Club 80-90 Forums

is it the shocks or the rubber bushes that make turning corners feel all squishy and like the vans going to fall over?

ALLY

You should know what bad or knackered shocks are like, if you don't its time to learn (bouncy, lack of damping in pitch) ... but I'd suggest this 'feel' might well be your front radiius arm bushes, and maybe the arb bushes... of course its almost a given that its several things adding up. Let someone drive it who has some real vehicle test/development driving experience if you can find one ... , usually the best way of finding the root casue is to change the part and see if its any better, partic. with metalatsic and rubber bushes.

if its leaning a lot more than normal I would inspect the anti roll bar on the front, the rubber bushes perish ans the bottom parts rust and seize, then they can snap the links..
but it could be any of the suspension bushes.. not safe to keep driving until someone has had a look and said whats a fault.. the rubbers are not in there for fun and actually hold things in place, if you have an accident and the police inspect it and find a major fault.. you are in the pooh!!!

hmm - its just passed its MOT so sureley he would have spotted faulty bushes? They do look a bit tatty mind you.

He might have spotted dodgy arb bushes, then again he might not... you cannot rely on an MOT to determine the condition of your vehicle, specially from a wear and tear point of view. Its a basic safety compliance test, but intended to be a cursory examination and non-destructive. There's only so far they can go and the majority is a visual check. On a sycnro for instance with its under-run protecting plates and bars, theres a lot that will never be seen at MOT time, some steering UJs for instance.

Certainly, the front radius arm bushes usually look fine, but take them apart and you often find the steel sleeve corroded to a shell and the rubber torn up correspondingly inside.

Old/worn shockers are usually easy to detect by oil leaks and driving behaviour, though one has to know the vehicle's natural habits, a 2 ton T25 is going to pitch about more than a Porsche, but should still damp itself in 1 1/2 cycles

My anti roll bar end link broke a few months ago. I only noticed because the van made horrid cruching noises when turning. My whole anti roll bar now lives behind the garage - handles just as well as before. But i will be putting it back on soon - parts pending.

handles just as well as before

splendiferously misleading

Some take them off when off-roading for a bit more articulation and suppleness, but whilst it may not make as much difference as some might think, it not only keeps the vehicle more level when cornering and hence more comfortable, but is quite a stabilising influence at the limit - i.e. it ensures that understeer is the the final outcome when pushing it hard, not oversteer, which is the more dangerous of the two for most drivers and circumstances.