subysouth Posted December 7, 2016 Share Posted December 7, 2016 This is in reference to a 2007 Outback XT but I posted it here due to higher traffic. I am in the midst of trying to sort a height issue with the rear coilovers on my car and in that process a question came up. Why is my rear suspension not dropping when my rear strut/shock assemblies are removed and the swaybar is completely detached? In fact the opposite of dropping is occurring. The unladen suspension is lifting under fairly remarkable pressure when the strut assemblies are removed. I have a suspicion here as I have seen something similar before but I wanted to see if there was some suspension magic I am ignorant to in play. Thanks ss Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitetiger Posted December 7, 2016 Share Posted December 7, 2016 your rear multi-link bushings are tightened up when the car is sitting on the ground so they are not under preload stress. if you were to loosen up the bolts for the upper and lower control arms, the suspension would then drop as expected. if you do this, make sure you re-tighten them up with the suspension properly compressed at ride height. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subysouth Posted December 7, 2016 Author Share Posted December 7, 2016 your rear multi-link bushings are tightened up when the car is sitting on the ground so they are not under preload stress. if you were to loosen up the bolts for the upper and lower control arms, the suspension would then drop as expected. if you do this, make sure you re-tighten them up with the suspension properly compressed at ride height. Thanks for the reply, so the bushings themselves are acting as dampening members as well in a specific and limited range associated with where they are tightened down? ss Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitetiger Posted December 7, 2016 Share Posted December 7, 2016 yes. the inner metal sleeve does not move, but the outer does with the arm, and the rubber between them acts kinda like a damping spring. when the car is sitting at static ride height the rubber should not be loaded in any direction. so when you jack up the car, the spring pushed the arms down, twisting the rubber. when you unbolt the shock/spring assembly, the arms snap back to their static position. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subysouth Posted December 8, 2016 Author Share Posted December 8, 2016 yes. the inner metal sleeve does not move, but the outer does with the arm, and the rubber between them acts kinda like a damping spring. when the car is sitting at static ride height the rubber should not be loaded in any direction. so when you jack up the car, the spring pushed the arms down, twisting the rubber. when you unbolt the shock/spring assembly, the arms snap back to their static position. Gotcha - so if I am counting right that is 7 points that need to be loosened and re-tightened at standard ride height? ss Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitetiger Posted December 8, 2016 Share Posted December 8, 2016 yes, if you are changing your ride height, its best to do that to minimize bushing wear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subysouth Posted December 9, 2016 Author Share Posted December 9, 2016 Thank you much ss Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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