pooler70 Posted January 30, 2011 Share Posted January 30, 2011 Hello All. I am hoping some of you maybe able to help me or point me in the right direction. I have been using my defender 90 alot but recently added a rollcage, winch bumper and winch. I did not notice any difference to ride height and carried on attending pay and play events. Over the winter months the winch was used alot as I live in the countryside and many people were stuck after sliding into ditches on the ice. After all of this I noticed that the drivers side of my 90 is sat around 2" lower than the passenger side. After looking around and not finding anything looking damaged I decided to replace the springs and shocks as I do not think they were up to the job, Britpart springs and Pro comp shocks. I replaced the fronts on the weekend with Terrafirma hoping to see my 90 sit level after fitting them. Well....It didnt! I still have the same problem. I cannot see anything that looks out of place or bent. Anyone have any ideas on what could be causing this? There is an even weight distribution on the truck so do not know where to look. Any help is appreciated. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
potato head Posted January 30, 2011 Share Posted January 30, 2011 I had an issue last year with a similar problem. I changed my old springs and shocks for Terrafirma std height shocks and hd colour coded springs all round. It's only a 90 but I needed hd springs because of the heavy loads that I regularity carry and also for a future winch and bumper which will be fitted. With the landy as std and only a roof rack fitted, the thing looked like it was pulling a wheeling with one side higher than the other - and not how you would expect, the pass side was higher than the drivers.(All the springs were on the correct corners). Needless to say the springs were returned and changed, this time to some hd Flatdogs - std height, which have cured the issue and now its all level with or without a heavy load. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pooler70 Posted January 30, 2011 Author Share Posted January 30, 2011 The springs I have from Terrafirma are the Medium rated springs which are rated for the extra weight I have added. It was also fine for 2 or 3 months with the standard Britpart springs and then suddenly dropped on the front drivers side. I think I have possible bent something but cannot see anything obvious. If the springs were not up to the job it should still sit level as its the same weight over the axle. Anyone had similar problems? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco-Ron Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 The only thing you might have bent is maybe the spring platform on the axle, you won;t have bent the top mount, as thats the chassis....! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frax Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 Swap over yer front springs and see what happens. Frax Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pooler70 Posted January 31, 2011 Author Share Posted January 31, 2011 Are the springs handed? It does not explain why it dropped in the first place with the old spring setup but willing to give it a try if it is something you have experienced before? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 Where are you measuring from? You haven't just smacked the wing so hard to have bent it down 2" have you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pooler70 Posted January 31, 2011 Author Share Posted January 31, 2011 Where are you measuring from? You haven't just smacked the wing so hard to have bent it down 2" have you? I have measured from the front bumper, the distance between the axle and chassis and also the angle the radius arm is at. Drivers side is definitely 2" lower. It is very noticable from standing and looking at the truck that it is sat lower. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJB Serenity Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 have you checked your bushes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pooler70 Posted January 31, 2011 Author Share Posted January 31, 2011 Yes all bushes are good and have minimal flex. It appears the springs should be labelled as to where they fit and are handed. Mine were not labelled so I just fitted them on. This does not account for the drop of the original spring unless it has yeilded whist I was winching. I think the first step is to remove both springs and see if there are any differences and swop them around as suggested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
western Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 normally the longer springs fit to the drivers side [vehicle right in UK] to compensate when the driver is onboard the vehicle should ride level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bishbosh Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 Measure the length of each front spring in situ. They should be pretty similar with the driver's side being slightly longer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pooler70 Posted January 31, 2011 Author Share Posted January 31, 2011 Measure the length of each front spring in situ. They should be pretty similar with the driver's side being slightly longer. Will measure them when I am next home. I am currently working away for 3 weeks. When I measure them, if I find the passenger side to be longer then I clearly have them fitted to the wrong side. Thanks for all the advice. Will give it all a try once I am home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pooler70 Posted February 23, 2011 Author Share Posted February 23, 2011 Ok so back to this problem. Firstly I did have the springs fitted on the wrong way. So I spent sometime correcting this and now they are on the right side. So I took it for a little drive to let everything settle and then found a flat bit of road and got out to see if any noticable difference to the height. Firstly it is better and does sit more level than before but it is still not right. Had a good look around all bushes etc and cannot find anything out of place. Also when swopping the springs I changed the spring seats for some new ones. Any other ideas what could be causing this height problem? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
potato head Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Make sure all the wheels have the correct pressure, get a full tank of fuel, find someone of average weight to sit in the drivers seat and then measure again. Also, I found that measuring from the centre of the wheel to the eyebrow gave a better result than using the bumper for dimensions as bumpers get bent :-o Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pooler70 Posted February 24, 2011 Author Share Posted February 24, 2011 Ok, will have a look at doing this on the weekend. Problem is that it is the drivers side that is lower so with more fuel and a driver it makes the problem worse. I will do it and take some measurements and see what I come up with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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