Re: Rear Shocks Very Slow/Difficult to Compress

I just finished installing Delrin bushings all around (lubed with Energy Suspension Formula 5 Prelube--swear by the stuff for my truck's polyurethane bushings). The front is fine. However, the rear caught my attention.

The rear shocks take about a half hour to compress to the "rest" position. The easiest way to see the issue is when I jack the rear, the suspension does not drop when I lower it. It is the same in the air as it is on the ground (well, it may spread out the smallest amount). In the video below (worth a thousand words), I jacked the rear after it settled for 30 minutes (so it settled), dropped it, then immediately after jacked the rear again. Note the difference in height at the outset and after (or, compare the light on the floor under the rear skid at :01, and at :34 after I drop it). Also compare this to the front, where I can push on the frame and have it bounce like it belongs in Coolio's Fantastic Voyage.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfA3oaA79oA

Has it always been like this and only now I noticed (FWIW, I seem to remember having the rear settle more whenever I have jacked it up, but then again, I never paid that close attention to how much it settled)?

Remember that your tires are pushing outward as the suspension sags. So when you are driving the machine the suspension will come back to rest position quicker. Put it in neutral and push it a few feet, I think you will notice a significant improvement.

 

Looks normal to me. As you are jacking up the rear, your tires are moving in and when you let it down the tires are making contact with the ground while being in that position. The tires have to be pushed out before the shocks will compress. The weight of the rzr alone is not enough to do that by just jacking it up and letting it down

 

Friction from a standstill never crossed my mind, but that makes absolute sense. Thanks for the quick replies.

I guess related, are the rear shocks that much stuffer than the front? Today I tried bouncing the rear (at its settled point), and there's little to no give with my weight alone, but if I do the same to the front, I can almost cause it to bottom out. Or, is this crappy Polaris shock quality?

 

Just move the car forward and back as said above. Or take for a short spin. Everything should be fine.

 

shocks and springs both.

 

You tightened up the a arm bolts way too tight .Loosen the bolts by the spindle a lil bit then push down on the hitch with your foot . Youll notice it moves alot easyer. Mine did this . Look up the spec its only like 30ft/lbs .

 

Everything was torqued to spec (i.e., 33 A-arm to frame, 33 top/38 bottom to the bearing carrier).

 

Y'all are dead on. Jacked, dropped, measured hitch to ground at 13.5". Rolled it backward and forward about 10 feet, re-measured, and hitch was at 12".

I guess I never noticed it. Then again, I've never removed the entire suspension, so I never was concerned with how it sat after.

 

they will only settle if you roll it or drive it, its always been that way.

 

To answer your other question about why you can compress the front easier than the rear.....it's the springs. The front ones are rated at 100lbs. and the rears are 170lbs.....assuming that you are still using factory springs.