[Mk2] [NA] A Tein SS Nightmare?

[Demoman]

Hello guys

first of all, congratulations with the marriage of Kate & William..



But I'm coming to the end of my project, but I made a horrific discovery

I'm using a Tein SS coilover set.
It's about 18 months old and did 1500/2000 miles.


When I put the car back on her "feet" I noticed the ride hight was different on all four wheels While I don't remember tweaking anything about them when I started the project ( some 6 months ago ).

Now Some springs seem higher then others.. and it's about centimeters!
The car was parked on the driveway .. for about 4 months in a row.. with little movement on the driveway..
after that I put the car off the ground using specially made ( I don't know its name in english but here's a pic )



So the wheels wheren't touching the ground.
Now Like I said I lowered the car and it's like the car was dancing..



Now can I adjust the shock travel distance on all 4 shocks so the car height is overall aligned.. but that isn't a wise descision. I can also adjust compression/dampening with the thingies on top of the springs.. but they are all set on "8"... looks like that is O.K.

the problem is that the distance between the wheels and the chassis are all different.. while I haven't changed the coilovers setup.




Possible problem 1 : The shocks are "frozen" because of the long duration stand still... of the car.


possible problem 2 : The shocks are leaking.. but what do I see if that is the case? They aren't covered with oil or anything.



Possible problem 3 : You folks fill in ! Maybe you have another Idea what could be wrong.

[Demoman]

No replies? PLease people! think with me!


I also noticed someting else that's rather strange..
The shocks that seemed to be fine at first..

They don't want to be adjusted! I mean.. I can turn the nuts on the tein SS coilover set.. but when I do that.. the ride height doesn't low down.. go down.. down...

[Demoman]

anyone

[djpkins]

Hi Demoman...if the shocks were leaking they would be showing signs of oil on the shaft mate...I can't imagine why this has happened, can you measure the distance between the spring seats...they must be different.
It's the spring that give's the shock its height so they're either different or have settled out and need replacing...man...if you split the shocks yourself, use good quality spring compressors and watch your teeth...that job gives me the shivvers mate....can you upload any pics?

[Demoman]

Hi mate!

I totally forgot you when this problem occured!
Yes.. you are right. The springs must have setteled.. But that seems impossible since they are only 10000 km's old..


I also don't like that job.. but ehm. IF it are the springs. Can I just put new teins on them or do I need special springs..

where can I get new tein springs

[djpkins]

...drop these guys an e-mail, I have always found them to be very helpfull and knowledgeable, PM me your questions and I'll tidy the English up a bit...at least you should know where you stand then mate.

[Demoman]

mate.. ur such a help

really astonished!
I'll take some pics in an hour ok? Keep online por favor..


I also noticed that a brake caliper is not functioning well..
Those steel triangle bracket thinigies. are they really that necessary ? one of the two is missing.

[Demoman]

I got it loose..
The springs of left and right front are exactly the same height.. de dampers/shocks also are not showing any leaks whatsoever.

But! the teins aren't filled with oil.. but with gas. At least.. that's what the sticker on the shock is telling me. so even if they where leakin.. I won't see any oil.

Right.. I'm absolutely stuck here..

[Demoman]

Put everything back together.. mounted it on the car..

it seems like it made a very little difference.


Can anyone make clear that on the Tein SS set.. the spring is the only part of the set that sets the ride height..

If that is the case.. then there must be something wrong with the springs.
and then it doesn't matter in what condition the shocks are..

[2tmike]

Yes, it's only the the large adjusters that move the spring seats that affect the ride height.
They're gas filled shocks and the small adjusters on the top of the shocks are supposed to control the damper 'hardness' .These adjusters are very easy to break - check the tein site for adjustment procedure.
You should be able to set the spring seat heights to be the same on each side by measuring the adjuster nut position with a vernier capliper or even a tape it you're carefull. Then drop tha car onto the ground and carefully measure from the hub centre to the bottom centre of the wheel arch to check you've got the same side to side. Having said all that, I put a set on an M3c and they were crap! so hard on even the softest setting that the car took air over every bump...actualy made driving slower !

