Suspension bottoming out

[Robertotoledo]

Hi all,

I bought a 2001 toled tdi a couple of months ago and soon noticed the rear underside can scrape when turning up steep hills unless the speed is kept low. However, I had a full complement of passengers the other night and was surprised to hear the scraping noise when going over smaller bumps in the road and on bumpy bits of a twisty country road.

Is this normal for a Toledo? I've heard about people scraping the sump with regularity but no mention on the forums about the rear end scraping the road.

Many thanks

 

[kewe]

Never had any bottoming out when fully loaded and cannot imagine why the tdi would be any different. Has it been lowered at all?

 

[Baffled Spoon]

It's not normal no. Firstly, is the car on standard wheels with standard profile tyres? If the wheel/ tyre combo is wrong it could be rubbing on the inner arches.

Secondly, check the springs as on most cars springs can crack or break and thus lead to problems. Check the coils look good visually.

Lastly, could be a problem with the dampers being old or worn. Check these by pushing the back of the car down with your hands and then let the car bounce up. The dampers should stop the car from moving back down.

Edited to add; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qycP-LZKX10

Check the video guide. Might be of help.

 

[Slimy]

Failed dampers would explain why it's ok at low speed but drags at higher speeds. I would be very worried if there is anything under the car that can drag on the road, in fact I'm not sure its possible with the rear beam arrangement. The chassis simply cannot go down that far. I would expect its more likely to be either a suspension component or the wheels making contact with the car.

My first port of call would be the springs, as they are the biggest factor when it comes to ride height.

 

[Robertotoledo]

Thanks for the replies. I tested the dampers, they seem OK as they rebound normally. I haven't checked the coils yet as it's been wet of late and I'll need to lie down to see them properly.

 

[tolly_tdi]

My car seemed to do this (scrape along the floor up steep hillls, when pulling away only) recently when I went on holiday as it had a completely full car load of things! but think the suspension is ok? any ideas on what to look for or do? the car has done 122k and believe it's still the original

 

[Robertotoledo]

Well, I've had a look at the springs and there don't appear to be any cracks but they're hard to inspect closely. I'm still unsure as to the problem, but in the mean time I can avoid it by not carrying too many passengers.

So long as it gets no worse I think I'll wait to see what comes up at the next service.

Thanks for the replies.