unlowering suspension!

[alectroll]

hi all, advise needed really. i've got a van which has been lowered then had a conversion put in it which has made the van EXTEREMELY low! Subsequently the rear wheel arches have now developed bubbles in the paint fron the ingress of water, i've had a look at the rear springs and they appear to have a rubber gag (kinky!) internal of the spring which makes the top 2/3 of the spring appear completely solid. Any advise is welcome (be gentle please!!!!!)

[waycar8]

hmmn, are you sure they arnt for towing?, i think they are called spring assisters, some people have them in to stiffen up the suspension when towing, and just for better road handling in some cases

if you dont want them just take them out

[alectroll]

i've just seen an article about the spring assisters, not that i'm afaraid! these look like a small round solid rubber block thats been coiled into the spring basically squashingthe top part to make it solid!

[helen&tony]

Hi
These spring devices....are they the type that fit in between the coils, and spiral round with the spring itself?..if so they are "Grayston" , or similar ,spring assisters..I have them on mine for towing. I think that they are not too good to leave in, as they more or less stop the part of the spring they sit in from working, and make the rest of the spring work harder, and can eventually lead to spring failure....the suppliers will disagree, but i've seen evidence of failure. Having said that,I've left mine in, as the roads here are atrocious, and they do stop bottoming out when hitting potholes!!!
Cheers
Helen

[alectroll]

they sound like the ones fitted to mine, is it fairly easy to take them out?

[helen&tony]

Hi
IF..they are the same thing, just jack the car up, take the wheel off, and prise the lower piece of the spiral out, and just unwind them from the spring. Getting them in is like wresting with a bag of eels....I watched our mechanic fitting them!!!
Cheers
Helen

[alectroll]

ok ta, will try a bit of wrestling over the weekend then!!

[trevd01]

A few questions:

If your van is lowered and the wheels hitting the wheel-arches, surely this will be made worse by removing the spring assisters (i.e. they are means to stiffen the suspension and stop it bottoming so easily)?

Have you got a conversion plus a full set of seats? Otherwise a lightweight ply-based conversion is usually lighter than the seats removed. Or is the conversion home-made out of chipboard or MDF and hence very heavy?

[waycar8]

i had some Graystone ones on my old focus, and after a couple of years had to replace the rear springs because the springs they had snaped around where the assisters were situated , which gave a look and fell of beeing lowered so the same may have happened to yours

[alectroll]

hi, the wheels aren't hitting the wheel arches at all but it is very obvious that its been lowered. the top 2/3 of the spring might as well be a solid peice of tube as they're that well squashed up! the conversion inside has been done professionally and has only got the rear 2 seats still in place.

any advice would be appreciated.

[trevd01]

Subsequently the rear wheel arches have now developed bubbles in the paint fron the ingress of water

That's why I thought the wheels were hitting the arches

[mayk19]

this is a really old thread but sounds exactly like the problem I have... I need to re-higher my suspension... how do I get Bongo springs ?

[alectroll]

did you have any luck with information to unlower your suspension???
try looking on http://www.tewnga.co.uk and typing in mazda bongo spares, they seem to have a few bits and bobs that might be useful.

[mayk19]

Thanks, I've bought a set of standard springs off a Bongo that was being broken, And a set of airbags to go inside the rear ones. There being fitted today, so will see if it resolves my issue.

[alectroll]

let me know how you get on please as i've got to do exactly the same to mine!!!