Front suspension overhaul advice please

[Robmsharp]

My front suspension creaks whenever either of the front wings are bounced up and down and theres the occasional creak when either steering, braking or going over uneven terrain. I have no knowledge of this part of the suspension ever being overhauled so I'm considering doing it myself. I've seen on both Rimmers and Paddocks sites that you can buy overhaul kits and I wondered whether anyone on here could offer advice as to 1. what the problem could be caused by and 2. what the quality of these overhaul kits are like (this is asked in light of the generally inferior rubber parts that are supplied these days).
Thanks for any advice given.

[sujitroy]

The kits are cheaper than buying the individual bushes. However, Chris Witor makes a special bush for the lower wish bones. With this bush you can adjust the camber of the front wheels. Some people have said not to use ploy bushes on the drag struts. They are too harsh and can break the other end of the struts. Stag no. 2 has Super PRO bushes all round. It's still not on the road.

Every tom, dick, and harry is making ploy bushes so I don't know which ones to avoid.
Sujit

[StagJonno]

Chris Witor also sells Superflex polybushes - heard good things about these though don't have personal experience. Got polybushes on mine but they were put on by a PO and I have no records.

[stag8manod]

I have Supeflexed polybushed all my rear suspension including a pair of adjustable radius arms I built which pivot from the diff cover to the rear of the trailing arms. The setup is very firm but the car corners level and stable. The car also has CV axles. The front will be polybushed when the time comes.
Cheers Ian A

[DJT]

I fitted Superflex (purple) to my first Stag. All bushes except the big ones at the sill ends of the rear subframe and the strut tops. My current Stag came with the same setup when I bought it in 2008. No issues in the, roughly, 40,000 miles on Stag 1 and 33,000 miles on Stag 2.

[mole42]

I've been using Witor's Superflex for 30 years, always reliable unlike new rubber bushes.

I would not buy a kit of parts but rather select the parts I need. I was lucky at Stoneleigh and found some NOS top suspension mounts to replace the Indian ones which are are rubbish, I have Superflexed the radius arms, the drag struts, the anti-roll bar mounts and the rack mounts. I also have ball-jointed roll bar links which are even better than the Superflexed ones.

You will need to replace the damper struts which can be a difficult job if they are original since the damper was part of the tube, not a seperate item inside the tube. Probably best to buy replacement units.

Don't forget to set the camber with the 0.004" and 0.010" shims....

Richard

[jbuckl]

Don’t expect dimmers springs to fit. X2 recent members had fitment issues.

[Robmsharp]

Thanks for all the replies, Jbukl can you recommend any supplier that can supply the correct springs should they need replacing?

[ianfox]

Don’t expect dimmers springs to fit. X2 recent members had fitment issues.

I'm assuming you mean Rimmers? What was the issue? I've just installed the LH kit in my Mk2 and didn't have any problems. Will do the RH tomorrow.

[Lingen]

Rob.
Should the springs need replacing, I think you will find that SOC Spares have ones that will maintain the correct ride height. Having said that, I think it is unlikely that yours have failed. The originals seem to have been very well made, and I know many owners whose 40+ year old springs are still fine.
Mike.

[jbuckl]

Thanks for all the replies, Jbukl can you recommend any supplier that can supply the correct springs should they need replacing?

Chris witor progressives or wins international.
I’m currently running on paddocks -1” lower.
other sources seem to be potentially problematic.

[dasadrew]

The kits are cheaper than buying the individual bushes. However, Chris Witor makes a special bush for the lower wish bones. With this bush you can adjust the camber of the front wheels. Some people have said not to use ploy bushes on the drag struts. They are too harsh and can break the other end of the struts. Stag no. 2 has Super PRO bushes all round. It's still not on the road.

Every tom, dick, and harry is making ploy bushes so I don't know which ones to avoid.
Sujit

You've mentioned this camber changing bush before, but I can't for the life of me find it on his Stag list on the website. Can you post a link or a part number?

[nigele]

You've mentioned this camber changing bush before, but I can't for the life of me find it on his Stag list on the website. Can you post a link or a part number?

Camber and caster kits listed on https://www.superflex.co.uk/products.php?cat=372

[dasadrew]

Great! No wonder I couldn't find it on the Chris Witor site.

Thanks!