Strut Mounts And Hard Bounce

[xmxx]

I have a 93 2.1sd estate h3, one of the strut top mounts needs replacing, most of the upper rubber has dissapeared and it makes a binding noise near full lock, are saloons and estates of similar year interchangeable and do they differ depending on engine size?

I also have a hard but v bouncy ride, planning to change the spheres, but first I cant hear any buzz from the rear, could it be an electrovalve issue and if so where would I find it?

thanks
richard

[techmanagain]

A "softness regulator repair kit" from roymackay@e-crofting.com may well cure, or at least alleviate, your hard ride problem before you go to the expense of spheres. The previous owner may have done the spheres in an attempt to cure it, so try that first.
Lose no sleep over the missing rubber. It is purely protective. the place to look for dangerous rust is up under the muguard when the concertina rubber is pulled down.
The struts and their tops are matched for various models and years, so be aware of this when changing them. It is a fairly expensive job unless you can get matched top and strut secondhand.

[techmanagain]

The noise at full lock may only be coming from the Flow Distribution Valve on the front face of the block and is not a cause for immediate concern.
The alternative place to check is the mudshields under the front wing. If they are showing signs of the tyres rubbing them, replace at least the front bushes on the front suspesion wishbones.

[xmxx]

thanks will check that out, although the spheres do look old, when ticking over I can only bounce each corner about an inch, I assume it should be more than this? I can only compare with my old bx which had about 10 times more travel!
Im more concerned about the noise from the front when near full lock, could it not be because the strut mount rubber is worn?

[DerekW]

Is the noise near full lock audible all the time - i.e. when holding the wheel stationary? Or is it only whilst you are actually turning the wheel?

If it's there all the time then as techmanagain says, it's probably the FDV; if it's only whilst turning the wheel, then yes, you need to look at the structural connections.

[xmxx]

the noise is only there when moving

[xmxx]

I have looked at the softness regulator kit from e crofting, it says suitable for rp no's 5900+
is there another one as my rp no is 5684, does that mean it isnt hydractive II? the ECU is a h3 and it has sport mode, confused!

[mackay1]

Hi,

Your car doesn't have Hydractive II but the earlier system still had "normal" & "sport" suspension mode.

The main difference is that Hydractive II uses 2 electrovalves (one front and one rear) whilst the earlier version used a single electrovalve.

I believe there are also 2 different H3 ECU units - just to make things difficult!

(Quite a few people have asked about the kit for earlier RP no's and I'll be looking closely at that in the next day or so.)

I hope that helps clarify some of the confusion.

Roy

[xmxx]

nicely clarified, thanks roy and all for input so far