Please read

[MatrixGuy]

I finally had a new cambelt, clutch and waterpump fitted the other week, along with a major service. The car runs alot better now!!!!

Now, one of the main problems i felt was something to do with the suspension/shocks as the ride wasn't that great.

The problem is that he didnt find ANYTHING wrong with the suspension or shocks :shock: which confused me slightly! The ride is slighty better now but i still feel theres something quite not right.

Could it be all in my head or would anyone like to come and have a drive to see if it is? 8)

[Wobba]

Even when my car setup was completely screwed up by both the garage and tracking people, they said it handled amazingly. They were wrong, its just thye are used to driving lard wagon pieces of shit.

It's probably just worn parts tbh dude. Bushes and rods etc. Maybe tracking.

the rest is probably in your head :D

[MatrixGuy]

Cheers mate, at least one of us replied, lol. :cry:

So you think it's in my head? you want to come down and have a drive? lol

[jamesy]

are alll the bushes in good nick? ie. wishbones/rollbars/top mounts etc?

this might cause it to feel a bit like a jelly sometimes.

see if there is any play in them if you are not sure.

[MatrixGuy]

are alll the bushes in good nick? ie. wishbones/rollbars/top mounts etc?

this might cause it to feel a bit like a jelly sometimes.

see if there is any play in them if you are not sure.

Am not that great with cars mate, so i wouldn't know where to look really. Wouldn't my mechanic of checked this, or not? lol.

[jamesy]

depends how good your mechanic is,just because they are 'qualified' doesnt mean they are any good.lol.

you could always get a second opinion,perhaps from a tuning garage?

Does it feel a bit loose when you turn the wheel? like a delayed reaction,or does it wonder wehn going in a straight line?

could always be play in the colum,i ahd a rear leaky shock once and that made my car handle like a skip,used to wonder all over the place.

[Wobba]

If anything, for me a car has to handle well or there is no point having it. My solution for piece of mind was to replace everything. It's not as expensive as you may think and tbh compared to the engine work I've done, it's a doddle (except for the inner arb bushes, they were a b*tch!)

Apart from my tracking (soon sorted) it's absolutely rock solid now on coilovers and a welded column and new tyres.

[franksvalver]

I thought my car was fine until i replaced my suspension set up eg arb inner and outer mounts, track rod ends, wishbones, wishbone bushes, steering rack bushes, top strut mounts and had it all machine tracked. Now its like driving a brand new car.

Might just be worth doing all of teh above. I went for polybushes aswell and cost me about 250 quid for everything bearing in mind i had brand new wishbones too

Cheapest 250 quid iv sepnt lol

[MatrixGuy]

All that cost only £250 mate?!

It's just the back end feels loose, very bumpy.

[franksvalver]

All that cost only £250 mate?!

It's just the back end feels loose, very bumpy.

polybushes 110
wishbone 90 for the pair
trackrod end were about 12 quid each from a motor factors
top strut mount were about 3 quid each from renault
tracking was 30 quid for all the proper machine laser alignment

[eternalife]

Need more info in order to diagnose a possible problem 'handling wise' over an internet forum really.

Where are you from?

[eternalife]

To renew suspension have a look here..
http://www.williamsclio.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?p=330271&highlight=#330271

Once i did all on my williams, it felt superb.
Never really found a need to go polybush route.

[MatrixGuy]

Need more info in order to diagnose a possible problem 'handling wise' over an internet forum really.

Where are you from?

Am from Lancaster mate.

It's hard to explain really. Going over bumps in the road feels rougher than usual. When starting from stop position it sounds like something is moving at the rear. It might be all in my head though, i just don't know! :oops:

[Wobba]

Check rear strut bolts are not loose. Check tyre pressures.

Personally, I would jack the rear up, chocks on front wheels, take rear wheels off (see if bolts were on right), get the rear shocks off and test em for damping power...replace if neccessary.

While your down there, have a good poke about and clean them arches of dirt too for weight saving :D

Only vaguely hard bit is taking offside strut off as the bolt on the back of the chassis at the top of strut can be a little tricky to get too, but not that hard.

Have a good look at torsion bar as well, unlikely anything wrong with it but check anyway.

Make sure you torque up wheel bolts, drive it about a bit, check em again.

If nothing, you're imagining it :)

[eternalife]

Need more info in order to diagnose a possible problem 'handling wise' over an internet forum really.

Where are you from?

Am from Lancaster mate.

It's hard to explain really. Going over bumps in the road feels rougher than usual. When starting from stop position it sounds like something is moving at the rear. It might be all in my head though, i just don't know! :oops:

You are miles from me I'm afraid.

Hmmmm...still inconclusive really.
What tyre profile are you using?
Tyre pressures?
is the spare wheel carrier nice and tight (not rattling about)?

Have u tried shaking the car in the direction of axle length to see if dampers are working correctly? From memory...as a rule of thumb dampers should stop most of the rocking in 3 cycles - exponential like relationship.

Definitely need to try and get yourself to a meet. Get someone (who knows clio mk1's) to go in the car with you and take it from there. There must be some people who aren't too far from you I reckon.

Any unduly noises?

