Wobbly rear end
Discussion
Over the past few weeks the 350i has been suffering from a distinctly loose feeling at the rear end. After checking the wheel bearings I was starting to suspect some bushes - but then I had a look underneath and noticed that one of the packing rubbers between the boot and the chassis had disappeared.
Jacking up the body a bit under the boot corner was quite a revelation - the body could be lifted by almost an inch! So I jacked it up and undid the mounting bolt on that side of the boot floor. A suitable piece of replacement rubber was cut off an old Yokohama AVS which was pretty low on tread. A 10mm wood drill made a suitable hole.
After putting the new packing rubber in the body sits a bit more horizontal. And a quick test drive reveals that the looseness is much improved. It's amazing how much stiffness the fibreglass tub adds to the chassis when it's bolted down properly. The other thing I learned is that you can jack up the car using the boot floor - as long as you use some suitable wood to spread the load.
>> Edited by adam quantrill on Monday 30th January 11:38
Jacking up the body a bit under the boot corner was quite a revelation - the body could be lifted by almost an inch! So I jacked it up and undid the mounting bolt on that side of the boot floor. A suitable piece of replacement rubber was cut off an old Yokohama AVS which was pretty low on tread. A 10mm wood drill made a suitable hole.
After putting the new packing rubber in the body sits a bit more horizontal. And a quick test drive reveals that the looseness is much improved. It's amazing how much stiffness the fibreglass tub adds to the chassis when it's bolted down properly. The other thing I learned is that you can jack up the car using the boot floor - as long as you use some suitable wood to spread the load.
>> Edited by adam quantrill on Monday 30th January 11:38
Lifting the wedge at the back, I use the U-profile. Problem it is just located after the silencer under the boot. This silencer is probably a continental spec, and plan to lose it when a stainless steel exhaust will be fitted (promise myself every year, and now for 4 years).
On the handling at the rear: if bushes are ok, the springs and shocks could normally cause unsettled back ends - if not the dif-carrier that has broken (always checking mine when checking out the chassis). But Adam, probably you have replaced springs and shocks in the past already. Simple cure sometimes is: proper tyres and proper tyre pressure (not that I know off this based on own experience, ahum).
Rob
On the handling at the rear: if bushes are ok, the springs and shocks could normally cause unsettled back ends - if not the dif-carrier that has broken (always checking mine when checking out the chassis). But Adam, probably you have replaced springs and shocks in the past already. Simple cure sometimes is: proper tyres and proper tyre pressure (not that I know off this based on own experience, ahum).
Rob
When I lifted the body on mine it became aparent that it's possible to alter the door shut lines by altering the height of the body at the back. On a drop head with the roof off and the doors open the front and back sections are only joined by two small sections of fiberglass at the bottom rear of the doors. Personally if I was jacking the rear up I would only do it with both doors shut and roof on. I suspect that the body settling (sinking) into the mounting rubbers is responsible for many a door not shutting properly.
SEvans said:
When I lifted the body on mine it became aparent that it's possible to alter the door shut lines by altering the height of the body at the back. On a drop head with the roof off and the doors open the front and back sections are only joined by two small sections of fiberglass at the bottom rear of the doors. Personally if I was jacking the rear up I would only do it with both doors shut and roof on. I suspect that the body settling (sinking) into the mounting rubbers is responsible for many a door not shutting properly.
Oh aye. I've even seen steel-shelled cars where the doors didn't close properly if you opened them while one side or corner was jacked-up...
SEvans said:
I suspect that the body settling (sinking) into the mounting rubbers is responsible for many a door not shutting properly.
Talking to Paul from Austec, apparently this is/was a very common problem, especially with the Kevlar bodies SEAC's. I saw a 280i which was in for repair with a gap of about 30mm or so at the top of the door where the rear had sunk over the rear mounting.
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