH 13148
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| Posted: 04-24-2006 09:53 am |
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5th Post |
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#19853 Member
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Success! I have now replaced the top bushings on the front subframe with the engine still mounted on the subframe! To be able to drop the subframe and engine I had to remove the earthing cable from the engine to the chassis on the RHS and the brake lines on the LHS. (This is a LHD car). The hoses between engine and radiator was also disconnected. After removing the two bolts at the rear of the subframe and the nuts from the top mounts it was possible to drop the entire subframe with engine enough to get the clearance. The rear gearbox mount allows enough flexibility to do this. I have also replaced the rear bushings and assembly of the suspension is next. (+ timing belt, some rust work, front wheel bearings, shock absorbers ++++)
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| Posted: 07-19-2014 10:58 pm |
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6th Post |
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NigelK Member
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Dear Forum Users Apologies for resurrecting an old thread. I have a noticeable body lean on my GT, to the driver's side (it's an RHD car). Both rear shocks as well as the rear trailing arm bushes have been changed, excepting the rear upper arm / axle bushes, which were not worn. But this has made no difference to the lean. Next steps in the investigation are as follows: 1. Test the torque on the front upper (37 ft.lb.) and lower (32 ft.lb.) wishbone fulcrum bolts, with the lower wishbones supported on axle stands so as to simulate the car being on its wheels 2. Check whether both springs are installed correctly i.e. flat side up and measure springs to see whether wear / travel is even between both sides 3. Check whether both spring seats are in good order 4. Check whether both front shocks are serviceable and not leaking oil 5. Check condition of cross-member / chassis frame mountings 6. Any other ideas??? I also note from the GT parts book that there is supposed to be a packer spring (Jensen part # 100095) for the front coil spring but on the LH side only - I'm not sure whether this is present, but can anyone tell me why it's necessary? Many thanks in advance for any advice and/or tips here. Nigel Kieser GT 1640/30071
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| Posted: 08-03-2014 02:55 pm |
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7th Post |
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NigelK Member
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Did some "fact finding" yesterday. Both springs are installed the right way up ("flat" side uppermost) and there is no evidence of leakage from the dampers. With the car supported on axle stands under the lower wishbones, I measured the front coil spring lengths having re-torqued the upper and lower fulcrum bolts. There is a 15mm difference between the nearside spring (longer) and the offside spring (shorter). This difference cannot be completely accounted for by the spring packer installed at the top of the nearside coil spring only as this packer is only 7mm thick. And it is supposed to be there, according to Jason at Rejen and the GT parts book. Even taking this into account, the spring length difference could easily account for the front offside being so low. So I will replace both coil springs, swap the existing Armstrong dampers for the same Spax adjustables I have on the rear, and replace the coil spring seats which are quite perished. I'll check with Jason again before refitting the packer on the nearside spring, because it does sound odd to only have it it one side... One question - I had to disconnect the anti-roll bar from the lower wishbone to remove the coil spring. Does anyone know the correct torque for the 1/2" fixing? It's obviously not in the J-H workshop manual which I am using. I would have thought something in the order of 32 lb.ft would be appropriate, but I'd appreciate any other guidance.
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| Posted: 08-05-2014 06:18 am |
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8th Post |
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Art DeKneef Member
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When I tighten the new front sway bar on my car I just tighten it till it felt "tight". I didn't have any figures so I just tighten it and made a note to look for a proper number before getting it on the road again. Unfortunately it still rests in the garage.
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| Posted: 08-06-2014 02:30 pm |
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9th Post |
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Jim Picot Member
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I have recently finished rebuilding both front and rear suspension. Virtually everything is new - springs (both right way up), dampers, superpro bushes, hardware and quite a few new suspension components (both lower arms, upper arms, shock absorber mounts, ball joints etc). But after correctly torquing all the wishbone bolts, it is slightly lower on the driver's side by about 20 mm. When I torqued the upper and lower wishbone arms, I cheated by jacking up each side in turn to simulate the full weight of the car on its suspension. The correct way would have been with wheels on and flat on the ground (hard to get to the relevant bolts) or with both sides equally elevated on jack stands. Is it possible that my short cut - jacking up each side individually - could have led to the uneven ride height?
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| Posted: 08-07-2014 03:22 am |
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10th Post |
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Art DeKneef Member
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I suppose it could be possible if one side was raised higher than the other when you tighten the nuts and bolts. If one side was higher or lower when tightened I think it would take some time for it to level out. If it could. When I had my car back together before I torqued everything down, I had all 4 tires sitting on car ramps. This came me clearance to slide under the car while laying on the crawler and put all the weight on the tires. Then it was just a matter torqueing the nuts and bolts to the proper spec. Was pretty easy to do that way. Plus you can check out the underside of the car and look for things that might need to be repaired.
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| Posted: 08-07-2014 04:30 am |
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11th Post |
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Jim Picot Member
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Hi Art, I'll eventually get around to jacking up the front, putting it on either ramps or jack stands, loosening all the bolts and re-torquing. Hopefully this will correct the lean.
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| Posted: 08-12-2014 08:30 pm |
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12th Post |
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NigelK Member
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A further update. Revised advice from Rejen suggests that the 7mm thick packer that was fitted to the top of the passenger side front coil spring (on my RHD GT) was not always fitted, so I removed it. I had to call for professional help when refitting the damper, as I found it impossible to line up the holes in the control arm, lower wishbone, and damper mounting bracket so I could insert the two bolts. There just wasn't enough space in my garage to work in / apply some serious leverage without a proper vehicle hoist. Removing the anti-roll bar made the job slightly less difficult, but refitting it was a real pain, as there is so little thread on the end of the bolt when the four rubber bushes and the spacer are fitted. It seems there are no easy jobs when it comes to JH / GT suspension! Hopefully when the car comes back from the workshop tomorrow having had both front coil springs and dampers changed, it will no longer lean. Here's hoping!
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