HICKL Posted September 10, 2002 Share Posted September 10, 2002 Ouch! Drove my 76 280 for the first time, Looks good, runs ok, rides rough as heck. Every little bump I hit feels like the rear rims are hitting a 1 foot tall curb. Motor and all drivetrain stock, even wheels. Where do I start. It literally jars the heck out of me, made my lower back hurt! Please help, car too pretty to hurt soo bad. Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim240z Posted September 10, 2002 Share Posted September 10, 2002 Need more info on your setup. Are you running oem springs etc? Are they new, did you lower the car? Almost sounds like the rear suspension is running very close to the bump stops, thus lack of travel is making you the suspension. More details. Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RPMS Posted September 11, 2002 Share Posted September 11, 2002 This is going to sound silly, but can you post a picture of the car? That might help us determine if someone lowered it by cutting the springs, or something. Tim's right - we're willing to help, but we need more information. It definitely sounds like something's not right. 280's with stock suspensions in good shape are veritably plush! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HICKL Posted September 11, 2002 Author Share Posted September 11, 2002 I think the car is bone stock, I was not "fixed up" at all when I got it. I have some pics at the office I can e-mail you guys tomorrow. I don't know how to post a pic other than that. I would except help in that area as well. My struts and springs may be just totally shot, The rear end dips pretty hard on excelleration. I also get a "clunk" on excell and decel sometimes. Don't know if its drivetrain or suspension. Like I said, this is the first time I have had the car on the road so I haven't had much time to research. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest zfan Posted September 11, 2002 Share Posted September 11, 2002 I had the same problem, my struts were frozen/shot they had holes rotted in them. Changed them out with Tokico blues and that did the trick. You may also need springs as well. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaime240z Posted September 11, 2002 Share Posted September 11, 2002 I agree. If your suspension is bone stock and you're getting a jolting ride chances are your struts have failed. If you're going to replace them and want your car to handle a little better, i recommend installing Susp/Tech springs while you have it all apart. No sense in adding perf. struts with 30 year-old springs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Posted September 11, 2002 Share Posted September 11, 2002 Does the "Clunk" occur each time you shift? If so it is the rubber isolator on your front differential mount. It's shot. A common thing on stock Z's. I've replaced two of them so far on my '77. If your suspension is stock, and you've got over 150,000 on the car then you need to literally replace everything. New springs, new struts, new bushings, new bump stops, new differential mount, etc. You're looking at around $600 in parts. Now might be the time to consider coil-overs. If you are ever going to look at doing that don't rebuild your current suspension and then get into it. The coil-overs will be more work but not necessarily that much more money. All you coil-over experts jump in here and help him out with some good suspension advice!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pop N Wood Posted September 11, 2002 Share Posted September 11, 2002 You also need to tell us what type of tires and wheels you are using. Running 50 or 40 series, low profile tires will have a huge impact on ride. A good suggestion might be to take the car to a good alignment shop and have them inspect the suspension components. They will be quick to tell you what needs to be done. If everything is truely "shot", then there are plenty of people here who will walk you through what needs to be done. You may find the previous owner added stiffer spring, struts and large sway bars. You may want to think about what type of ride you want. If you want a smooth daily driver with good performance, then pick the suspension component carefully! You can get very good performance out of a Z without totally sacrificing ride quality. But lowering the car and adding coil overs, stiff springs, Koni struts, large sway bars and wide, low profile tires will definitely produce a car that your wife will not want to ride in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HICKL Posted September 11, 2002 Author Share Posted September 11, 2002 Jim, glance back at my original post and see that suspension and wheels are stock (I'm not trying to be a smart---, but I did cover that up front) I have learned from past posts. Anyway, I peeked under there last night and it looked like the bushings in the lower control arms maybe broken. I am sure my struts are tired. I will jack it up tonight and start prying stuff around and see what shows up. Thanks for all the tips. Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted September 11, 2002 Share Posted September 11, 2002 If you have not done so and the car has a bumper.. get up there and jump up and down to see how stiff it is with weight applied. If the struts are frozen this condition should become apparent by lack of rebound to the jumping.If the struts are worn out, you will get a long range of rebound and some gurgling noise from the worn out struts, and the suspension will be dancing right along with your jumping efforts. You should be able to compress the springs and struts by pushing up and down on the fenders with your hands.How much air is in the tires? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest silverbullet Posted September 16, 2002 Share Posted September 16, 2002 Sorry I am a little late as I still don't have a computer at home and can only communicate at work but if it's any consolation HICKL I am in the same boat with my almost totally stock 77, the suspension is totally SHOT(of course I'm sure those two times I had all four off the ground didn't help )I am getting ready to soon replace just about everything, well, at least strut cartridges,springs,bushings(will get to the rest later)was wanting to try tokiko springs + illumina shocks and urethane bushings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted September 16, 2002 Share Posted September 16, 2002 Silverbullet, you not been watching enough Dukes of Hazzard lately? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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