Hi all,

 

Sorry if this is obvious or my terminology is wrong! Besides knowing how to drive them, my knowledge of cars is minimal.

 

I’ve recently bought a 17 plate Monte Carlo (July this year). I absolutely love the car but have noticed that the passenger side rear suspension is sitting higher than the driver’s side (when parked on a flat surface and with no one in the car).

 

Is this typical of the Monte Carlo? After searching on google I’ve seen other car owners (not Skoda) state that this is normal for a lot of cars. Is this correct?

 

Cheers,

Sam

 

 

 

Welcome.

 

You can notice a bit of a 'Gangster lean' on the flat because cars do not drive on flat roads, they are set for UK Cambered roads, left hand lane.

 

But if the tyre pressures are right, no mistake with a wrong size tyre on and the angle worries you have someone check it out. A Mechanic i mean.

You want them to see that there has not been one spring replaced or the likes rather than a pair.

Or even a broken spring or any other damage.

Thing is, for me, how do they achieve that as springs are just weight range/class rated and same for both sides on LHD and RHD markets.

 

LandRover, in the "good old days" changed from same to sided leaf springs, and hopefully changed back as keeping both as spares was a bit annoying!

 

Typically a car can't just drop down at one quarter as it is not that flexible, as Offski suggests, one spring could be broken or wrong but maybe not at that quarter, keep an open mind about what could be wrong.

Thanks for your responses. I'll keep an eye on it and double check it when I know I'm on a perfectly flat surface. 

 

Do you think it would be worth calling the dealership where I bought it and asking them to check it out? 

 

The car only had 4k miles when I bought it and I've only done 500 or so on top of that. Will be annoyed if there is something wrong especially as they could potentially blame me for it. 

I've just checked both my Fabia combi and my Citigo, both sit slightly higher on the n/s rear. Put a tape on the distance from floor to wheelarch through the wheel centre and see just how much difference there is.

Edited 12 September, 20187 yr by peter3197

I'd point out that the rear suspension on the Fabia's does often look uneven. It's normally always because of the way the rear axle responds to slightly uneven ground. You may not see that the ground is not completely level, it rarely is. But the car will notice it and it will look as though one wheel is down from the bodywork more than the other giving that uneven look to the suspension. It's probably completely normal. Just park the car in other places a few times and see if it still looks the same. 

35 minutes ago, Estate Man said:

I'd point out that the rear suspension on the Fabia's does often look uneven. It's normally always because of the way the rear axle responds to slightly uneven ground. You may not see that the ground is not completely level, it rarely is. But the car will notice it and it will look as though one wheel is down from the bodywork more than the other giving that uneven look to the suspension. It's probably completely normal. Just park the car in other places a few times and see if it still looks the same. 

However, this does not explain my Fabia and Citigo because I know the drive is level.

Could it be a travel block left in maybe?

You could allow for the unevenness of the ground by measuring centre of rear wheel hub to edge of wheel arch both sides, then park the car the other way round but with the rear on the same piece of ground and measure again. The ride height is usually specified in the service manuals for most cars. I would also check the front ride heights both sides too - a low front corner can affect the rear heights.

A Garage workshop floor or Tyre & Exhaust fitting centre floor should be level and so should the ramp be when the car is on it, 

so if unsure there are the places to get the car to and checked.

My other half asked me to  check her Fabia today because she thought it was down at the rear n/s.  Measuring from wheel centre to edge of wheel arch the n/s is about 15mm lower than the o/s. Tyres are all up to pressure and the same make, Coil spring looks OK too, Strangely It looks to me rather than the n/s being too low the o/s may actually be too high.

Aside from the most recent post, I was under the impression that all cars will eventually dip on their driver's side versus passenger's side. You have more weight over the side, more frequently. I'm sure I've read this/heard it mentioned elsewhere before but can't be sure of the source. I'm guessing how obvious it is would depend on;

• how high the suspension is to start
• load rating of springs/shocks/suspension setup
• weight of driver
• frequency of driver-only situations.

If you're concerned, there's no harm getting something checked out.

Edited 18 April, 20197 yr by Benz3ne

 

6 hours ago, Benz3ne said:

You have more weight over the side, more frequently

 

I had one car that at 165K miles and 16 Years old with mainly only one occupant sagged on the offside/drivers side.

Never noticed in driving until I got the alignment/tracking done.

To get it correct took three attempts.

 

Thanks AG Falco