Front End Bottoming out

[jjorge]

Where I live they have a lot of drainage dips in the road. If I drive over them even at 25 mph, sometime the front end bottoms out. Not sure what is hitting, Doesn't seem to be the tires hitting the fender. After reading some of the posts about that I checked the rubber bumpers next to the springs and saw that one is missing, but it didnt look like the bolt left from the rubber bumper was hitting anything. Has Anyone run into this?

Would new springs and shocks (and rubber bumpers) fix this problem?

Just finished installing 5 leaf Scott Drake leafs, they raised the car 1 1/2" in back, but the front end still sits a little higher. I was planing on installing lowering springs in front but concerned I might always have to slow down to 5 mph every time a dip in the road comes up. Would a higher rate lowering spring (like the Scott Drake C7ZZ-5310-P) do the trick?

I have a 73 Mach1 with a 351C 2v. Front suspension is stock and the front springs have never been replaced.

 

[c9zx]

It could be several things combining to cause the problem. Worn out bushings in the control arms and the spring perch as well as the rubber insulator at the top of the spring and on the perch will lessen upward travel. It also sounds like the shocks are not doing their job very well. I suppose it is even possible that at some point a lower rate, longer free height spring was installed by a previous owner (old school drag race weight transfer mod.). If the suspension parts are all original they are likely due to be replaced. The bump stop is broken for a reason. Have a competent and honest alignment shop (hard to find) check it for you if you aren't prepared to do it yourself. Once the suspension is correct, and the spring is verified as being correct and the front still sits higher than you want, cut 1/2 coil off the spring with a die grinder and a cut off wheel. It should lower the front about 3/4 of an inch. Let us know what you find. Chuck

 

[Luke]

Chuck is on the money again. Just 1 question are you sure it's bottoming out in the springs or is it the car bottoming out on the road. Same fix but thought I would ask

 

[mjlan]

Theoretically, the jounce bumpers should engage on the upper control arm to prevent the spring from going solid. If they are missing or damaged, then it would be theoretically possible for suspension to compress enough to make the spring solid. I think that it would take a very significant event to compress the suspension that far. It's easy to check- put some play doh or clay on the spring coils or under the jounce bumper and go for a drive (proving grounds trick). If the clay is squashed you are correct.

I would suspect that something else is hitting , swat bar headers something other than the jounce bumper. It's a heckuva jolt hitting the jounce bumper are you sure that's what's going on?