Uneven ride height. Rear left side is hanging.

[Soegaard]

Hello all!

My 2009 i30 1.6 crdi, has yet another problem. 

The left rear corner of the car was hanging about 2-3 cm. (ca. 1 inch) lower than the right side.

Therefore I replaced both rear coil springs and shocks, and got the car aligned. Now the car drives smooth, straight and i can't feel anything wrong with it. After I replaced the springs and coils, the car seemed to be at even high in the rear. After about 1 week, the car started sagging again.

Today I tore the whole thing apart again, nothing unusual to notice. Everything seems fine and in good working condition.

If i look under the car, it is clear to see, that the left spring seems more compressed than the right one.

Do you guys have any suggestions to what might by wrong?

[tw2005]

Hello all!

My 2009 i30 1.6 crdi, has yet another problem. 

The left rear corner of the car was hanging about 2-3 cm. (ca. 1 inch) lower than the right side.

Therefore I replaced both rear coil springs and shocks, and got the car aligned. Now the car drives smooth, straight and i can't feel anything wrong with it. After I replaced the springs and coils, the car seemed to be at even high in the rear. After about 1 week, the car started sagging again.

Today I tore the whole thing apart again, nothing unusual to notice. Everything seems fine and in good working condition.

If i look under the car, it is clear to see, that the left spring seems more compressed than the right one.

Do you guys have any suggestions to what might by wrong?

No but I think we'd love some images of the whole set up . Seems somewhat impossible if it's all new springs and shocks

[Soegaard]

I know. It is strange. Can it be one of the lower arms / components, who is at fault?

[tw2005]

I know. It is strange. Can it be one of the lower arms / components, who is at fault?

Honestly without seeing something I don't know what to think. If an arm or bushing was bad surely there's be other issues with that like noise, movement and alignment issues plus whoever did the work you would think they would investigate the original problem first before replacing those parts unless you just did it hoping.

initially I was expecting a broken spring ,

[The Gonz]

The only thing that comes to mind without any clues is that perhaps the rear (or even front) right suspension is somehow binding, forcing added pressure on the left rear.

[eye30]

Could the camber of the roads be causing the a problem with the set up plus pot holes?

[nzenigma]

I can only think of wrong mix of springs or that one is faulty and has lost some tension.

have you tried swapping them to the opposite side?

TIP: Place car clear of pot holes when measuring height. 

[Cookie Thumper]

Springs are typically marked LH/RH.

Have then been fitted to the wrong side ?

[tw2005]

Springs are typically marked LH/RH.

Have then been fitted to the wrong side ?

How did you come up with that one? OEM springs front have same part number, OEM springs rear have same number so not sided.

Rear shocks not sided , same part number, rear mounts same number not sided

 macpherson struts are sided, struts mounts are not, same part number

Do you have any examples of this?

I can understand a NASCAR having a biased setup on one side for ovals.

[nzenigma]

I can understand a NASCAR having a biased setup on one side for ovals.

Lester sort of said that; the i30 DANISHCAR

Could the camber of the roads be causing the problem ?

[tw2005]

I can understand a NASCAR having a biased setup on one side for ovals.

Lester sort of said that; the i30 DANISHCAR

Could the camber of the roads be causing the problem ?

So wish we had a visual

[nzenigma]

I can understand a NASCAR having a biased setup on one side for ovals.

Lester sort of said that; the i30 DANISHCAR

Could the camber of the roads be causing the problem ?

So wish we had a visual

  Of Lester? 

[tw2005]

I can understand a NASCAR having a biased setup on one side for ovals.

Lester sort of said that; the i30 DANISHCAR

Could the camber of the roads be causing the problem ?

So wish we had a visual

  Of Lester? 

have you taken your pills today?

[CraigB]

I suggest moving the fat passenger from the rear of vehicle

[tw2005]

I suggest moving the fat passenger from the rear of vehicle

You're  rude. You know how much effort I've made not to ask the obvious about ballast and it's distribution

[CraigB]

 

[Cookie Thumper]

Springs are typically marked LH/RH.

Have then been fitted to the wrong side ?

How did you come up with that one? OEM springs front have same part number, OEM springs rear have same number so not sided.

Rear shocks not sided , same part number, rear mounts same number not sided

 macpherson struts are sided, struts mounts are not, same part number

Do you have any examples of this?

Pretty much every after market spring ive ever fitted, typically a vehicle will sit higher on the drivers side.

[tw2005]

Springs are typically marked LH/RH.

Have then been fitted to the wrong side ?

How did you come up with that one? OEM springs front have same part number, OEM springs rear have same number so not sided.

Rear shocks not sided , same part number, rear mounts same number not sided

 macpherson struts are sided, struts mounts are not, same part number

Do you have any examples of this?

Pretty much every after market spring ive ever fitted, typically a vehicle will sit higher on the drivers side.

Must be  specialised applications then. Sounds expensive too.

[Cookie Thumper]

Springs are typically marked LH/RH.

Have then been fitted to the wrong side ?

How did you come up with that one? OEM springs front have same part number, OEM springs rear have same number so not sided.

Rear shocks not sided , same part number, rear mounts same number not sided

 macpherson struts are sided, struts mounts are not, same part number

Do you have any examples of this?

