Rear of B210 Bottoming Out? And...do I need/want helper springs?

[NewDirection]

Whenever I go over even a mild depression in the pavement, like climbing my driveway, or a shallow pothole, I hear a temporary rubbing sound from the rear wheels that sounds like bottoming out. Should I replace the rear shocks? Could it be something else?

 

RockAuto sells a helper spring kit for the B210. Is this something useful for the car, if I'm not expecting to tow or carry a lot of caro? Will it make the ride harsh but maybe improve handling?

[datzenmike]

What size tires do you ave on your B-210? should be 155/80R13 or 22.8"-23" diameter and about 6.3"- 6.3" wide. taller or wider may rub during suspension travel.

 

Has the car been lowered?

Does it have lowering blocks between the rear leaf spring and the axle tube?

 

 

How many leaves in the spring? Should be 4? A leaf may have been removed to lower it.

 

 

Shocks don't support the car's ride height they only dampen movement. 

 

Can you post a picture of the car to get an idea of it's 'stance'?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Dguy210]

On 11/24/2023 at 11:04 PM, NewDirection said:

Whenever I go over even a mild depression in the pavement, like climbing my driveway, or a shallow pothole, I hear a temporary rubbing sound from the rear wheels that sounds like bottoming out. Should I replace the rear shocks? Could it be something else?

 

RockAuto sells a helper spring kit for the B210. Is this something useful for the car, if I'm not expecting to tow or carry a lot of caro? Will it make the ride harsh but maybe improve handling?

 

Replace rear shocks as they are likely shot and the helper spring kit definitely helps. The most likely answer though is you are running tires too large or with a wheel offset that is not correct.

Edited November 30, 2023 by Dguy210

[NewDirection]

Thanks for the input everyone. I will be changing the rear shocks. The car is on original steel wheels with size 155/80R13 tires that are very close to the original size.

 

I've attached pictures of the stance and of the leaf springs. I believe there are 4 of them, as datzenmike was expecting.

https://ibb.co/LzWwKgr
https://ibb.co/K6975wR

[datzenmike]

A lowering kit will make rubbing worse.

 

 

Never hurts to change the shocks as it directly affects handling and comfort but it's not really going to reduce 'bottoming' much The shock follows what the springs do, they resist sudden changes in suspension travel but don't stop them. Drive slowly over the same place that it rubs and it will still rub.

 

 

 

My '76 was high in the front also. Back is low enough but shouldn't be rubbing with stock rims and tire size.

 

 

[NewDirection]

Comparing to pics online it seems the rear is lower than it should be. Any idea why that might be?

 

I also attached a picture of the leaf springs above, does it look like there is a leaf missing, or a lowering block in place?

[datzenmike]

 

I see nothing wrong with the spring and there are no lowering blocks. The leaf spring just sagged over the years.

 

Even sitting slightly low there should be no rubbing

[Dguy210]

On 11/27/2023 at 8:45 AM, datzenmike said:

A lowering kit will make rubbing worse.

 

 

Never hurts to change the shocks as it directly affects handling and comfort but it's not really going to reduce 'bottoming' much The shock follows what the springs do, they resist sudden changes in suspension travel but don't stop them. Drive slowly over the same place that it rubs and it will still rub.

 

 

 

My '76 was high in the front also. Back is low enough but shouldn't be rubbing with stock rims and tire size.

 

 

 

Good catch there I fucked that up. That was not supposed to be "lowering kit will help" it was supposed to be "helper spring will help" raises it by about 1 inch in my case.

[banzai510(hainz)]

put KYB Gas a just shocks on there.

dont cut the tiestrap on the shock untill you ready to put in then shoot the top into the hole. Very hard to compress

[NewDirection]

2 hours ago, banzai510(hainz) said:

put KYB Gas a just shocks on there.

dont cut the tiestrap on the shock untill you ready to put in then shoot the top into the hole. Very hard to compress

About to go outside and do this now actually, thanks for hte tip!

[banzai510(hainz)]

the GAS A JUST is the stronger shockt han a GR2 wich is just a basic gas shock(which you can compress.the GAS A just its hard on your back trying to compress

 

therr is a MONOMAX aslo from KYB uses a bigger piston. but I highly dought if list for certain datsuns. I go them on my Jeep Cherokee

[NewDirection]

I ended up getting whatever RockAuto recommended for my car which was the KYB Excel. Install was a breeze and car handles a bit better but still bottoms out, though needs deeper indents in the road to do so.

[datzenmike]

Shocks only resist travel they don't stop it or support the ride height.

 

Are there marks in the wheel wells where the tire is rubbing? on the wheels? Is it rubbing the lip on the wheel opening?

[NewDirection]

That's a good point, I don't see any tire marks inside the wheel wells. I wonder if it's something else making that sound. I will investigate.

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

12 hours ago, datzenmike said:

Shocks only resist travel they don't stop it or support the ride height.

 

Are there marks in the wheel wells where the tire is rubbing? on the wheels? Is it rubbing the lip on the wheel opening?

Gas shocks have more "resistance" than emulsion oil shocks, so there will be added ride height with gas shocks.

[datzenmike]

They are nitrogen filled (under pressure) and yes will extend by themselves. I wouldn't take them seriously for lifting a vehicle. I bought a new '76 and had no problems with rubbing at all when heavily loaded and back end sagged. Even had A or B  70 tires on stock rims.

[NewDirection]

So if I want to tackle the springs next should I just get a set of helper springs? They are pretty cheap through RockAuto. Or should I be looking into replacing tte original leaf springs?

 

I could look into borrowing a GoPro to have a look underneath as I drive over bumps but the issue is that I don't have any friends...

[datzenmike]

Cut to the chase and add some helper leaf springs.

[Dguy210]

19 hours ago, datzenmike said:

Cut to the chase and add some helper leaf springs.

 

This.

 

The helper springs are available pretty cheap all over the place and many Autozones have them on the shelf as they are generic. They also make the rearend a bit less squirrely in general from my seat of the pants experience.

[NewDirection]

Okay great, I will order this. Is this a DIY job or should I hire?

[datzenmike]

I think install and tighten the nuts.

[BigDan77]

I am now having this same problem with my '77 B210 hatch.  I just replaced the rear shocks with some basic Duralast monotubes and it did nothing to alleviate the bottoming out.  Everything is stock.  I don't think it's hitting the wheels, there are two designed contact points on either side of the rear axle that are thwacking the body over bumps.  Did I just waste time and money on basic shocks when I should have gotten some upgraded gimmicks?  The old shocks were toast anyway, but it's hard to believe new shocks wouldn't fix the axle thwacking the body.  Or are the leaf springs completely wasted?  Car seems to have normal ride height, no sagging in the rear.