Shock Absorber test results and hard ride on small bumps

[vanasp]

Hopefully someone will be able to point me in the right direction. I find that my car rattles like crazy on small rough sections of tar road. I have 1 x section of rough tar between my office and home and have noticed that the rattling is particularly bad and harsh over this section.

I also drive a badly corrugated section of gravel road on the way to my friends farm and it sounds like the shocks go into stiff mode and don’t give over these short sharp bumps. The best way to explain it would be like solid shocks on these bumps but they appear fine on all other bumps.

Any ideas what could be the problem or do all Pajero's have a harsh ride over small sharp uneven roads. I don’t remember my car having such a harsh ride on small bumps. Maybe it is my old age catching up and me becoming forgetful.

These shocks have done around 70 000km and originals supplied by Mitsubishi.

I had the shocks tested on a Gabriel shock tester and the dealer said they are fine. Can anyone explain the numbers on the attached pictures.

[KurtG]

What year model do you own?


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[vanasp]

Hi Kurt

It is a 2006 GLS 3.2 diesel.

Regards

Paul

[RoelfleRoux]

Tyre pressure??

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[DuneDriver]

Tyres probably the main culprit, and maybe the dash doing it's thing making it sound worse.
My 2000 3.2 shook and rattled so much I was going to sell it, Checked everything , and I mean EVERYTHING, even drove with deflated tyres ..Then some sage advice on this forum let me to look at different brands of tyres , which at first I thought was bunk, but in the end was the problem.
The Gen 3's ride comfort is very susceptible to the type/brand of tyre you use ,combined with pressure.
Of course the rattly plastic interior panels make it sound worse.
My personal choice was Michelin, but I hear BF Goodridge also give a very good ride.
And do the dashfix.

[vanasp]

Hi Guys

I have played with the tyre pressure and dropped to 1.85 and have a tyre monitor so can watch the pressures. This has not made a big difference.

I have started to suspect the tyres seeing that the shocks have been tested and appear to be OK. I have Goodyear Wranglers on the car and they never used to give the harsh ride but maybe they are getting a bit rigid and not flexing like they used to.

Any comments on the shock absorber graphs?

[KurtG]

Could it not be worn suspension bushes on the control arms or shocks themselves?


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[DuneDriver]

Worn suspension bushes can give a harsh ride , and a particular culprit is the swaybar. I disconnected the one side,and change was immediate.It did not make sense,until I checked the 2 bushes hidden behind the front bashplate. If they are shot,that heavy bar flops around inside them over corrugations and you feel it through the steering wheel.
If it is that,it is a cheap and easy fix.

[vanasp]

Thanks for all the replies and I will check suspension bushes and sway bar.

[4ePikanini]

The bush that connects the strut (coil and shock) to the lower control arm works really hard and tends to wear quickly putting metal on metal. Once changed the car is a lot better.

Pretty easy and cheap to do for a competent DIY'er. Remove whole strut, take out old bush and put a new poly bush in from Midas (powerflex or similar)

Less than R100 for two and about 2 hours work.