Pretty much every after market spring ive ever fitted, typically a vehicle will sit higher on the drivers side.

Must be  specialised applications then. Sounds expensive too.

off the shelf springs (both coil and leaf) from various suppliers.

[nzenigma]

Springs are typically marked LH/RH.

Have then been fitted to the wrong side ?

How did you come up with that one? OEM springs front have same part number, OEM springs rear have same number so not sided.

Rear shocks not sided , same part number, rear mounts same number not sided

 macpherson struts are sided, struts mounts are not, same part number

Do you have any examples of this?

Pretty much every after market spring ive ever fitted, typically a vehicle will sit higher on the drivers side.

Must be  specialised applications then. Sounds expensive too.

off the shelf springs (both coil and leaf) from various suppliers.

I have struck this too, although not aware of it with Hyundai.

The Yanks are very much into different kerbside geometry. When I was doing imports and Left to Right hand steering swaps this was a factor. With pickups, The Fords never really worked for me. GM better, Mopar came up as good as in the US.

[Soegaard]

Okay, to clear things up a bit

The car was sitting low in the rear left corner, which is the driver’s side where I live.

Therefore, I inspected the suspension and found, that the left rear shock looked worn and the coil spring looked worn and compressed compared to the right one. As the parts was somewhat inexpensive and old I chose to replace them with Monroe shocks and Lesjöfors coil springs, who is a Swedish manufacturer. After the new parts settled over a week, I had the car aligned and everything was fine for about one week, then the rear left corner started to sag again.

I have checked that the part numbers are correct, and both sides uses the same parts. Everything was torqued down to specs.

This is very strange! If I get the chance today, i will take it all apart again.

[tw2005]

Okay, to clear things up a bit

The car was sitting low in the rear left corner, which is the driver’s side where I live.

Therefore, I inspected the suspension and found, that the left rear shock looked worn and the coil spring looked worn and compressed compared to the right one. As the parts was somewhat inexpensive and old I chose to replace them with Monroe shocks and Lesjöfors coil springs, who is a Swedish manufacturer. After the new parts settled over a week, I had the car aligned and everything was fine for about one week, then the rear left corner started to sag again.

I have checked that the part numbers are correct, and both sides uses the same parts. Everything was torqued down to specs.

This is very strange! If I get the chance today, i will take it all apart again.

please take some picks as it is first. If you have a ruler to place in the shot that way we can really see the height difference.

[nzenigma]

Your explanation is perfect.
Assuming mother-in-law has left the building, the only other variable I can think of is an empty to full tank of fuel.
Even so, the spring would have to be inadequate.
Shockies, should have no affect even if they are as old as. However, worth checking to see if LH shock is sticking and not travelling to full range. 
Irrespective, a L to R swap is probably the only way to prove the point.

I await with interest 

[Soegaard]

Disassembled the whole thing again yesterday, including removing of the lower control arms.

Discovered that the bushing in the hub carrier on the left side was worn a small amount and had a little more flexibility and give compared to the right one. But certainly not enough to cause a 3 cm. drop. Cleaned everything up and swapped the springs around. Same as last time, everything looked fine right after. I measured that the left side was around 3-5mm lower than the right, which is acceptable. Today I am going on a 200-mile trip. Exciting to see the results after some driving. If there is no improvement I will post some pictures for you guys.

[tw2005]

Disassembled the whole thing again yesterday, including removing of the lower control arms.

Discovered that the bushing in the hub carrier on the left side was worn a small amount and had a little more flexibility and give compared to the right one. But certainly not enough to cause a 3 cm. drop. Cleaned everything up and swapped the springs around. Same as last time, everything looked fine right after. I measured that the left side was around 3-5mm lower than the right, which is acceptable. Today I am going on a 200-mile trip. Exciting to see the results after some driving. If there is no improvement I will post some pictures for you guys.

Sounds like a plan

[Soegaard]

After around 800 km. The left rear side sits lower again, around 1.5- 2cm.


I have checked everything, and still nothing to notice. Tried to take pictures, but it did not make a lot of sense because there is nothing to see, except that the left side sits lower.

This is surely a very strange and frustrating problem. 

[mickd]

Okay,
Remove spring / pack top & bottom by 10mm/ replace spring.
Measure. Drive & measure. If sag that again? ??  New car ???

[nzenigma]

I agree that pictures are not going to be of any use. I have a couple of FDs here so will measure them later today and get back.

I have measured a difference in height on some i30s, but never enough to catch your eye. Cause was usually bad wheel alignment (castor) or similar.

 Have you noticed much height difference between full and empty fuel tank?

[nzenigma]

Okay,
Remove spring / pack top & bottom by 10mm/ replace spring.
Measure. Drive & measure. If sag that again? ??  New car ???

Or put a larger wheel/ tyre on it . 

"If i look under the car, it is clear to see, that the left spring seems more compressed than the right one."
(1st post)

What will cause that? extra weight! From where?

[AlanHo]

Do you need to look at this another way. Perhaps the left side is not lower than it should be - but the right side is too high.

This is a crazy notion  - but is there any component in the right side that could stop the suspension on that side from going down beyond a certain point.