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MG MGF Technical - suspension

just had my suspension pumped up ,, now the ride is very bumpey , bounces all the time. is it possible to over inflate or could it be the shockers?
guy

Yes it is possible to overpressurise the suspension and dealerships do it all the time. :-(

Take a tape measure and measure the distance between the middle of the front wheel and the underside of the front wheel arch (do both front wheels).

It should be 368mm +/- 10mm

SF
Scarlet Fever

Yup. Beware dealers who return cars to "delivery" pressure in the hydragas. Happened to mine once and it was possible to fit an appropriately clenched fist between the top of the tyres and the wheel arches.
Bob

checked ride hight , 358 mm , a little low but surely this would not make the ride that bad? you would think i had no suspension , what about the shockers . could they be so bad after only 47000 to make that much difference?
guy

Yeh check ride height. That can be a problem. should be 368mm +/- 10mm.
D Jamieson

Bouncy all the time and a low ride height suggest dampers.
Try bouncing the car up and down on each corner. It should settle after 2 oscillations (spelling hmm).
R Baker

358mm is *just* within tolerance. Bearing in mind the ride height is also somewhat temperature dependant, you can expect the height to fall further during the winter where it will be out of spec.

Also, low pressure in the Hydragas spheres will lead to a bouncy ride, bottoming out and a general boneshaking type feel. But for it to be very noticable (as you say it is), then i would expect the ride height to be significantly lower, say in the region of 320mm. Afterall, 358mm is still within spec.

So, where does this leave us? With the hydragas within spec, the next areas to look at (i'm assuming you've already checked the tyre pressures) would be shocks and more importantly shock bushes.

Shock bushes (top AND bottom) are know to perish after a while and loose thier elasticity. Replacements are available from Mike Satur.

Whilst you are inspecting them, have a look at the anti roll bar drop link bushes as well.

SF
Scarlet Fever

This thread was discussed between 30/08/2003 and 01/09/2003

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