[Demoman]

Hmm.. right.
That's the problem.. I can adjust whatever I want.. the ride height is not affected.... Not only the case with the suspension that is to low... but the same for the 2 ones that are to high. They won't drop.. and the lower ones wont go up..

I understand the construction with the 2 green rings.. nuts. the ride height from center hub to the car isn't changing.. just a very very little bit.


I took the front shocks apart..and couldn't find anything strange. The springs are the same height when they are apart from the shocks...

but once mounted on the car, and dropped.. the front left side of the car points up.. and the front right side of the car drops to far down.. while I have the spring on top of the threads !! that should mean that the car on that side is stucking in outerspace almost.. instead of that.. no reaction but a little bit higher.. 2/3 cm's from the tire.


I have pics here..

this is the setup on the shock...



and that results in this..



the wheel is almost hitting the fender...



this is one of the front shocks.. no damage or oil visible.




the spring





and funny.. this is the left side,

that has almost no threads left to lower.. and this is what is max in this situation.. Ísn't logical..

AND 6 months ago they where perfectly fine.... I noticed just 2 days ago...

About the screw on top of the mounts.. there is a screw wit a Hex fitting.. to change the damping and compression... I always turn the screws by hand.. don't use the hex tool.. Could there be something wrong with that?

I'm running out of idea's mate!

[Demoman]

Anyone has an Idea yet?

And ehm.. are the springs on the Tein Super street coilovers apart for sale? Because.. it must have something to do with the springs right..

How can I rule the shocks out..

[2tmike]

That's really strange...
The shocks shouldn't really affect ride height once the car settles, after all, they just damp the sprng motion but should rest in any position. What's does the car sit like if you disconnect the front anti roll bar (don't attach the drop links) ? And with the shocks off the springs, can you push them in/out equally easily by hand when they're on the same hardness setting ? - set them all to max soft first...

[g.lewarne]

The ARB could be twisted or one of the mount points cracked

[2tmike]

Thinking about this, maybe the shock on the side that is riding high is siezed/jammed/broken in the extended position, effectively 'jacking up' that side of the car. it would explain then why you get no response from adjusting the spring seats ?

[Demoman]

That's really strange...
The shocks shouldn't really affect ride height once the car settles, after all, they just damp the sprng motion but should rest in any position. What's does the car sit like if you disconnect the front anti roll bar (don't attach the drop links) ? And with the shocks off the springs, can you push them in/out equally easily by hand when they're on the same hardness setting ? - set them all to max soft first...

I remember, I also changed the drop links on the rear!!

When I took the shocks apart.. I was able to push in the shock.. slowly by hand.. and they reacted fine..

Also the same for the springs... When I stood on them.. the first one didn't react different then the other one..

[Demoman]

Thinking about this, maybe the shock on the side that is riding high is siezed/jammed/broken in the extended position, effectively 'jacking up' that side of the car. it would explain then why you get no response from adjusting the spring seats ?

No.. it's fine.
I took the front ones apart. and was able to push them "in".. and they came perfectly out themselves...

hmmmm
and about the Anti roll bar..
I changed the droplinks a while ago, during the project and this is the first time drive ready since I changed the droplinks.

Can the ARB be "bent" by having the car put on crates hanging in the air free for a month?


and if it is the case.. the arb isn't bent..but the Drop links are wrong.. can that wrong size of drop links pull the suspension in this unnatural position? I just can't imagine that iff the shocks are o.k.. the springs share the same sizes..


Then I need adjustable drop links.. don't I ?

[g.lewarne]

it could have happened, but also thinking if you changed all 4 links at once, t it possible you fitted an odd pair on each axle?

the fronts ones are longer than the rears, if you mixed them it could be twisting the ARB and making the ride height all wonky

[Demoman]

No I didn't do that..
The Tein SS set came with 2 drop links.. shiny ones.

you see them on the picture in this thread.
These ones need to be fitted on the front suspension right?


The rear drop links needed to be renewed.. So I just ordered a set on ebay for the mr2. Can I ordered the wrong ones? Do I need adjustable ones?

[g.lewarne]

measure both the dorplinks you fitted with the kit to make sure they are the same length!

i think it has to be something to do with the ARB if the springs / shocks are all the same and acting normally when off the car.