villa.1 Posted August 13, 2008 Report Share Posted August 13, 2008 Hi All, Great news - I finally have my TR6 on the road! Bad news - I have just noticed that the body sits an least 1 inch higher on the near side (when supported by the suspension). I have stuck it up on 4 x axle stands Via the Chassis and measured again now the car is practically the same height each side. Could this be down to age/springs ? or is it that the suspension was incorrectly assembled ( the suspension was rebuilt by the previous owner of course ) Please let me know where to start... Thansk Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stuart Posted August 13, 2008 Report Share Posted August 13, 2008 (edited) Hi All, Great news - I finally have my TR6 on the road! Bad news - I have just noticed that the body sits an least 1 inch higher on the near side (when supported by the suspension). I have stuck it up on 4 x axle stands Via the Chassis and measured again now the car is practically the same height each side. Could this be down to age/springs ? or is it that the suspension was incorrectly assembled ( the suspension was rebuilt by the previous owner of course ) Please let me know where to start... Thansk Steve Steve check that all the spring insulators are present top and bottom and that the springs are sitting in them correctly. Its not unkown for the wrong size ones to be fitted and the springs sit on top instead of inside them. Stuart. Edited August 13, 2008 by stuart Quote Link to post Share on other sites
88V8 Posted August 13, 2008 Report Share Posted August 13, 2008 So is it too high front and rear? That could have different causes front and rear. How is the camber? Ivor Quote Link to post Share on other sites
villa.1 Posted August 14, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 14, 2008 So is it too high front and rear?That could have different causes front and rear. How is the camber? Ivor Thanks for the replys, The passenger side is an inch and a bit higher front and rear compaired to the drivers side. I havent checked the camber, is it something i can do myself or is it a trip to ATS? Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Richard Crawley Posted August 14, 2008 Report Share Posted August 14, 2008 (edited) A common problem & could be due to one or more of a number of things. Lots of archive threads on this one, some very recent; use the search facility, have a read up & come back if you need specifics. I wouldn't go any where near ATS, they may be able to measure it but won't have a clue how to fix it; setting up properly needs specialist but not complicated knowledge/experience. Edited August 14, 2008 by Richard Crawley Quote Link to post Share on other sites
88V8 Posted August 14, 2008 Report Share Posted August 14, 2008 I havent checked the camber, is it something i can do myself or is it a trip to ATS? ATS? No, this is one of those many jobs you need to learn for yourself, because ATS will be no help at all in sorting it out, all they can do is measure, and you need to equip yourself with the means of measuring as part of the sorting out process. At the rear especially, there is an interdependence between camber and ride height. If you search here on 'camber' you will get a profusion of threads. I had a long struggle myself with camber & ride height. Like Stan says, check the top & bottom spring packers, if they're wrong or mislocated that would be the easiest solution although I believe getting the front springs off isn't that simple... In the brown bible there are camber values. If you have zero front and rear when unladen - ie the wheels are upright, that's a good starting point. Sometimes it's so grossly wrong you can see by eye that the wheel is sticking in or out, but really you need to measure to a quarter degree. Some boffins use bits of wood or home-brewed adjustable set squares and trigonometry, I'm afraid I was dreadfully lazy and bought one of these camber gauges, which are very accurate. http://www.moss-europe.co.uk/Shop/ViewProd...amp;SortOrder=1 For sorting the rear, take the time to read and understand this. http://www.buckeyetriumphs.org/technical/S...AdjRS/AdjRS.htm When adjusting the rear camber and ride height, these adjustable brackets make the job immensely easier and despite what some people think they work well. http://www.moss-europe.co.uk/Shop/ViewProd...amp;SortOrder=1 They're made by Goodparts but his site is so slow today I can't be bothered to wait, anyway they're about the same price from him or Moss. At the rear you could also have height issues because the chassis leg on which the trailing arm mounts is rusted (collapsed) or bent, or has been badly repaired. When you take the trailing arm brackets off, if the lower bolt is rusted then be suspicious that the chassis is rusted as well. You can determine bend or collapse by careful measurement from a flat floor up to the inner & outer ends of the leg. Or your trailing arm might be bent/twisted. My problem was collapsed & repaired chassis and wrong brackets, and bent trailing arm.... http://www.tr-register.co.uk/forums/index....=camber+changes This reminds me I haven't finished that thread... At the front, the camber is adjusted by adding or removing shims. If the suspension arms have been misassembled that can affect ride height, you will find threads on that as well and I really have nothing to add as my front camber was OK. At least from your jacking of the chassis on axle stands you know the body is mounted level on the chassis, that can't be taken for granted and makes things easier. I'd start with the camber gauge and go on from there. Ivor Quote Link to post Share on other sites
