Suspension, underbody, shaking, corrosion, subframe, etc. | |
Greetings!
Purchase story - https://www.fullfatrr.com/forum/topic59330.html
All work is done at the dealership, given the huge discount you get in Russia with an older Rangie. Some work is done by independent shops, but the dealer arranges for that.
Taking in the Rangie for a 1 day service it ended up spending 3 weeks there.
Initially, we wanted to replace the bushings in the rear subframe, along with camber rods and some arms.
New bushing on my subframe:
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Makes no sense, right?
So we had decided to take it apart and assess the damage...
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My master mechanic offered to send it for sand blasting and anticorrosion paint job. It made all the sense to me, so I had agreed.
I knew the underbody was all orange, and was going to take care of it in summer, but since the rear chassis was out my master mechanic offered to take care of it as well. He quoted a good price and just 4 days longer service, so I agreed.
Underbody before the service:
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And after:
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The subframe during sandlasting:
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And after:
Notice how corrosion and sandblasting had eaten through the arm hooks:
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So at this point I'm presented with a choice - repair the subframe, or order a new one, which is: a) rather expensive; b) 2-4 weeks delivery from UK. My master mechanic advises me to send it back to the shop for repair. I concur. Several days later, it arrives and my master mechanic approves the work:
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I also asked to flash the engine firmware as I was suspecting it was chipped (which it was judging by the changed behaviour during acceleration) and remove a GPS immobiliser (I mistrust any interference with the factory electrics, and these things have a nasty habit of turning off the engine on motorways).
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We also suspect the rear airbags had been replaced with a non-OEM Chinese version, so that may end up being a fun little job in some near future.
The Rangie is back at home and runs perfect!
The shake didn't go away, but turned into bounce. After thinking about it for a day, I figured it was a developing delamination of the tyres (DOT is middle of 2013). I took the car to the dealer to have the wheels swapped for 19" that the dealer had sold me with the car and the problem was gone.
Now I'm hoping my transmission had not suffered badly from being chipped (these ZF6 don't really like anything above 700nm, and 3.6 V8 is 640 in factory tune); it does shift hard from time to time, but I'm hoping it's just learning the new torque curves.
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