Rear Suspension Spring mounts

[Tanz]

Has anyone successfully fitted SJ's poly rear suspension top spring mounts?
I fitted these a couple of years ago and couldn't get them to seat properly. I have been driving around like this ever since but had another go today with no success.
With the spring off the car, the poly seat fits nicely into the spring. Then when you offer up the spring with the seat it won't fit on the boss in the chassis mounting. The hole is too small. However, if you first fit the seat to the chassis by stretching it slightly, it won't fit the spring as stretching has made the o/d bigger.

Picture showing the old rubber one and the new SJ's one


Current situation with spring not properly seated


Does anyone know of another supplier?

[Marten]

Does anyone know of another supplier?

Often these problems are caused by friction. It doesn't go in, you push harder and the stuff compresses and grows in size. Lubing it up with something suitable often makes all the difference. Sanding a small leading edge on the riing so it starts instead of catches could also help, as will removing any rust on surfaces where you want it to slide

[shaunw]

Has anyone successfully fitted SJ's poly rear suspension top spring mounts?
I fitted these a couple of years ago and couldn't get them to seat properly. I have been driving around like this ever since but had another go today with no success.
With the spring off the car, the poly seat fits nicely into the spring. Then when you offer up the spring with the seat it won't fit on the boss in the chassis mounting. The hole is too small. However, if you first fit the seat to the chassis by stretching it slightly, it won't fit the spring as stretching has made the o/d bigger.

Picture showing the old rubber one and the new SJ's one


Current situation with spring not properly seated


Does anyone know of another supplier?

Hi Phil, Lotusbits sell the standard rubber seats, fit OK and less harsh than poly.

Shaun

[Hawaiis0]

Think I had the same issue and also never fitted them

[Tanz]

Thanks for the rapid answers folks.
I tried silicon grease but no joy. Think I will give Lotusbits a bell. Actually, the whole rear suspension is original apart from the shocks so could all do with a rebuild, I was waiting for the rear bearings to fail but they are still the ones fitted in the car when I bought it in 2007 - still seem good.

[Pete Boole]

More great parts from SJs!

Pete

[DavidOliver]

The SJS seats I bought, similar to yours, also would not fit so I trimmed down the polyurethane to fit the spring internal diameter,
This does not affect how the seat functions.

Dave the cog.

[moriniman]

The problem here seems to be that Lotus used the wrong diameter in the first place.

[MetBlue]

Having just successfully fitted SJ poly seats, I support both the above 2 posts.
My old rubber seats had not gone inside the spring all round and we're badly distorted, suggesting dimensions weren't spot on from day one.
I also went around the outer edge of the poly with a razor blade to create a taper. A bit of silicon grease and all went together perfectly. I'll post a pic later when on PC
Tony

[MetBlue]

Took about 1 mm off the radius, going about half way up as seen above. With a little grease, bith sides went together very easily.

[richardw]

Very useful info - thanks. I had Protech springs and shocks from SJ fitted a while ago, but they couldn’t get the rear seats to fit - now it is clear why. Need to buy some more and fit them next time I have the fuel tank out!

Cheers, Richard

[moriniman]

I'll probably slice my originals with a razor blade and use cyanoacrylate (superglue) to bond them back together at a slightly reduced diameter.

[richardw]

I'll probably slice my originals with a razor blade and use cyanoacrylate (superglue) to bond them back together at a slightly reduced diameter.

Good idea - for me, this may mean that I can fit without removing the fuel tank to get to the suspension top mount bolts.

Cheers, Richard

[Pete Boole]

Make a mould and make some new ones that fit properly!

Pete