trfella Posted August 14, 2008 Report Share Posted August 14, 2008 Good grief! I purchased a '69 TR6 just three weeks ago, and only in the last week noticed the same problem with mine!! What are the chances of that? I was going to post sooner, but the OP beat me to it. Feeling somewhat duped as the car was fully restored 5-years ago. I just cannot believe I didn't spot this before Sorry to hijack, I can start another thread if preferred. Mine is the o/s rear which sits at 650mm from ground to top of wheelarch, compared to 670mm on the n/s. Also, the o/s wheel appears to be set further into the arch (doesn't stick out as much as the n/s). The car had a rear telescopic shock conversion at the time of the restoration, so who knows where the problem lies. I shall have a search on here for more info. By the way - Hello everyone Quote Link to post Share on other sites
88V8 Posted August 15, 2008 Report Share Posted August 15, 2008 Mine is the o/s rear which sits at 650mm from ground to top of wheelarch, compared to 670mm on the n/s. Also, the o/s wheel appears to be set further into the arch (doesn't stick out as much as the n/s).By the way - Hello everyone Hello and welcome. It will facilitate your use of the Forum if you click on the Options button you can see under Add Reply and New Topic, and change the Display mode to Standard. That will get rid of the Family Tree effect and enable you to read all posts chronologically. Your problem... unlike Villa1 who has more extreme problems front & rear, it sounds as if you may have an easier fix. If you read the Buckeye article I posted earlier, you will see that as you reduce negative camber at the rear - what I think you're describing on the o/s - you increase ride height - which is what you need. So you may be able to fix it by juggling the trailing arm notch brackets (cheap but can be long-winded) or fitting the Goodparts adjustables (more expensive but easier). Measure your camber as I posted above, make the Buckeye thread your bedtime reading for a few days...zzzz... that will indicate the way forward. Btw, if you raise the right rear - I assume you're in England - add your location to your id - you'll lower the left front.... ... but tbh your height discrepancy alone isn't that bad, depends how wonky your wheel angle is... Can't believe you missed it.... boy you should have seen mine when I bought it, or should I say sold it to myself... Ivor Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Richard Crawley Posted August 15, 2008 Report Share Posted August 15, 2008 Good grief! I purchased a '69 TR6 just three weeks ago, and only in the last week noticed the same problem with mine!! What are the chances of that? Pretty high unfortunately! Ivor's got it covered so it really only leaves me to say Hi & welcome to the forum. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
trfella Posted August 16, 2008 Report Share Posted August 16, 2008 Thanks for the welcome everyone I'm based near East Grinstead, but can't seem to find the bit that allows me to show where I am based Anyway, I have read the links and am slightly more up on this subject now. Chassis is straight - I have measured between the axles and all is okay. Tyre wear is constant too which is surprising, but the car has only done a few thousand miles since the restoration, so not really indicative of anything I guess. My skills/experience with cars is somewhat limited I'm afraid. I haven't done anything to a car for 17 years now, as they have been new and under warranty during that time . That was the reason for buying the TR... to get back into it! I may go down the route of having a TR specialist have a look at it for some advice, and will probably carry the work out myself once I know what to tackle first. Or am I being naive? The car is in the garage and not drivable at the moment. The bonnet catch is broken, so the damn thing keeps popping up . I have made a list of spares to repair it (also to realign the bonnet as it was never put on straight). Anyone recommendwhere to get the bits from? Moss? I need a new rubber for the front scuttle/bonnet too. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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