Rear suspension - car seems to be higher off the ground?
01-30-18, 11:19 PM
#1
Rookie
Thread Starter
Rear suspension - car seems to be higher off the ground?
Hello everyone!
Well this may seem weird but my ES '97 seems to be a bit unbalanced when it comes to vehicle height.
The rear is much higher than the front of the car rather than being straight? aligned? unsure of the word here...
But the best I can describe it, the rear end of the car seems to be raised higher than the front. The car is on a stock suspension set up - just thinking is this normal?
Well this may seem weird but my ES '97 seems to be a bit unbalanced when it comes to vehicle height.
The rear is much higher than the front of the car rather than being straight? aligned? unsure of the word here...
But the best I can describe it, the rear end of the car seems to be raised higher than the front. The car is on a stock suspension set up - just thinking is this normal?
01-31-18, 12:04 AM
#2
Picture? It’s free...
Most cars will have a slight forward rake. Compare yours to stock pictures, or post a photo to let us help you. Does it feel unbalanced when driving?
Welcome; as-salamu alaykum.
Most cars will have a slight forward rake. Compare yours to stock pictures, or post a photo to let us help you. Does it feel unbalanced when driving?
Welcome; as-salamu alaykum.
01-31-18, 05:50 AM
#3
Dysfunctional Veteran
It could be that someone replaced only the rear struts before you bought it. The rear will ride higher in that case because as cars age, the springs on the struts will sag and the cars will sit lower. Its very gradual so we don't ever notice, until we put struts on and holy crap. I always replace struts in sets of 4 because if one is bad, they all are.
It could also be that the front struts have collapsed (springs do break sometimes), or it could also be that the car has been in an accident and repaired with incorrect, or not factory parts. Some aftermarket "ready-strut" assemblies you can buy are not set to a factory ride height. They will usually settle 1-2" after 6-12 months of regular driving.
It could also be that the front struts have collapsed (springs do break sometimes), or it could also be that the car has been in an accident and repaired with incorrect, or not factory parts. Some aftermarket "ready-strut" assemblies you can buy are not set to a factory ride height. They will usually settle 1-2" after 6-12 months of regular driving.
02-01-18, 02:02 AM
#4
Driver School Candidate
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: WA
Posts: 2
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Uneven ride height.
Army of One makes extremely good points. I would throw a little garnish on his expertise by adding a quick personal anecdote. An ES 300 that I have recently taken control of has been in the family for 19 years. Looking back at all the service records, I found only one occasion where the suspension was addressed. ....and apparently, all that was replaced at the time were the front components.
So...here I am with a 22 year old car with rear suspension that is beyond garbage. The peculiar thing is- the ride height is similar to your car, ALISC400. The springs on my car must be fantastic, as they're the only things holding that tail up! The point here is that in not all circumstances does a vehicle system have to be improperly fooled with for something odd to occur. The more one knows about a car up front, the better equipped one is to make a sound diagnosis.
So...here I am with a 22 year old car with rear suspension that is beyond garbage. The peculiar thing is- the ride height is similar to your car, ALISC400. The springs on my car must be fantastic, as they're the only things holding that tail up! The point here is that in not all circumstances does a vehicle system have to be improperly fooled with for something odd to occur. The more one knows about a car up front, the better equipped one is to make a sound diagnosis.
04-02-18, 12:12 AM
#5
Rookie
Thread Starter
It could be that someone replaced only the rear struts before you bought it. The rear will ride higher in that case because as cars age, the springs on the struts will sag and the cars will sit lower. Its very gradual so we don't ever notice, until we put struts on and holy crap. I always replace struts in sets of 4 because if one is bad, they all are.
It could also be that the front struts have collapsed (springs do break sometimes), or it could also be that the car has been in an accident and repaired with incorrect, or not factory parts. Some aftermarket "ready-strut" assemblies you can buy are not set to a factory ride height. They will usually settle 1-2" after 6-12 months of regular driving.
It could also be that the front struts have collapsed (springs do break sometimes), or it could also be that the car has been in an accident and repaired with incorrect, or not factory parts. Some aftermarket "ready-strut" assemblies you can buy are not set to a factory ride height. They will usually settle 1-2" after 6-12 months of regular driving.
I replaced the springs which were much more tougher and used to push the rear end much higher than the front. I actually also replaced the struts on all four and I feel a better ride now. Before it used to bounce around a bit but on bumps/speed breakers, it used to dive and had difficulty to rise immediately? Weird... New struts/shocks and rear springs... the car now sits properly and feels a bit more sturdy! Front springs are original and I've noticed a little sag (for its age) and I'll change that out shortly if I have the time.
Army of One makes extremely good points. I would throw a little garnish on his expertise by adding a quick personal anecdote. An ES 300 that I have recently taken control of has been in the family for 19 years. Looking back at all the service records, I found only one occasion where the suspension was addressed. ....and apparently, all that was replaced at the time were the front components.
So...here I am with a 22 year old car with rear suspension that is beyond garbage. The peculiar thing is- the ride height is similar to your car, ALISC400. The springs on my car must be fantastic, as they're the only things holding that tail up! The point here is that in not all circumstances does a vehicle system have to be improperly fooled with for something odd to occur. The more one knows about a car up front, the better equipped one is to make a sound diagnosis.
So...here I am with a 22 year old car with rear suspension that is beyond garbage. The peculiar thing is- the ride height is similar to your car, ALISC400. The springs on my car must be fantastic, as they're the only things holding that tail up! The point here is that in not all circumstances does a vehicle system have to be improperly fooled with for something odd to occur. The more one knows about a car up front, the better equipped one is to make a sound diagnosis.
I added IS300 wheels to the ES and noticed the back wheel would slightly touch the shock/suspension when turning or braking hard. There was this slight grinding noise and I couldn't for the life of me figure what it was until I took the wheel off and noticed a shiny metal scrape on the suspension area... My fault, lack of spacers!!! I got some spacers and now the car even corners better than before. Had to do some fine tuning to get it right especially with OEM springs now returning the car height back to normal... but the great news is all I require now is alignment and I'm good to go!!! The shocks were bad but those springs were the main issue, glad it has been sorted.
Sorry for the late reply to everyone. Just been busy with work and planning to buy a new car soon!!!During driving, it would be okay - the alignment is off yet under cornering and braking is where the issues would be found. Cornering:when taking a medium to extreme turn, the rear would shake a bit (fault recorded in the reply above) but what was worse was when someone would sit in the back, the car felt like it was not centered? If that makes any sense. It felt all over the place under load and I thought maybe that is something to do with the actual shocks/struts? Braking: this was a dangerous thing as under heavy braking the car would judder from the rear but the front did not feel great either. The front, you'd feel the car veer off ever so slightly (this helped with NEW tires that I installed) however the culprit was the IS300 rims with no spacers + some bad shocks. Brake pad wear was fine and even the brakes themselves were solid. I kept thinking maybe its the tire balancing that is off or maybe the car is just getting old and I'll never find that reason. Lucky for me!
Next time I will take pictures which would be easier
The car now feels a bit more in control but a dream when braking. No more judder, no more weird squeaks! Cornering, before I used to hear tires squeal cause I had bad ones, now I just feel the steering judder a bit but I feel thats the alignment as it seems to be getting worse. Hopefully new bushings and alignment will solve this.Again apologies to everyone for the late response but I greatly appreciate the help!
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post