Suspension refresh

[Smithy111]

Looks like my new car is now officially off the road as arb bushe one side has gone missing (early type suspension) and while checking found it also has a snapped spring! Decided to take this opportunity to completely remove, clean, paint the arms+arb, replace the springs and shocks and all the suspension bushes, ball joint and service the trunnions on both sides of course.

Anything I should look out for or potential problems other than the usual rusted nuts and bolts? (im going to soak the lot in penetrating oil a good few days before i start!)

[silverfrost]

Not such a bad job and will reward you no end in improved handling when you finally get her back together. 

While doing the Arb bushes, remove and check the main large bottom suspension arm bush, 

Also check the actual main bottom arm as the metal can sometimes start to crack over time. 

Check the top arm suspension bushes, If these need replacing now is a good time.   

You can fit the bottom arm bush and the top arm bushes and get them shotblast. 

I find it is easier to fit them before been blast then get them painted afterwards so the paintwork is not damaged in the fitting process. 

Another worthwhile upgrade while you are grafting in that area are fitting SS braided front brake hoses.

Pop some new top ball joints on also as the are very cheap and worth replacing while it is all stripped down, you can even be a spotter and clear coat the bare metal to stop it from rusting lol.

Good luck on the rebuild 

[C43]

If your going to do that lot I you could invest in a press to get the old bushes out and push the new one in but you will need a guide tool. A big vice probably wont do it (as B&C found out when they tried to do the ones in my brothers S2). I got a 12t and it did the job. Also the suspension on the S3 should be zinc passivated, not painted. I am guessing its the same on the S2 but not sure. Not expensive to get done and you can get the studs done at the same time saving some cash (its only what the Lotus suppliers do anyway). I used Northampton plating but obviously that's quite far from you. 

Whilst the dampers are off would be good to check them. If you can't find a dyno to test them on then give them a push / pull by hand and check they at least feel the same as each other. After market ones are not that expensive but personally I think most are pretty poor quality and not the same as the original Lotus ones.

enjoy

C43

[silverfrost]

Very tidy restoration on the front end 

[Smithy111]

I’m replacing all the bushes, top ball joints and trunnion bushes plus dampers and springs. What is the correct damper and spring for an 84 a/c car? Phoned SJ today and they have quoted an adjustable damper? I would prefer oem or are they not available?

[Smithy111]

So the ones they supply are protech dampers, does anyone know the story with these? are they any good? Or is there anywhere you can still get oem from? need to put the order in soon as i want to get it stripped down and done so i can get back to driving it!

[TAR]

I don't think the Lotus dampers are available anymore. There is another thread on here discussing the merits of the post 85 Lotus suspension setup which I think is rather expensive and possibly also now hard to find. It needs some work to make it fit to a pre 85 car. 

Aftermarket dampers are also discussed on a few threads.

Probably not what you want to hear.

 

[Smithy111]

Balls. So what do people normally do with pre 85 cars? Is there anything wrong with the protech dampers and springs? Is that the standard replacement item?

I hear varying reports about ride height issues with different suspension setups or is that just post 85 cars? I wont have the ride height any diff from what it is now (need to measure), id sooner sell the car than ruin the looks as its one thing i dont like about the later cars, the comedy ride height.

[Steve V8]

3 hours ago, Smithy111 said:

So the ones they supply are protech dampers, does anyone know the story with these? are they any good? Or is there anywhere you can still get oem from? need to put the order in soon as i want to get it stripped down and done so i can get back to driving it!

These are the Protech dampers, nice quality, adjustable for damping and ride height. Springs not included. 

[Smithy111]

mines different from the later cars though theres no spring platform on the shock as thats part of the lower arm. Have they been good quality any problems?

[silverfrost]

You can always Order a set of front Protech shocks from Steve at SJs and order your own front road springs from another company to the size and special you want. 

All you need is tone measure the spring height and the internal diameter I. E the size of the hole at the top or bottom of the spring you could measure your old one if you are happy with the ride height or ask Steve .  Also you need the spring rating. 

You can order from einBach or use a company like coilsprings. com who will make you custom springs that are normally designed for motorsport.

Great quality but they will only make 4 for an order so be prepared to do the rears also. Think they used to be about 200 a set ? 

[Smithy111]

But measuring an old spring that may have softened won’t be acurate? Or what spring rates would they need to be? Has anyone got the standard protech and spring from SJ fitted to a pre 85 with a/c? Can you tell me what your front ride heigh is so I can compare to mine as it sits now?

