ARRRGGG I am begining to hate RR's This has been a particularly bad spring start up. My last posting was trying to fix my starter and as I am want to do I damaged something else in the process. I jacked the car up from the front to work on the starter and now the front rides high and the rear rides low. HOw can I get it back to level? The instruction book I have for leveling the rear does not look like what is under my car (79 SS2). Is there a valve I need to repair or replace? What happened?
Sagging bum
1 - 12 of 12 Posts
Joined
·
1,558 Posts
have you drive it ? it should self level
Joined
·
4,632 Posts
It is possible that you, no pun intended, "tipped the scales" when you jacked up the front of the car as far as the rear springs go. Shadows are notorious for developing sagging bums over the years, as the original rear springs were too weak. I have purchased replacements for my Shadow II, but until I have the time to put them in I also purchased coil spring spacers to get my rear ride height back to where it should be. All else in the system appears to be OK on my car.
Also, the entire workshop manual and a bunch of other useful documents related to the SY (Shadow and derivatives) series of cars is available at the Rolls-Royce Owners' Club of Australia Technical Library - SY Series Pages for free download.
Also, the entire workshop manual and a bunch of other useful documents related to the SY (Shadow and derivatives) series of cars is available at the Rolls-Royce Owners' Club of Australia Technical Library - SY Series Pages for free download.
Springs do not suddenly sag. It is possible that the automatic hight adjustment is stuck/not operating properly. To check get under the rear of the car and find the hight adjust actuators. Disconnect the actuating arm (one side at a time) and see if the car rises/falls as you actuate the arm. If not, it is probable that the hydraulic ram(s) has stuck. If so, go to your RR dealer and be prepared for a big bill.
I have tried disconnecting both ram adjusting links to the valves and no change. I have studied the hydrolic system and wondered if the activating solenoid could have become stuck. If not can I remove the rams with out removing the gas tank?
Joined
·
35 Posts
It may be a stupid reply but did you check your hydraulic oil level? if you have a leak or insufficient oil it won't lift properly and the rear suspension will fell rather bad. You should have 2 containers under your bonnet with minimum and maximum written on the side. Just check it, your problem may be just very simple
Joined
·
66 Posts
Woody,
Did you try disconnecting the HCV arms and pushing them upwards a little.
Engine running and in park,
Hold them up for a few minutes, even if it is on ;slow levelling' that should be long enough.
Also, is the front high or is the rear low? One could be correct and the other wrong? This would indicate where the problem is, front or rear.
Did you try disconnecting the HCV arms and pushing them upwards a little.
Engine running and in park,
Hold them up for a few minutes, even if it is on ;slow levelling' that should be long enough.
Also, is the front high or is the rear low? One could be correct and the other wrong? This would indicate where the problem is, front or rear.
The fluid is right up and holding the arms up does not seem to change things. The fact that both went at the same time seems to indicate a single source rather than 2 rams. The only single point I see is a solenoid by the rear end. could this be it? The Front is high and rear is low.
Joined
·
4,632 Posts
The solenoid valve's function is to "tell" the height control valves whether they should be behaving in fast versus slow leveling mode.
The fact that you're getting no change when you manually manipulate the height control lever makes me think that you've got a complete lack of fluid flow through this part of the system. Definitely check your restrictor valves as these have really, really tiny openings and can become clogged very easily.
If you have never looked at the Marinus Rijkers' Silver Shadow Hydraulics Pages you really should give them a look.
Also, are you having any peculiar symptoms as far as "it seems like the brakes are coming on without my pressing the pedal" as you drive down the road, particularly a bumpy road?
Also, please read the hydraulic system diagnosis steps I posted in this thread on these forums a while back.
The fact that you're getting no change when you manually manipulate the height control lever makes me think that you've got a complete lack of fluid flow through this part of the system. Definitely check your restrictor valves as these have really, really tiny openings and can become clogged very easily.
If you have never looked at the Marinus Rijkers' Silver Shadow Hydraulics Pages you really should give them a look.
Also, are you having any peculiar symptoms as far as "it seems like the brakes are coming on without my pressing the pedal" as you drive down the road, particularly a bumpy road?
Also, please read the hydraulic system diagnosis steps I posted in this thread on these forums a while back.
1 - 12 of 12 Posts
