REAR shock absorber GV 2008

[maurice]

Grand Vitara 2008 (Petrol)

When parked, the GV sinks a little bit through the rear shock absorbers.
At the front: no problem.

Is this normal, because I want to tow a caravan...?


Thanks voor the possible responses.
Maurice.

[Casey67]

I don't think it should/could sink when parked anymore than when it's on the go. Before I RR lifted mine, I noticed that the wheel-top to fender gap looked strangely less in the back than in the front (2009 V6). Now they look roughly even.

If you're trailering (caravan) a lot, you might want to look into the Air-Lift 1000 system to combat any load sag. I added this to mine for about $100 US and it seems to work well when I fill up the back with camping gear. The model# for the 2006+ GV's is #60739 (Same as Toyota Prius). There is a thread that talks about them on the newgrandvitara dot net forum sticky thread called "Shock Lengths"

[dkguffe]

Originally Posted by maurice

Grand Vitara 2008 (Petrol)

When parked, the GV sinks a little bit through the rear shock absorbers.
At the front: no problem.

Is this normal, because I want to tow a caravan...?


Thanks voor the possible responses.
Maurice.

Is your GV a manual or automatic ?

How did you discover that it sinks ?

I was just wondering if what you see is due to parking brake pull?

When you parked and made the discovery, did you park on a flat surface, or up/down hill ?

If I park nose up hill, and let the car hang off the parking brake, it will LIFT the rear of the car, oppositely, if I park with the nose down hill, it will LOWER the rear of the car a little. This is due to the geometry of the rear suspension assembly..

I dont think the shocks would be to blame for the car height to change if it is over night, the shocks does not carry any load.. they only slows movement.. your springs might sag a little..

[maurice]

> Manual
> After a night the GV sinks (a little)
> Without parking brake
> On flat surface

Its only a little (aprox. 1 inch at the top), but I'am a bit worried when towing a caravan.

[annfan]

The stock rear shocks are pretty simple affairs. If they fail mechanically you should be able to see an obvious oil leak on the outside of the tube. I had one fail soon after delivery and you couldn't miss all the oil.

If the springs have fatigued they will be fatigued all the time, not just after an overnight rest. You don't mention your mileage, maybe the shocks are just worn out. Like I said, they are the minimum required, so they won't last forever....

[dkguffe]

Originally Posted by maurice

> Manual
> After a night the GV sinks (a little)
> Without parking brake
> On flat surface

Its only a little (aprox. 1 inch at the top), but I'am a bit worried when towing a caravan.

I think its just important that you understand the difference between shocks and springs.. Changing the shocks will mean nothing to towing or not.. They will only make the ride harder or softer, not actually change the load capacity..

If you pull the shocks out (which is extremely easy) you will see that the 'lift' provided by the shocks is like 2kg or less. My new shocks does not provide a lift at all, they just stay at whatever length I extend them too..

I'm not surprised if any GV would sag a little in the springs while stationary, I think that's normal. I'll see if I can remember to measure mine next time its parked for the night to see if mine is the same.

[geevee]

I think you can get shocks that have a coil spring on them, which could help for trailer towing. Also, there are air shocks that allow you to adjust the ride height. I have no idea if either is available for the GV.

[maurice]

Originally Posted by dkguffe

I'm not surprised if any GV would sag a little in the springs while stationary, I think that's normal. I'll see if I can remember to measure mine next time its parked for the night to see if mine is the same.

Ok, I'am curious...

Kilometers: 69.000km (+42000 Miles)


Thanks for the replies!
Maurice.

[Tim.LSR]

Hi Maurice,

My GV always 'settles' when I park it. This may or may not be what you are observing.

I stop my vehicle, foot on the brake.
I pull/engage the parking brake.
I shift into neutral.
I release my foot from the brake - the vehicle settles. (*)
I shift into park.
I turn off the engine.

(*) the vehicle settling is due to the suspension 'wind-up' from braking. When I come to a stop, the nose is down a bit and with the brakes on, the suspension isn't allowed to return to normal resting position until the brakes are released.

Putting the transmission into park or into gear and shutting off the engine before releasing the foot brake will almost always create this effect on almost any vehicle, manual or automatic.

In your case, since the vehicle is manual and assuming you put the transmission in gear when you park, the settling could be the clutch slipping over time.

Likely not your issue, just a thought.

[piato]

Hi dkguffe

How did you find the BOSS 12 level adjustable rear shocks. Are realy good????