Suspension problem?

[Tribal Chestnut]

Looks like I need to refresh the suspension on my Mk1 S Special.

My car was making a sodding awful noise on the passenger side whenever it went over any sort of undulation in the road. This has been temporarily solved with a drop of lube, however it also pulls ever so slightly to the left, so my current thinking is that I refresh the shocks/springs & bushes on the front, before getting it professionally aligned.

I'm quite happy with the Bilsteins fitted, they are a little firm, but I've no big issue & am quite happy with the way it handles. The car has done about 65k, so perhaps I should look to replace the rear components too?

I wouldn't mind embarking on a track day or two which I imagine the Bilsteins will cope with nicely - anyone have a contrary opinion? Why?

Where should I look to get a like for like replacement or better alternative?

Cheers

TC

[Tribal Chestnut]

Mods, perhaps if you are going to change the thread title to something less crude, you could change it to something helpful like 'suspension problem'?

[Xenocide]

I'm not sure the billies can be refurbed can they? You might be better off going for some new shocks if they're really shagged.

Poly bushes up front and an alignment will show up if the shocks are knackered so might be worth doing it once.

One thread with all these questions would be fine, incidentally.

[Tribal Chestnut]

Maybe bushes first then, see if that cures it, thanks.

Incidentally, one thread would have lessened my scope for such juvenile silliness, & on a more pratical note might have initially resulted in one or two q's being overlooked.

[towelie]

got the same problem on my s special at the moment, pretty sure its the bushes(if i lube them the squaking goes away), but think the shocks are also knoackered seem to have lost quite a bit of ride height since buying the car.. have to go really slow over speed bumps so the splitter and undertray don't hit.. looking at the cost of bushes and coilovers.. sends a shudder down my spine.. circa £300 for bushes then around £400 to 500 for coilovers plus the expense of fitting.. and alignment.. wishing i had bought a modified car to start with, but spent too much money on my car now to consider selling and buying one!

[MX-5 Lazza]

What sort of noise are you getting and what did you lube to get rid of it?

[Tribal Chestnut]

towelie said:

got the same problem on my s special at the moment, pretty sure its the bushes(if i lube them the squaking goes away), but think the shocks are also knoackered seem to have lost quite a bit of ride height since buying the car.. have to go really slow over speed bumps so the splitter and undertray don't hit.. looking at the cost of bushes and coilovers.. sends a shudder down my spine.. circa £300 for bushes then around £400 to 500 for coilovers plus the expense of fitting.. and alignment.. wishing i had bought a modified car to start with, but spent too much money on my car now to consider selling and buying one!

I know the feeling. Saw an estimate at 5hrs per corner for the bushes, so for me that would be at least 24hrs. Definitely a job for someone with the right tools & a bit of knowledge (ie not me). If new bushes & an alignment don't fix it then it's new shocks, but I'll probably fit those myself.

[Tribal Chestnut]

MX-5 Lazza said:

What sort of noise are you getting and what did you lube to get rid of it?

Squeaks & groans, like an old bed. Lubing the shock bushes & the shock itself seemed to have cured the noise (for now).

[towelie]

Tribal Chestnut said:

Squeaks & groans, like an old bed. Lubing the shock bushes & the shock itself seemed to have cured the noise (for now).

Yer what lube did you use? I used spray grease and it worked really well for a good 5 months, but they've started squeaking again! put silicone spray on it atm.. seems to be working ok for now..

[Tribal Chestnut]

towelie said:

Yer what lube did you use? I used spray grease and it worked really well for a good 5 months, but they've started squeaking again! put silicone spray on it atm.. seems to be working ok for now..

Just grabbed my trusty old tin of multi-purpose bike lube from the cupboard. Will look at ordering some bushes in a few weeks after I've been away.

[Mark Benson]

Tribal Chestnut said:

I know the feeling. Saw an estimate at 5hrs per corner for the bushes, so for me that would be at least 24hrs. Definitely a job for someone with the right tools & a bit of knowledge (ie not me).

I'm planning to do mine at some point, but I've decided to buy a set of wishbones from a breaker, do the bushes at my leisure, swap over the wishbones when I'm done and sell on the spare set I'll end up with.
That way I can take my time (and find out which ones need a press to get them out so I can take them to a local place all at once).