Just got my Vitesse down off axle stands & noticed it's not sitting level! Is a fair bit lower on the drivers side, & at the rear the passenger side has a far larger gap between tyre & wheelarch than the rear drivers side. I thought that maybe the rear shockers are knackered, what do you guys think?

How long has she been on axle stands? Perhaps the suspension needs time to settle down and level out?

Are they normal shocks or self-levellers on the rear?

Are the rear springs (visually) OK and seated correctly?

Jay

If you have nivomats and one of them is blown then the rear will sit lower on the side where the nivomat has gone tits up.

Good lord! I wish I had the money to buy Nivomats!!
The rear shockers are Munroe's, they have some kind of air thing on them, whereby they can be pumped up according to the load in the boots, or let down if not carrying anything heavy, I reckon that maybe theres a blockage in one of the little air pipes, either way I think I'm gonna replace them with standard shocks ASAP!

You also should check if the springs are rotated correctly. It can have 1cm height difference I think? Also see if your rear tyres have same pressure as it has little effect also.

Ok thanks for that, tyres are at the correct pressure, but how do you check the springs?

The upper part of the rear spring has this "smooth surface" and the bottom end of the springs is cut so the bottom has a "straight cut" which has its own place in the axle side cup. You can easily tell after you jack the car to level you can take springs out and have a look at it.

I dont have any better picture of the rear springs. You can see it better in the shorter spring what I mean. The upside has smoothed surface and the bottom has straight cut... theres place for the cut in the rear axle. The place should be in the rear side of the axle. Dont have any pictures of the rear axle.

Chris,

Just thinking out load here!!

Apart from all the other good advice have you taken it for a ride to see if it will settle correctly?

Its not just the bottom of the springs that can seat incorrecly due to radial location, the invisible top end may not have seated also or be held away by a mislocated bump stop or something??.

Do I remember correctly, have you been refitting Watts linkage and trailing arms, cups etc?

Could you have the Watts arms in incorrectly or trailing arm(s) upside down?

Could you have tightened up the bushes without the weight of the car being on the wheels - thus preventing the bushes from centralising.

I've not really moved the car yet, as it's still the closing stages of the restoration. Thought that the Munroe shocks at the rear might have been at fault, have pumped them up & let them downb again a couple of times, but it has made little difference. Will take the car round the block as soon as I can get her running satisfactorily, as at the moment it has a dud battery & will cut out after a few minutes running....

Ok, not able to take the car out for a run at the moment, but here is the situation.
The front end is sitting quite low at the drivers side, the rear end is sitting very high at the passenger side. Have checked the springs at the back to see if they have twisted round, they have not. now would it be more likely the rear shocks or the front shocks that have gone? Or would it be the springs?

Have tried bouncing the rear of the car up & don a few times, to no avail. Do seem to recall that the car was relatively level when I bought it though! Maybe I will try to get her running next week & see if I can get her up & down the street a few times to see if the springs will settle then...

Suspension update!
Have replaced all the springs & dampers on the car, front and rear, but the car is still sitting higher on the passenger side, have taken the car for a quick run round the block, but that doesn't seem to have changed anything.
I am assuming that the MOT guys will look on this as a bad thing & fail the car??

Chris, if there is a difference between the two rear springs then by swapping them, the problem should shift to the other side.

Same argument with the dampers.

I have been told that the watts linkage can be fitted incorrectly. Check yours against the pictures in the workshop manuals (etc) or another car.



I seem to remember that my trailing arms (or their front brackets) had a slight vertical offset - check if yours do and if so that they are matching side for side.

Ok, will try swapping the rear springs round, they looked the same when I put them on though!