sporttrack poor ride on road

Submitted by crosser on

Forum: 

hi ive got a 94 /sport track only use at weekends really fot towing my bike.
but i have noticed when i drive it with out the trailer in tow the ride is really poor throwing me about like a pea on a drum,now it has a ride controle on the dash with three setings but they all just seem the same i have tried operating the switch while the car is stationary and it sounds like you can hear a servo operating but thats about it?
any ideas Unknw are they a rough ride and thats just it or does my suzzy need looking at
any recomended up grade Unknw bearing in mind its low use / cost

Sportrak suspension

Submitted by sportrakwiltshire on

The original suspension is not very good.

Even with it set to soft, I can feel all the bumps in the road.

In the near future I'm planning to fit new shocks.

Try www.explorerprocomp.co.uk.

They sell gas shocks for around £35 each, which will greatly improve the ride.

ROUGH RIDE

Submitted by oldminiman on

Hi

The 3 stage dampers are not that good and are expensive items to replace. The noise you hear on operatiOn the swich are Small motors on top of each damper that turn the tops to set the damper for hard , Normal or soft. Mine blew up spilling their contents everwhere. I suspect they ceased and twisted when I turned the adjuster breaking te damper at the lowest point. I replaced them with non adjuster type MILNER off road and they are good. It is very difficult to remove the adjusters in one peice as the screwscorrode and shear, ness you are lucky.

Also check the condition of your leaf springs for cracks and sagging, that is if the back of the car sits low.

Either may be causing your problem of rebounding causing a harsh ride.

OLDMINIMAN

M J Young

Sporty towing problem

Submitted by Paul Turner on

Hi,
Does the Sportrak handle ok solo?
If so, the problem could be due to the trailer being "tail heavy". Have you got the correct noseweight on the hitch, it makes a big difference. I've pulled a small caravan with a Sportrak a few years ago and with everything correctly loaded it handled ok.

Slomoshun

bumpy ride

Submitted by oldminiman on

A bumpy ride without a trailer , to me indicates poor shock absorbers. I had adjustables on the rear of mine and you could notice the difference in the 3 modes. The adjusters are on top of the shockers and accesible by removing a plate beneath each rear seat.

I burst one of mine so had to replace them and could only get non adjusting H/Duty gas replacements from Milner off Road. (THEY ARE BETTER ALL ROUND) The servo is in fact a small motor that turns the top spidle of the Sh. Abs. to either harden or soften the ride. The are virtually impossible to remove in tact so unless they come with the shockers in place forget them and use normal H/D replacements. I think getting new ones may be an impossibility at a fair price unless you chance one being broken, however, you could end up no better off. The fronts will still work but the H/Duty replacements will be better for both towing and road use. Also check the rear leaf springs, have they flattened out?, does the car rear sit low?, are the bushes ok?, are the chassis attachment areas corroded and allowing the shackles to move about when not under load, no trailer on. The trailer will have the effect of placing pressure on the rear and elliminating any slack movement for a time. Once the weight is removed then the slack play will show up in the ride. Bouncy ride usually indicates knackred shocks but check the rest before buying..

Hope this helps plus of course the previous comment about nose weight on the hitch.

OLDMINIMAN

M J Young

mmm ok sounds like i might

Submitted by bradley on

mmm ok sounds like i might have the same if not simular problem. don't get any noise whe i turn switch so that prob don't work but the back looks low and does bounce about like tigger (sorry couldn't think of anything else!). is this a job a complete novice can do or will it need to be done in a garage Unknw