Suspension buffers are important. When this car first arrived in Canada, I had problems because of these buffers. It was difficult to move the car manually because the rear wheels were touching inside the wheel arches. I initially suspected brake problems but it appeared to be a buffer problem, the lower buffers were simply missing so the lower suspension position was too low.
With or without this particular problem, damaged or missing suspension buffers cause unusual strength on the cylinder boots, which eventually cause boot breakage.
In May 2007, I work on the issue.
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On the left side, the lower buffer is missing. The buffer housing is in direct contact with the stopper
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Same thing on the right side, the buffer is missing. Upper buffers are here and in good condition
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Here is the left buffer in place. Inserting the buffer in its housing is not easy
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Same thing on the right side. Notice that I didn’t even took time to clean, it’s a shame 😉
After the rear side, I switch to the front. I remove both fenders to have a better access to the suspension parts, to grease everything and replace the buffers.
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The left fender is more difficult to remove, there is a lot of wires and hoses around it
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What a good access to the suspension now
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Damn! One of the windshield washer tank screws broke when I removed it
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On the right side, the voltage regulator is causing some troubles when removing the fender
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The protecting steel sheet behind the wheel is a real trap, I found in this compartment an old screwdriver and a lost spark plug 😉
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The inside paint of the right fender is looking different from the other side, I don’t know why, one fender probably was repainted or replaced some day
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Here is the front of the car “naked”. I should ideally remove the wheels but my driveway is not flat so I don’t want to try
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As usual, it’s an opportunity to clean
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On the left side, I discover a leaking cylinder boot and a very dead upper buffer (the bottom one)
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On the right side, the cylinder boot is still alive but the upper buffer is also dead, probably because of a previous leak
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I replace the cylinder boots without removing the cylinders themselves. I push the cylinder piston manually to be able to remove the inner axle
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Once the axle removed with its boot, I have sufficient space to replace the lower buffer (the top one)
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I do my first “Ligarex” clamps with my brand new kit 😉
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Here is the right side ready for new adventures… I hope!
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The two upper buffers, in a very sad condition. It seems that they don’t like the hydraulic fluid
The goal of the greasing operation was to eliminate a noise, but unfortunately this noise is still there after that.
Early in May 2008, the SM is inside my garage, I can work on it more easily and inside, so I immediately work on replacing the rear suspension boots. I thought it would be a preventive work but in fact it was already too late, both boots were very damaged.
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Working inside the garage is of course more practical than outside
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Surprise, the right boot is badly damaged and it’s the same on the other side
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I remove the rod and everything coming with it but I leave the cylinder in place
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Here is one of the boots, its bad condition is impressing, I wonder why I found only a few LHM drops on the ground
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General cleaning, new boot and new ball grease
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Tada! It seems simple but it took me a few hours 😉
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Same problem on the other side…
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… but of course, it’s much quicker the second time, this is what we call experience 😉
I hope I’ll have no problems with these boots for a while. We’ll see if I’m good in making Ligarex clamps 😉
On some of the pictures here you can see some damages on the exhaust pipes, this is the only damages I found after the car almost fell from the tow truck when I went to get it after its arrival from France in January 2007 (see the complete shipping story).