[simonr85]

id let you try mine as im in preston but mine is handling like a shopping trolley too lol :(

[Daz.]

id let you try mine as im in preston but mine is handling like a shopping trolley too lol :(

Asdas shopping trolleys handle damn fine imo... #!

[simonr85]

id let you try mine as im in preston but mine is handling like a shopping trolley too lol :(

Asdas shopping trolleys handle damn fine imo... #!


this is no Asda trolley son, its a 3 wheeled Aldi skip that has been reclaimed from the bottom of the manchester canal! :roll:

[MatrixGuy]

Thank you for the replies everyone!

Eternal - never thought about the spare wheel cage! i will check that for sure. Tyres i am using are 185/55/15 and the pressure is about 32 psi

[katbloke]

mines similar too, replaced struts, mount kits a/r bar and poly bushes still the same, next course of action is track rod ends or control arms, not checked the back end tbh. Car feels like its easier to steer to the right than left, tracking should get rechecked really but no point if renewing track rod ends

Brakes well thats a whole new story, replaced discs,pads, calipers, hoses and master cylinder only thing left is bias valve grrrr still only half a pedal.

[eternalife]

Thank you for the replies everyone!

Eternal - never thought about the spare wheel cage! i will check that for sure. Tyres i am using are 185/55/15 and the pressure is about 32 psi

185 55 15's should give quite a smooth drive (for a 13 year old hot hatch that is) and 32 psi in the rears sounds right to me for current climate.

Are you running full interior?
Rear does get a lot 'lairy' when rear seats, spare wheels removed.

[eternalife]

mines similar too, replaced struts, mount kits a/r bar and poly bushes still the same, next course of action is track rod ends or control arms, not checked the back end tbh. Car feels like its easier to steer to the right than left, tracking should get rechecked really but no point if renewing track rod ends

Brakes well thats a whole new story, replaced discs,pads, calipers, hoses and master cylinder only thing left is bias valve grrrr still only half a pedal.

RE: Brakes - you done a full flush of the system? or just made sure no air in system?
A lot of independant garages believe as long as there is fluid inside its all good.
I would typically have mine fully flushed and changed every 2 years after seeing the benefits.
Doesn't cost the earth to do either (2 litres of Castrol SR is about £25)

RE: turns easy to left than to right...
Need to check that the Rack is actually centred. Would not surpise me if some places will cheat when alignment is out quite a bit.
They will centre the steering (by taking it off and putting it in the centre :roll: ) and wind in/wind out the ends to suit - rather than ensuring rack is centralised.

[MatrixGuy]

Thank you for the replies everyone!

Eternal - never thought about the spare wheel cage! i will check that for sure. Tyres i am using are 185/55/15 and the pressure is about 32 psi

185 55 15's should give quite a smooth drive (for a 13 year old hot hatch that is) and 32 psi in the rears sounds right to me for current climate.

Are you running full interior?
Rear does get a lot 'lairy' when rear seats, spare wheels removed.

Running a full interior mate.

I will have to wait till weekend to have a look under the car, or buy some flood lights, lol.

[fasterthanjesus]

i suggest a mini meet.

im in lancaster too.



im not mechanically minded, but its always good to see another.

[katbloke]

i suggest a mini meet.

im in lancaster too.



im not mechanically minded, but its always good to see another.

I wish i lived near fellow humans but im in Devon, no-one wants to live this way

[Matty86]

I miss Exeter :( ^^

[katbloke]

really?

[eternalife]

Thank you for the replies everyone!

Eternal - never thought about the spare wheel cage! i will check that for sure. Tyres i am using are 185/55/15 and the pressure is about 32 psi

185 55 15's should give quite a smooth drive (for a 13 year old hot hatch that is) and 32 psi in the rears sounds right to me for current climate.

Are you running full interior?
Rear does get a lot 'lairy' when rear seats, spare wheels removed.

Running a full interior mate.

I will have to wait till weekend to have a look under the car, or buy some flood lights, lol.

I think a lot of Mk1 owners have done the 'working under flood lights in cold weather' them lights do heat ya up quite nice too...comes with the ownership i reckon 8)

Mini-meet sounds like a good idea imo.

[arj256]

Keeping it simple.
You say your running 32psi on the rear.
Now personally this is to high for the rear.

Play around with your rear tyre pressures to see if that improves the feel of the car for your needs.
Try say 30 and see what you think, then 28 etc.
Don't need alot on the back necessarily, as theres little weight there.

[Daz.]

I run 27-28 on the rear with the spare taken out - anything more and its rubbish!

[white16valver]

I run 33 all round or 33/32 f/r, but I do carry a lot of stuff in the boot usually.

[MatrixGuy]

A meet sounds good, where and when? lol

[simonr85]

http://www.williamsclio.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?p=332157#332157

[MatrixGuy]

http://www.williamsclio.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?p=332157#332157

I can't reply on there mate, but am in!!!

[simonr85]

il add you on now mate :lol:

[talkingfish]

funny, I had all new suspension in mine too and think it now feels wierd... deffo more twitchy at the limit than it was before - sounds similar to your issues....

[MatrixGuy]

funny, I had all new suspension in mine too and think it now feels wierd... deffo more twitchy at the limit than it was before - sounds similar to your issues....

that's strange, you sure its not something else?

whats the car like over bumps, speed bumps?