Gaz shocks - adjusting rear ride height
Discussion
Need to give myself tiny bit more ground clearance at the rear, I have the spanner to adjust the shock ride height, my questions are:
1. Can this be done with car on the ground with wheels on or can you only get to adjusters jacked with wheels off?
2. Do the height adjustment rings just turn or is it ratcheted so you can count the clicks?
3. How critical is getting the height equal on both sides, is it a tape measure job to the nearest couple of millimetres or does one need professional alignment gear?
1. Can this be done with car on the ground with wheels on or can you only get to adjusters jacked with wheels off?
2. Do the height adjustment rings just turn or is it ratcheted so you can count the clicks?
3. How critical is getting the height equal on both sides, is it a tape measure job to the nearest couple of millimetres or does one need professional alignment gear?
Really you need to jack the car up, because you will be using the adjusters to lift the car, but I guess you can try first.
The adusters arent ratcheted. use the adjuster that is adjacent to the spring ro raise the height, i.e you tighten it to push the spring up, then use the lower ring to lock it in place.
Say you want to raise the car 1/2".
1. Before adusting them Use a tape measure and measure the distance from the top of the TOP ring to a suitable reference point below the spring.
2. Tighten it up to the required amount, i.e the measurement you took in step 1, plus 1/2"
3. Repeat for the other side.
4. With the car back off the jacks, using a tape measure check that the hight is equal on both sides, measure from the rear jacking point on the outer chassis rail. And if you want to be really clever, and you mainly drive with just you in the car, get someone else to measure the height while you are sat in the car.
Once you get the right hight, tighten the lower ring to up to the top ring to lock it.
Incidentally out of interest what specs are your Gaz's? Mine are Front 10"x400lbs and rear 10"x360 (you should have a little sticker on them)
The adusters arent ratcheted. use the adjuster that is adjacent to the spring ro raise the height, i.e you tighten it to push the spring up, then use the lower ring to lock it in place.
Say you want to raise the car 1/2".
1. Before adusting them Use a tape measure and measure the distance from the top of the TOP ring to a suitable reference point below the spring.
2. Tighten it up to the required amount, i.e the measurement you took in step 1, plus 1/2"
3. Repeat for the other side.
4. With the car back off the jacks, using a tape measure check that the hight is equal on both sides, measure from the rear jacking point on the outer chassis rail. And if you want to be really clever, and you mainly drive with just you in the car, get someone else to measure the height while you are sat in the car.
Once you get the right hight, tighten the lower ring to up to the top ring to lock it.
Incidentally out of interest what specs are your Gaz's? Mine are Front 10"x400lbs and rear 10"x360 (you should have a little sticker on them)
jensena said:
Really you need to jack the car up, because you will be using the adjusters to lift the car, but I guess you can try first.
The adusters arent ratcheted. use the adjuster that is adjacent to the spring ro raise the height, i.e you tighten it to push the spring up, then use the lower ring to lock it in place.
Say you want to raise the car 1/2".
1. Before adusting them Use a tape measure and measure the distance from the top of the TOP ring to a suitable reference point below the spring.
2. Tighten it up to the required amount, i.e the measurement you took in step 1, plus 1/2"
3. Repeat for the other side.
4. With the car back off the jacks, using a tape measure check that the hight is equal on both sides, measure from the rear jacking point on the outer chassis rail. And if you want to be really clever, and you mainly drive with just you in the car, get someone else to measure the height while you are sat in the car.
Once you get the right hight, tighten the lower ring to up to the top ring to lock it.
Incidentally out of interest what specs are your Gaz's? Mine are Front 10"x400lbs and rear 10"x360 (you should have a little sticker on them)
The adusters arent ratcheted. use the adjuster that is adjacent to the spring ro raise the height, i.e you tighten it to push the spring up, then use the lower ring to lock it in place.
Say you want to raise the car 1/2".
1. Before adusting them Use a tape measure and measure the distance from the top of the TOP ring to a suitable reference point below the spring.
2. Tighten it up to the required amount, i.e the measurement you took in step 1, plus 1/2"
3. Repeat for the other side.
4. With the car back off the jacks, using a tape measure check that the hight is equal on both sides, measure from the rear jacking point on the outer chassis rail. And if you want to be really clever, and you mainly drive with just you in the car, get someone else to measure the height while you are sat in the car.
Once you get the right hight, tighten the lower ring to up to the top ring to lock it.
Incidentally out of interest what specs are your Gaz's? Mine are Front 10"x400lbs and rear 10"x360 (you should have a little sticker on them)
Excellent, thanks for the info. Jensena, I will let you know what the spring rates are when I get round to doing the job.
Prepare for a slagging off but here is how I do it for ease.
Assuming I am happy with the front ride height, I measure the front and rear of the outriggers to the ground by the fishplates on each corner on a level surface and work out how much higher I want the rears to be, bearing in mind I want the back to be 10mm higher than the front.
I then lift the car and remove the wheels and measure from the underside of the locking ring to the end of the thread and wind it up by the ammount I have calculated, replace the wheels, drop it down and check measure.
This method takes no account of the weight of driver/passengers or ammount of fuel in the tank but if you generally drive solo you may wish to get into the car and get a friend to measure the heights for you and have half a tank of fuel for an average weight.
Assuming I am happy with the front ride height, I measure the front and rear of the outriggers to the ground by the fishplates on each corner on a level surface and work out how much higher I want the rears to be, bearing in mind I want the back to be 10mm higher than the front.
I then lift the car and remove the wheels and measure from the underside of the locking ring to the end of the thread and wind it up by the ammount I have calculated, replace the wheels, drop it down and check measure.
This method takes no account of the weight of driver/passengers or ammount of fuel in the tank but if you generally drive solo you may wish to get into the car and get a friend to measure the heights for you and have half a tank of fuel for an average weight.
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