89 Rear Suspension, Need advice - Pirate4x4.Com : 4x4 and Off-Road Forum

ChiScouter · 02-08-2002, 07:48 AM

Hi guys, please be gentle on this new Scout guy here. I have a Scout SSII that has bad axle wrap with the leaf spring suspension. I just came upon a 89 4 door Range Rover in a self service junkyard. I am thinking about either adapting the top "wishbone" to my Scout with the leaf springs, or adapting the whole coil suspension to my Scout. I have never seen the underside of a Rover before, and couldn't get a great look today due to 5 inches of wet snow.
I am quite interested in the central air bag mounted to the wishbone, Is it a self leveling, or a lift device? The back of my Scout as weighed on a scale is 2000 lbs. Often I load it down, and sometimes tow a 7000 lb 2 axle trailer with lots of tongue weight and sometimes with an equalizing hitch. Is this coil setup up to that kind of abuse? How much travel does that coil setup yield?

How strong is the Rover rear axle, would it stand up to a 500ci Cadillac engine?

The Scout is a daily driver and weekend play toy.

Thanks guys, BTW This Rover is located in Chicago, was hit hard on the rt side, but the engine/drivetrain is intact and in good shape.

Rover Addiction · 02-08-2002, 08:28 AM

Well, as much as I like the Range Rover, the rear axle won't suit your purposes. No way is it going to hold up to that kind of power and also, it's the wrong bolt pattern.

You could take the coil suspension and use a beefed up version of that for your scout. The center strut is an automatic self-leveling unit that uses the movement of the vehicle to pressurize and raise the rear. It works ok, but not great.

Good luck!
-John

Jtisdale · 02-08-2002, 09:18 AM

most people I know with the self leveling unit say it has issues.

Johnathan

ChiScouter · 02-08-2002, 09:37 AM

Well the self leveling feature is more sophisication than I would need, but manually filling the bag to compensate for a big load or heavy tongue would be helpful, I wonder how stability is when the bag is pumped up and centered on the axle, rather than putting the weight out on the ends of the axle.

Fear Factory · 02-08-2002, 09:45 AM

The Boge levelling unit slightly hinders axle travel and makes spring changes a bitch. On the 91 Range rover with SG III springs the SLU keeps the axle from being able to drop enough to change springs very easily. I almost took it out but since it's in the center of the axle it really doesn't limit cross axle travel at all, those springs need to be clamped in place i soon discovered after removing the rear sway bar.

But since the car is lifted up so much it probably doesn't do a dern thing anyway.

02-08-2002, 07:48 AM	#1 (permalink)
ChiScouter Zeus of the Sluice Join Date: Feb 2002 Member # 9835 Location: Chicago Posts: 4,080	89 Rear Suspension, Need advice Hi guys, please be gentle on this new Scout guy here. I have a Scout SSII that has bad axle wrap with the leaf spring suspension. I just came upon a 89 4 door Range Rover in a self service junkyard. I am thinking about either adapting the top "wishbone" to my Scout with the leaf springs, or adapting the whole coil suspension to my Scout. I have never seen the underside of a Rover before, and couldn't get a great look today due to 5 inches of wet snow. I am quite interested in the central air bag mounted to the wishbone, Is it a self leveling, or a lift device? The back of my Scout as weighed on a scale is 2000 lbs. Often I load it down, and sometimes tow a 7000 lb 2 axle trailer with lots of tongue weight and sometimes with an equalizing hitch. Is this coil setup up to that kind of abuse? How much travel does that coil setup yield? How strong is the Rover rear axle, would it stand up to a 500ci Cadillac engine? The Scout is a daily driver and weekend play toy. Thanks guys, BTW This Rover is located in Chicago, was hit hard on the rt side, but the engine/drivetrain is intact and in good shape.

02-08-2002, 08:28 AM	#2 (permalink)
Rover Addiction Registered User Join Date: May 2001 Member # 4749 Location: Erie, CO Posts: 975	Well, as much as I like the Range Rover, the rear axle won't suit your purposes. No way is it going to hold up to that kind of power and also, it's the wrong bolt pattern. You could take the coil suspension and use a beefed up version of that for your scout. The center strut is an automatic self-leveling unit that uses the movement of the vehicle to pressurize and raise the rear. It works ok, but not great. Good luck! -John __________________ "All the parts falling off this truck are of the finest british craftsmanship."

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode

02-08-2002, 09:18 AM	#3 (permalink)
Jtisdale Rock God Join Date: Nov 2001 Member # 8122 Location: USA Posts: 1,256	most people I know with the self leveling unit say it has issues. Johnathan

02-08-2002, 09:37 AM	#4 (permalink)
ChiScouter Zeus of the Sluice Join Date: Feb 2002 Member # 9835 Location: Chicago Posts: 4,080	Well the self leveling feature is more sophisication than I would need, but manually filling the bag to compensate for a big load or heavy tongue would be helpful, I wonder how stability is when the bag is pumped up and centered on the axle, rather than putting the weight out on the ends of the axle.

02-08-2002, 09:45 AM	#5 (permalink)
Fear Factory Registered User Join Date: Jan 2002 Member # 9448 Location: Kansas City/Belton Posts: 412	The Boge levelling unit slightly hinders axle travel and makes spring changes a bitch. On the 91 Range rover with SG III springs the SLU keeps the axle from being able to drop enough to change springs very easily. I almost took it out but since it's in the center of the axle it really doesn't limit cross axle travel at all, those springs need to be clamped in place i soon discovered after removing the rear sway bar. But since the car is lifted up so much it probably doesn't do a dern thing anyway.