[Steve V8]

7 hours ago, Smithy111 said:

mines different from the later cars though theres no spring platform on the shock as thats part of the lower arm. Have they been good quality any problems?

They look to be good quality, just got them, and not yet fitted so can't really comment on how they perform. 

[Smithy111]

Ok thanks Steve, seem more and more these are the only option for pre 85 cars other than avo/spax which I understand are crap

[drdoom]

Chris,

Where there's a will, there's a way. Your springs have how many miles on? There may be nothing wrong with the springs, and new dampers and bushes in place of tired pieces will greatly smarten up the ride and handling. I agree fully with keeping a smart ride height, which is something not too terribly hard to establish. The formula for calculating spring rate is quite straightforward, from memory it's down to wire diameter, coil wind diameter and number of active coils, should you pursue replacements. I am a long time proponent of Koni dampers, which I have found to be truly on the mark for early Esprit. No experience with Bilstein but they are well endorsed by those who have.

Cheers  

[skiing]

My car (first production S3) has the standard spring (non Air Con) and pro tech's are fitted. Ride height is where I want it (although my car does sit lower than most S3's I have seen possibly due to front end crash damage in the 80s). The issue with the pro-techs is the adjustment knobs contact the lower spring seat and get wrecked. The knobs on mine have been removed but can be adjusted by screw driver. From reading lots of posts on here, the consensus is all after market suspension has different characteristics to the Lotus designed original or Lotus upgraded suspension. My pro-techs are fine (others have been less then happy). However, I would ideally like a lotus developed front shock, hence my posts on the other suspension thread on the subject. I think it comes down to cost. Cheapest /easiest approach will be standard springs and pro-techs on the front. Most expensive will be new lotus upgraded suspension on the front with standard springs (as far as I can see). According to Lotus Esprit World, this will fit (and I believe they derive their information from Lotus). I am tempted to get the new lotus shocks and experiment on that basis. 

[Smithy111]

I have a snapped spring hence my dilemma. I’m leaning towards reusing the old shocks (once I get them off and check their good) and getting just new springs at the moment as nothing seems to have a consistent good report. Can anyone that’s got the very expensive Lotus bilstein kit comment on how they ride?

[drdoom]

If your OEM Armstrong dampers are at all like those taken off my S2 they will be soft on compression and very firm on extension. Hard to imagine any alternative offering much improvement on ride quality, if that's the objective. Upon removal check yours for signs of fluid leakage, perished bushings or obvious physical deformity. If none found and they travel smoothly with consistent resistance through the entire range of travel you're good to re-use. Mine were properly functional after many years and miles in service. 

[andydclements]

I'm one of those that (as Henry states) was less than happy with the Protech solution. Initially the Protech were fine for me but that got worse over time.  It was so bad after c6 months of use that my car changed lane on a 3 lane section of A road, thankfully, I'd then finished passing something so was still in lane 2 when the car moved of its own volition to lane 1. I swapped to the Lotus set-up (which at the time probably cost £400/corner after discount), and loved it. The car was sitting too high at the front, but even so it handled perfectly,and that ride height situation was just due to the springs being too hard for my lighter car (TE car running with SE subframe, and the TE is much lighter).

If you are going to spend the money to replace, then the Lotus solution makes sense, but I can see how it's less logical to make the move if you have dampers that still function.

 

[Smithy111]

Thanks guys, I’m rebushing the whole front end (to start with) anyway so I’ll see how the originals shocks are and if ok reuse them until they fail then I’ll look at the official Lotus kit when I have more money!!

[Smithy111]

Does anyone have a pair of new front springs they will sell me for a non a/c pre 85 turbo esprit? No where has them. SJ can get them but 4 weeks!!

[silverfrost]

Try lotusbits for the Avos and he supplies springs also. 

Saying that, four weeks will give you plenty of time to strip, blast paint or galvanise the all your front suspension ready for your new springs/shocks 

[Smithy111]

Thanks, have just ordered from SJ and will have to be patient!

Another side question, what are opinions on going all poly bushes on the esprit? SJ recommend them over the rubber ones and they are cheaper??

[silverfrost]

Another grey area !   Some folks say poly bushes are way to stiff,  Also some folks say the split 2 pice bushes are bad news which I can understand. 

I prefer the factory bushes although more expensive.

But at the end of the day anything is better than old perished bushes lol.

[Barrykearley]

Be careful on the front top arms. The polys I took off the S4 and replaced with standard ones were absolutely dire